Who was the first person who made espresso?

Answer 1

There's no way to be certain who the first person to make espresso coffee might've been, but we do know the Milanese, Luigi Bezzera, filed the first patent application for an espresso machine in Milan in 1901; the rights to his patent were bought in 1903 by Desiderio Pavoni, whose company began manufacturing espresso machines - the Ideale - in 1905. These machines made a cup of espresso in 45 seconds.

In 1927 the first La Pavoni espresso machine was bought by New York cafe, Reggio's; the machine is still on display there today.

Coffee bar owner, Giovanni Gaggia, completely changed espresso-making with his new steamless coffee machine. In 1938 he filed a patent for the machine, which he used in his business. By 1948 he had formed his Gaggia company in Milan, manufacturing commercial espresso machines and, in 1977, began producing domestic models. All Gaggia's coffee machines are still made at the Robecco sul Naviglio premises in Milan.

The term 'espresso' has been in use in English since 1945; it comes from the Italian term 'caffè expresso', which describes strong black coffee made by forcing very hot water under pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Any variety of beans and any level of roasting can be used for espresso, though many espresso-drinkers have a preference for darker roasts.

Italy doesn't grow coffee; it arrived in there from the Muslim world - the world's first recorded coffee shop opened in Constantinople in 1457 - and the Venetians began drinking coffee, Turkish-style, in the late 1500s. From Venice, coffee-drinking spread throughout Europe, becoming socially acceptable from 1600, after the Pope, Clement VIII, declared it suitable for Christians to drink. Forty-five years later, the first dedicated coffee house in Europe opened in Italy. Later, London opened its own coffee shop in 1652, then Paris in 1672, and Berlin in 1721.

America was way ahead of Europe, drinking the Muslim brew since Captain John Smith brought coffee to Jamestown in 1607. Interestingly, the Boston Tea Party was planned in the Green Dragon, a Boston coffee house. Following, but presumably not because of, the Boston Tea Party in 1773, Americans began switching their favor from tea to coffee.

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