The history of espresso: from a Turin patent to the pod
By the Siag team ·
The espresso we know today is less than 150 years old. Here are the milestones that made it what it is.
1884: Angelo Moriondo
In Turin, Angelo Moriondo patented a steam-driven machine that brewed coffee in bulk for the customers of his bar.
1901: Luigi Bezzera
Luigi Bezzera applied for patents on a machine designed to make a single cup quickly, starting in 1901. The word "espresso" is usually explained as a coffee made on request, and fast.
Early 1900s: Desiderio Pavoni
Desiderio Pavoni bought Bezzera's patent and began to produce the machines under the name La Pavoni. Espresso started to spread through the bars of Italy.
1930s and 1940s: Achille Gaggia
Achille Gaggia developed a lever machine that pushed the water through the coffee under higher pressure, and patented his spring-lever design in 1947. He is widely credited with the golden foam we now call crema.
The 1990s: the ESE pod
In the early 1990s the ESE standard introduced the 44 mm paper pod, a pre-measured dose that any ESE machine can use, and in 1998 a consortium was founded to protect it. It brought the bar espresso to the kitchen.
