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It was the late 18th Century, and the owner of a manufacturing company had a big problem. His problem was the sheer amount of time his employees took for their coffee breaks, which was affecting productivity. His solution? Luigi Bezzera took his problem into his own hands, and decided that inventing a way to make coffee faster was the only solution to his difficulty – and with a little invention, the ‘espresso machine’ was born.
The idea of the espresso machine was that by using steam and boiling water, forced at a high pressure through the coffee grounds, the coffee would brew quicker. In 1901, Mr Bezzera patented his ‘fast coffee’ machine and thus the term espresso was born. Unfortunately for Mr Bezzera, he did not experiment enough with his new design. The coffee his machine made was certainly faster, but it was also bitter. He decided to sell his patent after he found it difficult to market.
Desiderio Pavoni bought the patent in 1905, and was quick to discover why the coffee was bitter. He found that it was all to do with the high pressure and steam, and so he investigated different temperatures. He concluded that brewing at the temperature of 195 degrees, at a pressure of 9 BAR, gave the best coffee. This is the temperature and pressure that most coffee makers tend to use today.
Mr Pavoni was the first manufacturer of espresso machines, and they quickly spread across coffee bars. Other manufacturers caught onto the idea, and soon many businesses sprang up. But it was not until the mid 1940s that expresso machines as we now know them were created. The company Gaggia invented a new machine which used pressurized water rather than steam, and was cheap and easy enough to be used more widely. By the 1950s companies were producing machines that were capable of being operated in the home.
Interestingly, although the large chain Starbucks opened in 1971, it was not until 1985 that they installed their first espresso machine. In the present day, espresso machines are a common fact of life and have evolved to be much more intelligent than their earlier predecessors. While some changes are simple, it is now possible to purchase an espresso machine that will grind the coffee beans, whip the milk into a froth and pour out the coffee, all at the touch of a button. Enjoy!
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