Espresso machine

An espresso machine brews coffee by forcing pressurized water near boiling point through a "puck" of ground coffee and a filter in order to produce a thick, concentrated coffee called espresso. The first machine for making espresso was built and patented in 1884 by Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy. An improved design was patented on April 28, 1903, by Luigi Bezzera. Patent no: US726793 A, which was bought by the founder of the "La Pavoni" company which from 1905 produced espresso machines commercially on a small scale in Milan. Multiple machine designs have been created to produce espresso. Several machines share some common elements, such as a grouphead and a portafilter. An espresso machine may also have a steam wand which is used to steam and froth liquids, to include milk, for coffee drinks such as cappuccino and caffe latte.

Espresso machines may be steam-driven, piston-driven, pump-driven, or air-pump-driven. Machines may be manual or automatic.

Moka pots, also known as stove top espresso makers, are similar to espresso machines in that they brew under pressure and the resulting brew shares some similarities, but in other respects differ. As such, their characterization as "espresso" machines is at times contentious, but due to their use of pressure and steam for brewing, comparable to all espresso prior to the 1948 Gaggia, they are accepted within broader uses of the term, but distinguished from standard modern espresso machines.

The first machine for making espresso was built and patented by Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, who demonstrated a working example at the Turin General Exposition of 1884. He was granted patent no. 33/256 dated 16 May 1884 (according to the “Bollettino delle privative industriali del Regno d’Italia”, 2nd Series, Volume 15, Year 1884, pages 635 – 655). A certificate of industrial title was awarded to Mr. Moriondo Angelo, of Turin, for an invention called “New steam machinery for the economic and instantaneous confection of coffee beverage, method ‘A. Moriondo’, Plate CXL".

In 1901 Luigi Bezzera of Milan patented improvements to the machine. Bezzera was not an engineer, but a mechanic. He patented a number of improvements to the existing machine, the first of which was applied for on the 19th of December 1901. It was titled “Innovations in the machinery to prepare and immediately serve coffee beverage” (Patent No. 153/94, 61707, granted on the 5th of June 1902). In 1905 the patent was bought by Desiderio Pavoni who founded the “La Pavoni” company and began to produce the machine commercially (one a day) in a small workshop in Via Parini in Milan.

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Wikipedia