Eighty years ago on September 5, 1938, Achille Gaggia applied for a patent (no. 365726) for the first modern steam-less coffee machine, to be used commercially in his coffee bar.
This was the birth of one of Italy's most iconic brands of coffee machines, Gaggia Milano.
The machine forced water to flow over the coffee grounds at a high pressure, producing the crema that is unique to espresso.
The size of the shot was also standardised.
Thus the modern age of espresso began.
Espresso as a beverage dates back to 1901, when Luigi Bezzera patented the world's first machine, a giant steam driven brewer with two group heads called the Tipo Gigante.
But it was Gaggia’s invention of the steam-free machine which earned him the honorary title of the “Father of the Modern Espresso Machine”.
