LUCCA · Dual boilerM58 Sunto Espresso Machine with Flow Control
A compact E61 dual-boiler built exclusively for Clive Coffee by Quick Mill in Milan, with a cartridge-heated group head, OLED PID, pre-installed flow-control paddle, and a rotary pump — all in a footprint smaller than most E61 dual-boilers.
The short version
The M58 Sunto with Flow Control is the highest-expression version of Clive's flagship: it brings genuine dual-boiler thermal stability, flow profiling, and a genuinely quiet rotary pump to a surprisingly compact chassis.
The trade-off is a workflow that demands grinder discipline and some barista literacy — push a button this is not.
Why people buy it
- Dedicated group-head heating element cuts warm-up to 12 minutes — roughly 40% faster than a standard thermosiphon E61
- Rotary pump is genuinely quiet; simultaneous brew and steam without vibration noise
Why they don’t
- No integrated grinder, volumetric dosing, or auto-milk: this is a fully manual workflow requiring a capable grinder as a co-investment
The full tally
- Dedicated group-head heating element cuts warm-up to 12 minutes — roughly 40% faster than a standard thermosiphon E61
- Rotary pump is genuinely quiet; simultaneous brew and steam without vibration noise
- Pre-installed LUCCA flow-control paddle plus programmable pre-infusion via OLED PID give real shot-shaping capability
- Smaller than most E61 dual-boilers in its class while retaining 0.75 L brew and 1.5 L steam boilers with 1400 W elements each
- No integrated grinder, volumetric dosing, or auto-milk: this is a fully manual workflow requiring a capable grinder as a co-investment
- E61 group still needs a full 12-minute preheat before reliable temperature stability — not a pour-and-go machine on cold mornings
- Price premium over non-Sunto M58 with Flow Control reflects the group-head heater and OLED upgrade; some competitors offer similar performance for less
What the community knows
Years of owner threads, distilled — strongly recommended.
Proven Quick Mill E61 dual-boiler platform with flow control opens real shot-dialing without overwhelming newcomers; 58mm standard keeps mods and baskets forward-compatible; five-year owner testimonial speaks to build-as-philosophy, but Lucca's narrower forum footprint versus…
Built to last
years before you outgrow or replace it
Value
price-to-performance the community respects
Reliability
shows up every morning, year after year
All 9 community measures
price-to-performance the community respects
shows up every morning, year after year
parts and repairs — you are never stranded
mods, guides, and community know-how around it
kind to first-timers
years before you outgrow or replace it
how far the cup can go, per dollar
speed and simplicity, day to day
“"5 years later and I see no reason to upgrade. The beauty of the machine equals the performance."”
The measurements
Scored 0–5 on the same rubric as everything on file — the words matter more than the numbers.
The measurements
0–5, one rubric- Shot ceiling
- endgame-adjacent4.5
- Steam power
- confident4
- Built to last
- heirloom4.5
- Easy daily
- demanding1
Position in the market
Every dot is a rival, measured the same way. The gold one is this.
- Top quarter for shot ceiling
- a higher ceiling than 205 of the 237 machines we’ve measured
- A value pick at this level
- 70% of machines this capable cost more
- Top quarter for build
- sturdier than 78% of the field, by the community’s own record
Every dot is a machine measured on the same rubric. See the whole market
Living with it
The part spec sheets skip: counter space, upkeep, and what owners learn later.
The honest note — Most owners who outgrow the M58 Sunto do so because they want gravimetric dosing, a larger steam boiler for high-volume milk service, or touchscreen profile programming — paths that lead toward machines like the Lelit Bianca V3, ECM Synchronika, or Decent DE1. The machine itself rarely becomes the bottleneck; grinder quality is the more common upgrade trigger.
The full spec sheet
- Type
- Dual boiler
- Heat-up time
- ~12 min
- Steam power
- 4/5
- Brew + steam at once
- Yes
- Guest recovery
- 4.5/5
- Shot quality ceiling
- 4.5/5
- PID temperature control
- Yes
- Milk system
- Manual steam wand
- Removable brew group
- No
- Flow control
- Yes
- Hot-water tap
- Yes
- Cup clearance
- 0 cm
- Workflow demand
- 4/5
- Maintenance
- 3/5
- Noise
- 2/5
- Build longevity
- 4.5/5
Before it arrives
What completes this machine — the faded pieces can wait.
Water filter / softener — Plumbed-in machines need inline filtration to keep scale out of the boiler — it is cheaper than a repair.
- Water filter / softener — Plumbed-in machines need inline filtration to keep scale out of the boiler — it is cheaper than a repair.
- Descaler & backflush kit — Electric boilers scale up and grouts gunk up — a descaler plus backflush routine is what keeps the machine alive for a decade.
- Coffee scale with timer — Espresso is a ratio. A 0.1g scale with a built-in timer is the single biggest consistency upgrade for any manual machine.
- Knock box — Somewhere to bang the spent puck that is not your kitchen bin.
- Calibrated tamper — The bundled tamper is usually an afterthought; a fitted, calibrated one makes prep repeatable.
- WDT distribution tool — Breaks up clumps before tamping — a cheap fix for channeling on any portafilter machine.
- Espresso cups & glassware — Proper demitasse and latte glasses keep the drink hot and look the part.
Feed it right
Week one is dial-in — and stale beans will lose it.
Coffee more than a few weeks past roast won’t extract predictably, and a new machine gets blamed for it. A machine in this class will show you the difference between roast dates — it deserves beans that change week to week.
Pick your coffee — any of these dials in beautifully here:
Sergio - Brazillian Fazenda Joia Rara Aerobic FermentedSCA 88Medium-light · Cerrado Mineiro · Aerobic FermentedHoney · OrangeEnough brightness to show what this gear can separate.CA$29.18 · roasted to order
Honeycrest - Costa Rican Volcán AzulSCA 87Medium-light · West Valley · Red HoneyRaisins · Maple SyrupEnough brightness to show what this gear can separate.CA$19.50 · roasted to order
Wild Ember - Ethiopian Buno Dambi UddoSCA 92Medium roast · Odo Shakiso, Guji Zone, Oromia · NaturalBlueberry · MarmaladeEnough brightness to show what this gear can separate.CA$26.83 · roasted to orderNo proper grinder yet? Sort that first — it decides more of the cup than the machine does. We ship whole bean, roast-dated, timed so it lands fresh the week your burrs do.
Roasted to order, daily, in Ajax, Ontario · ships Canada-wide. We’re the roastery behind this database — measuring the machines is how we make sure the coffee gets a fair shot.
Common questions
What does the Sunto's dedicated group-head heating element actually change versus a standard E61 machine?
A standard E61 relies on thermosiphon circulation from the brew boiler to heat the group, which is slow and temperature-variable. The Sunto adds a cartridge heating element directly in the group, cutting warm-up to 12 minutes (about 40% faster) and reducing shot-to-shot temperature drift, so your first shot of the day is as stable as your fifth.
Can I plumb the M58 Sunto directly into a water line?
Yes. It ships with a built-in 3 L reservoir but can also be connected directly to a water line via a braided water line (sold separately). You switch between the two modes without tools.
What does the flow-control paddle do, and is it already installed?
The LUCCA E61 Stainless Steel Flow Control device is pre-installed on the group head of this variant. The paddle lets you dial the water flow rate up or down during extraction in real time, which changes the pressure profile seen by the puck — useful for slowing down fast-channeling light roasts or building a ramp profile.
What grinder does this machine need to perform well?
At minimum a capable midrange burr grinder with stepless or fine-stepped adjustment to espresso fineness. The machine's high shot-quality ceiling is wasted on pressurized baskets or coarse grinders. Clive Coffee recommends pairing with a single-dose or mid-range dedicated espresso grinder.
Who manufactures the M58 Sunto, and who designed it?
It is manufactured by Quick Mill, a family-run Italian espresso machine maker in Milan. The design — including the dedicated group heater, OLED PID, and walnut touchpoints — was specified by Clive Coffee in Portland, Oregon. It is built exclusively for Clive.
Worth comparing
Profitec
RIDE
The RIDE is a compact dual-boiler E61 machine from Heidelberg, Germany, that heats both stainless steel boilers simultaneously for a claimed 10–12 minute cappuccino-ready time — a meaningful step forward from its predecessor, the Pro 600.
US$2,599–2,899 · CA$3,165–3,700
Profitec
DRIVE
Germany-built dual-boiler successor to the Pro 700, with E61 group, native flow control, OLED PID, and a rotary pump that runs nearly silent — all standard, no add-ons required.
CA$4,929 · US$3,299–3,499
LUCCA
M58 Sunto Espresso Machine
A compact E61 dual-boiler built by Quick Mill in Milan exclusively for Clive Coffee, the M58 Sunto pairs a whisper-quiet rotary pump and OLED PID with a dedicated group-head heating element for faster warm-up and rock-solid shot-to-shot thermal stability.
US$3,195–3,295
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