Google Doodle pays tribute to Angelo Moriondo, inventor of the espresso machine
The Google Doodle on Monday is celebrating Angelo Moriondo, inventor of the first known espresso machine, on the occasion of his 171st birth anniversary.
Moriondo was considered as the godfather of espresso machines. He was credited for patenting the earliest known espresso machine in 1884. The doodle features a GIF of the first known expresso machine and was created by guest artist Olivia When. It was painted with coffee.
Moriondo was born on June 6, 1851, in Turin, Italy to a family of entrepreneurs. Moriondo’s grandfather founded a liquor production company. Moriondo’s father then handled the company. Later, he himself built the popular chocolate company, “Moriondo and Gariglio” alongside his brother and cousin.
Monday morning coffee >>>>
Start off the week strong with today’s #GoogleDoodle celebrating the birthday of Angelo Moriondo, the Italian inventor who patented world’s first known espresso machine ☕
—> https://t.co/6N1ScTtD4a pic.twitter.com/0m5MOwwpeS
— Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) June 6, 2022
Following in his family’s footsteps, Moriondo purchased two establishments: the Grand-Hotel Ligure in the city-center Piazza Carlo Felice and the American Bar in the Galleria Nazionale of Via Roma.
Before Moriondo’s invention, the customers would have to wait for a long time to get their drinks. Unlike true espresso machines, Moriondo’s invention was a bulk brewer – which helped him cut his time in coffee making significantly.
“Moriondo figured that making multiple cups of coffee at once would allow him to serve more customers at a faster pace, giving him an edge over his competitors,” Google stated on its site.
His machine used a combination of steam and boiling water to brew coffee. It consisted of a large boiler that pushed heated water through a bed of coffee grounds, with a second boiler producing steam that would flash the bed of coffee and complete the brew.
After directly supervising a mechanic he enlisted to build his invention, Moriondo presented his espresso machine at the General Expo of Turin in 1884, where it was awarded the bronze medal.
He received a patent titled, “New steam machinery for the economic and instantaneous confection of coffee beverage, method ‘A. Moriondo’.” The following year, he continued to work on his machine to make further improvements.
