Google pays tribute to espresso machine inventor Angelo Moriondo
Do you love your espresso so much that you might want to thank the person who created the machine? Well, you cannot thank him in person, but you can surely celebrate his legacy by educating yourself about the ingenious espresso machine. Today's Google Doodle celebrates the creator of espresso coffee machines Angelo Moriondo. He patented the earliest known espresso machine in 1884.
The doodle artwork was first hand painted using just coffee
Google Doodle is celebrating Moriondo's 171st birthday today with a GIF. The doodle artwork was completely made using coffee by Doodler Olivia When. Moriondo was from an entrepreneurial family and started his own business with two establishments. Back in the 19th century in Italy, people had to wait over five minutes for the coffee to brew before getting their cuppa.
Patent of the machine
The time spent waiting for coffee was an inconvenience. Moriondo soon figured that making multiple cups of coffee at once would help him serve more customers. He first displayed his invention at the General Expo of Turin in 1884 and won the bronze medal. A patent was awarded for six years. His machine used a combination of steam and boiling water to brew coffee.
He never produced the machine on a large scale
The machine was actually built by a mechanic, Martina, who worked under Moriondo's direct supervision. Over the years, gradually, Moriondo improved his invention, patenting each improvement. He never took the invention to industrial-scale production and kept a few hand-built machines in his establishments. Ian Bersten, a historian registering the history of coffee, is the first researcher to discover this patent.
Working of the machine
Moriondo's machine had a large boiler that pushed hot water through a bed of ground coffee and a second boiler that produced steam and flashed the bed of coffee to complete the brew. The invention was confirmed by an international patent after he registered the machine in Paris on October 23, 1885. Unlike the espresso machines today, this one was a bulk brewer.
