Espresso

The story of espresso begins in Turin in 1884, when Angelo Moriondo filed the first patent for a machine that used steam pressure to force water through ground coffee. Moriondo never commercialized his invention widely, but the idea endured. In 1901, Luigi Bezzera improved the design with a removable portafilter that could brew individual cups on demand, and in 1903 Desiderio Pavoni acquired Bezzera's patent to refine and manufacture it.

Pavoni and Bezzera unveiled their machine at the 1906 Milan International Exposition under a banner reading "Caffè Espresso" — effectively creating the first espresso bar. La Pavoni dominated the market for over a decade, but it was Achille Gaggia who, in 1947, patented the lever-driven piston that replaced steam with mechanical pressure, producing the crema-topped shot that defines modern espresso.

Third-wave specialty coffee reframed espresso from a dark, bitter commodity into a showcase for terroir and processing. Today, the 9-bar standard that Gaggia's innovation established remains the foundation of every shot pulled in every café in the world — a direct line from a Turinese patent office to the cup in your hand.