The History of Espresso: How Italy Invented the Coffee You Drink Today

Most people who drink an espresso every morning don't know that they are repeating a gesture invented in Turin in 1884, in a context that had nothing to do with gastronomy. Espresso was not born out of a passionate love for coffee—it was born out of an industrial problem: 19th-century Italian cafes were wasting too much time preparing each cup individually, and customers were getting impatient.

It was this constraint of speed—not a quest for sensory perfection—that gave birth to espresso. An invention born of necessity, which over time became a national art form, and then a global benchmark. And whose logical evolution, a century and a half later, is the portable coffee machine you are holding in your hand.

Angelo Moriondo and the first steam machine, 1884

The name Angelo Moriondo is relatively little known today outside of circles of coffee history enthusiasts—yet it was he who, in 1884, filed the first patent for a steam-powered coffee machine capable of preparing several cups simultaneously in a short time. Moriondo was a Turin entrepreneur who owned several establishments in northern Italy, including the Grand Hotel Ligure and the Caffè degli Americani in Turin.

His machine was not yet an espresso in the sense we understand it today—it produced coffee by infusion under steam pressure, closer to a long coffee than a tight ristretto. But the founding principle was there: using steam to accelerate and standardize extraction, rather than letting water percolate slowly by gravity.

Moriondo never really marketed his invention—he used it exclusively in his own establishments, without seeking to turn it into an industrial business. It was two other Italians, a few decades later, who would transform this principle into a mass-market product.

Luigi Bezzera and Desiderio Pavoni, the beginning of commercialization — 1901-1905

It was Luigi Bezzera, a Milanese industrialist, who filed an improved patent for Moriondo's machine in 1901—with innovations that brought the result closer to true espresso: higher pressure, a shorter extraction time, and above all, the ability to prepare one cup at a time rather than in batches.

Bezzera lacked the means to market his invention on a large scale. It was Desiderio Pavoni who bought his patent in 1903 and founded the brand La Pavoni—still in existence today—to manufacture and distribute these machines on an industrial scale. In 1906, at the Milan International Exposition, the espresso machine was presented to the general public for the first time. Coffee prepared in a few seconds under pressure sparked immediate fascination.

The word "espresso" itself appeared during this period—it refers both to the speed of preparation ("express") and to the idea of a coffee prepared "expressly" for a single person, on order.

The real revolution: Achille Gaggia and the crema, 1948

While Moriondo, Bezzera, and Pavoni laid the foundations, it was Achille Gaggia who, in 1948, achieved what coffee historians consider the true revolution of modern espresso. His machine no longer used steam, but a manually operated piston to force hot water through the ground coffee at a much higher pressure than previous machines—about 8 to 10 bars.

It is this superior pressure that produced the crema for the first time—that golden foam on the surface of the espresso, the result of the emulsification of coffee oils under high pressure. The crema changes everything: it retains the aromas, modifies the mouthfeel, and gives the espresso that depth of flavor that radically distinguishes it from all other methods of coffee preparation.

Gaggia popularized the crema by calling it "caffè crema" in his early communications—a name that quickly disappeared, but the phenomenon remained and became the essential signature of a well-extracted, true espresso.

Espresso as Italian national culture — from the bar to the daily ritual

In the decades that followed, espresso gradually moved from the status of a technical novelty to become the central element of a social ritual deeply rooted in Italian culture. The "caffè" at the bar—drunk standing up, in a few sips, while exchanging a few words with the barista—became a structuring moment of the Italian day, repeated two, three, sometimes five times a day.

This model of fast, social, and ritualized consumption gradually spread to the rest of Europe starting in the 1970s-1980s, first in France and Spain, then gradually across the entire continent. The rise of coffee shop chains in the 1990s-2000s—Starbucks in the lead, followed by dozens of local brands—exported this model globally by adapting it to local tastes.

From bar espresso to portable espresso — the logical continuation of a history

The history of espresso has been, since 1884, a history of constraints transformed into innovations. Moriondo wanted to serve his customers faster—he invented the steam machine. Gaggia wanted better extraction—he invented the high-pressure piston and created the crema. Engineers in the 1990s wanted espresso at home—they invented compact domestic machines and capsules.

The portable coffee machine of 2026is the direct continuation of this trajectory. The constraint that gave birth to it is the same as in 1884: people want good coffee, but mobility and time constraints do not always allow it. The technical answer is different—a lithium-ion battery and a USB-C extraction system rather than a steam boiler—but the logic is identical.

Every espresso prepared with a portable machine is, in a way, the continuation of a story that began in a Turin cafe nearly a century and a half ago.

Conclusion

Espresso is one of the few food inventions whose origin, successive inventors, and development trajectory are precisely known—from Moriondo's steam machine in 1884 to Gaggia's crema in 1948, to the battery-powered portable machines of 2026. Each step in this history answers the same fundamental question: how to make quality coffee accessible, in increasingly varied and less constrained conditions?

The Velmora™ is the 2026 answer to this question—an espresso with crema, in 45 seconds, without a plug, without a barista, without a bar counter.

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FAQ — History of espresso

Who invented espresso? Angelo Moriondo, a Turin entrepreneur, filed the first patent for a steam-powered coffee machine in 1884. Luigi Bezzera and Desiderio Pavoni perfected and marketed the invention in 1901-1905. Achille Gaggia achieved the decisive revolution in 1948 by inventing the high-pressure piston that creates the crema.

Where does the word "espresso" come from? The term appeared at the beginning of the 20th century in Italy and refers both to the speed of preparation ("express", "fast") and to the idea of a coffee prepared "expressly" for a single person on immediate order.

What is crema and why is it important? Crema is the golden foam on the surface of the espresso, produced by the emulsification of coffee oils under high pressure during extraction. It retains the aromas, enriches the texture, and distinguishes a well-extracted espresso from a simple strong coffee. Its invention is attributed to Achille Gaggia in 1948.

When did espresso become popular in France? Espresso culture gradually spread in France starting in the 1970s-1980s, driven by the influence of Italian culture and the rise of Parisian brasseries equipped with professional machines. The rise of coffee shops in the 2000s then accelerated this popularization.

Does a portable coffee machine make a real espresso like at the bar? High-pressure portable coffee machines produce a crema and an extraction that are very close to a bar espresso, especially with fresh, quality coffee. The difference from a €3,000 professional machine is perceptible to a trained barista—for the majority of consumers, the result is perfectly satisfactory.

Why is espresso drunk so quickly in Italy? The Italian tradition of espresso "at the counter" is linked to its very history—a drink designed to be prepared and consumed quickly, in a social context of a lively neighborhood cafe. Standing at the counter for a few sips is a cultural practice that dates back to the industrial origins of the drink, designed to serve a hurried clientele quickly.