Google has created a special Google Doodle to commemorate the 171st birthday of Angelo Moriondo, who is generally recognised as the creator of the espresso machine.
On June 6, 1851, Angelo Moriondo was born in Turin, Italy, into an entrepreneurial family that was always developing new ventures.
In order to produce alcohol, his grandpa established a business that was then passed down to his son (Angelo’s father), who later went on to build the well-known chocolate firm “Moriondo and Gariglio” with his brother and cousin.
On its Google Doodle website, Google claims that coffee was once the most popular commodity in 19th-century Italy. Unfortunately, the brewing processes made it necessary for customers to wait more than five minutes for their drink.
Here comes Angelo Moriondo, the inventor of the first-ever espresso machine. The Doodle for today marks his 171st birthday.
Moriondo bought the Grand-Hotel Ligure in the city’s Piazza Carlo Felice and the American Bar in the Galleria Nazionale of Via Roma, continuing a family tradition.
Despite the fact that coffee is quite popular in Italy, customers found it inconvenient to wait for their coffee to boil.
Moriondo reasoned that by brewing numerous cups of coffee at once, he would be able to serve more clients more quickly, giving him the advantage over his competitors.
Moriondo showed his espresso machine at the General Expo of Turin in 1884, where it won the bronze medal, after closely overseeing a mechanic he hired to make it.
A large boiler supplied warm water to a bed of coffee grinds in the machine, while a second boiler produced steam to flash the coffee bed and finish the brew.
A. Moriondo’s approach was described in a patent for “New Steam Machinery for the Economic and Instantaneous Confection of Coffee Beverage.” In the years that followed, Moriondo proceeded to enhance and patent his creation.