Espresso History: The history of espresso and espresso machines
The history of espresso coffee starts in 1901. An Italian named Luigi Bezzera, an owner of a manufacturing company in Milan, sought out a way to reduce the coffee break times of his employees.
Bezzera developed a coffee machine that used pressure in the brewing process which brewed coffee much faster than normal methods. Thus, he named is coffee machine "espresso" which is Italian for "pressed-out."
Bezzera's espresso machine contained a broiler and four divisions that used various sized filters for coffee. Pressure was created with the boiling water and steam, forcing it through the coffee filled filters and then into the cup.
In 1905, Desidero Pavoni developed an espresso machine based on Bezzera's design. The United States received its first La Pavoni espresso machine in 1927 at Regio's in New York City.
There were some disadvantages to Bezzera's original design. Espresso tended to have a burnt flavor that was caused by boiling water being forced through the coffee during the brewing process. This changed when Cremonesi developed the piston pump for his espresso machine in 1938. The piston pump controlled the temperature of the water forcing only hot water during the brewing process. The new design was first used at Gaggia's Coffee Bar in 1946. The coffee had a layer of foam on top, also known as, "crema."
M. Faema developed the electric pump in 1961. This pump replaced the manually operated piston in older espresso machines.
