Espresso and Its Beginnings

A popular legend says that around 850AD, an Ethiopian shepherd noticed his stock to be more active after eating the red berries of a small shrub. He tried some himself and noticed his remarkable surge in energy.

In 1475, the world’s first café opened in Constantinople. It’s been said that Turkish law allowed women to divorce their husbands if they were not provided with a daily cup of coffee. For years, the Muslim world had the monopoly of the heavenly brew. Their love of the potent black liquid led the governments to forbid coffee from being transported out of their own territories.

Coffee in Europe: 1600s

It was during the early 1600s that coffee reached Europe. Considered by Christians to be the Devil’s drink, when coffee was introduced to Italians by Venetian traders, Pope Clement VIII was urged by his advisors to outlaw the imported coffee. But then the pontiff, Pope Clement VIII decided to taste the brew before passing judgment. He loved it!  

Luigi Bezzera: Inventor

Espresso was developed in Milan, Italy in the early 20th century. In 1903, Luigi Bezzera, owner of a manufacturing business in Milan, became frustrated for the long period of time it took him to brew a cup of coffee. Whilst tinkering in his factory, he discovered that by using trapped steam to force water through the grounds, then pressing out the valuable liquor, he was able to dramatically reduce the time he had through the grounds, then pressing out the valuable liquor, he was also able to immensely reduce the time he had to wait for his coffee.

Espresso and the First Espresso Machine

Bezzera, on his first-time invention, built the first espresso machine, when he patented that same year. By opening a valve, steam pushed hot water through a filter tightly packed with coffee, transforming it into a potent, black shot. Bezzera called his new method “espresso,” the Italian term for “pressed out.”           

Espresso, often pronounced as “expresso,” is a concentrated coffee brewed by forcing hot water under high pressure through coffee that has been ground to a consistency between extremely fine and powder.   

Espresso Machine Evolution

Espresso machines continued to evolve until Achille Gaggia, considered the patron saint of baristas, patented the first truly modern machine in 1938. He designed a spring-loaded piston to push the hot water through the grounds with much greater force than previous models. His streamlined metal beauty produced the perfect espresso, complete with crema, the caramel-colored foam.   

It is not clear as to who should be credited for the addition of hot frothy milk, but during the time between Bezzera and Gaggia somebody surely realized that steam could also be used. The development gave rise to the modern-day café latte (a shot or two of espresso topped up with steamed milk), cappuccino (equal amounts of espresso, steamed milk and frothed milk), and macchiato (espresso with a small amount of steamed milk.)

The Spring Piston Level Machine 

Until the mid-1940s the beverage was produced solely with steam pressure. The invention of the spring piston lever machine and its subsequent commercial success changed espresso into what it is popular known today.

Starbucks and Espresso Today  

In 1971, Starbucks opened its first store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. In 2004, a mug of coffee standing 169 centimeters and containing 3002 liters of café latte is unveiled in New York City.

As a result of the high-pressure brewing process, all of the flavors and chemicals in a typical cup of coffee are concentrated. For this reason, espresso lends itself as the base for other favorite drinks, such as lattes, cappuccinos, mochas and macchiatos.