When was the first espresso machine made?

The history of the espresso machine is often simplified into a single invention, but it was actually a decades-long evolution driven by the need for speed in the bustling cafes of late 19th-century Italy. Angelo Moriondo, a hotel and restaurant owner in Turin, sought to solve the inefficiency of traditional brewing, which could take up to ten minutes per cup. His 1884 patent, 'New steam machinery for the economic and instantaneous confection of coffee beverage,' utilized a large, vertical boiler to push steam and water through coffee grounds. Crucially, this was a bulk-brewing system designed for high-volume service at exhibitions, not the individual shot-by-shot extraction we recognize today. The machine was notoriously difficult to operate and often produced bitter, over-extracted coffee due to the lack of precise pressure control. The true shift toward the modern espresso format began in 1901 with Luigi Bezzera, a mechanic who introduced the portafilter and grouphead, allowing for individual servings. Desiderio Pavoni later acquired Bezzera’s patent in 1903, adding a steam wand and pressure release valve, which finally made the machine commercially viable. For the producer, this evolution was transformative; it shifted coffee from a slow, artisanal ritual to a high-velocity commodity, eventually creating the massive global demand for high-quality, consistent green coffee that sustains modern farming communities today. The misconception that Moriondo created the 'modern' espresso machine ignores the vital mechanical leap from bulk-brewing to the single-serve portafilter system.