To celebrate Angelo Moriondo’s 171st birthday—generally regarded as the inventor of the espresso machine—Google has developed a special Google Doodle.
Angelo Moriondo was born on June 6, 1851, in Turin, Italy, into an ambitious family that was always creating new businesses.
His grandfather started a business to make alcohol, which was eventually passed down to his son (Angelo’s father), who later went on to found the renowned chocolate company “Moriondo and Gariglio” with his brother and cousin.
Google asserts that coffee used to be the most popular good in 19th-century Italy on its Google Doodle website. Unfortunately, because of the brewing procedures, consumers had to wait more than five minutes for their drink.
The man who created the first espresso machine is here: Angelo Moriondo. He turns 171 in the Doodle for today.
Moriondo carried on a family heritage by purchasing the Grand-Hotel Ligure in the Piazza Carlo Felice of the city and the American Bar in the Galleria Nazionale of Via Roma. Although coffee is highly popular in Italy, consumers found waiting for their coffee to boil to be difficult.
Moriondo reasoned that he could serve more customers more rapidly by preparing many cups of coffee at once, allowing him the advantages over his competitors.
After closely monitoring a mechanic he hired to manufacture it, Moriondo displayed his espresso machine at the General Expo of Turin in 1884, where it earned the bronze medal.
In the machine, a bed of coffee grinds received heated water from a big boiler, and steam was created by a second boiler to flash the coffee bed and complete the brew.
In a patent for “New Steam Machinery for the Economic and Instantaneous Confection of Coffee Beverage,” A. Moriondo’s method was detailed. Moriondo continued to improve and patent his invention throughout the years.