The Italian Espresso
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| illy X7.1 iperEspresso Machine $295 |
The increasingly popular home espresso or single barista machines, as pictured (above), were an evolution of the earlier larger machines patented in 1884 by Angelo Moriondo in Turino, Italy. The "cafeé espresso" is a 30ml perfected cup of coffee introduced in 1906 in Milan, as featured in the Smithsonian Magazine (excerpted here):
For those of you who, like me, are more than a few years out of science class, nine atmospheres of pressure is the equivalent to nine times the amount of pressure normally exerted by the earth’s atmosphere. As you might be able to tell from the precision of Illy’s description, good espresso is good chemistry. It’s all about precision and consistency and finding the perfect balance between grind, temperature, and pressure. Espresso happens at the molecular level. This is why technology has been such an important part of the historical development of espresso and a key to the ongoing search for the perfect shot. While espresso was never designed per se, the machines –or Macchina– that make our cappuccinos and lattes have a history that stretches back more than a century.
But that is not then end of the evolution of the Macchina, not by far. The next revolution in espresso machine happend, appropriately in the revolutionary 1960s when Gaggia’s piston machine was surpassed by the Faema E61. Invented by Ernesto Valente in 1961, the E61 introduced many more innovations and espresso firsts. Rather than relying on the manual force of the barista, it used a motorized pump to provides the nine atmospheric bars of pressure needed for brewing espresso. The pump draws tap water directly from a plumbing line, sending it through a spiral copper pipe inside a boiler before being shot through the ground coffee. A heat exchanger keeps the water to an ideal brewing temperature. With its technical innovations, smaller size, versatility and streamlined stainless steel design, the E61 was an immediate success and is rightly included in the pantheon of the most influential coffee machines of history.
There are surely a few other steps along the way, but these developments track the larger commercial history of the espresso. Over more than a century, the espresso machine has been drastically improved, with electrical components, computerized measurements, and portable pneumatics. But as with the finest objects of design, science and technology is not enough. There is an art to the espresso as well. The talent of the barista is as important as the quality of the beans and the efficiency of the machine. Indeed, it is said that a good espresso depends on the four M’s: Macchina, the espresso machine; Macinazione, the proper grinding of a beans –a uniform grind between fine and powdery– which is ideally done moments brewing the drink; Miscela, the coffee blend and the roast, and Mano is the skilled hand of the barista, because even with the finest beans and the most advanced equipment, the shot depends on the touch and style of the barista. When combined properly, these four Ms yield a drink that is at once bold and elegant, with a light, sweet foam crema floating over the coffee. A complex drink with a complex history.
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