If you were to ask someone on the street who invented the espresso machine, you might get a few different answers. Perhaps they’d mention Luigi Bezzera or Desiderio Pavoni, names often associated with the early commercial machines. But the story begins earlier, with a man whose contribution is the bedrock of the entire espresso culture yet remains largely in the shadows. His name was Angelo Moriondo.
While he never built a global company or became a household name, Moriondo’s brilliant flash of ingenuity in a Turin workshop set in motion a revolution. His story isn’t one of mass production and worldwide fame, but of a singular patent that captured a simple, powerful idea: coffee, made quickly, one cup at a time, under pressure. This is the untold story of the quiet inventor who gave the world its first espresso.
The Turin Native and His Family’s Hospitality Business
Angelo Moriondo was born in 1851 into a family of entrepreneurs in Turin, Italy. His family had deep roots in the hospitality industry, owning two established businesses: the Grand-Hotel Ligure in the city’s Piazza Carlo Felice and the American Bar in the Galleria Nazionale of Via Roma. Growing up in this environment, Moriondo was intimately familiar with the rhythms and challenges of a busy café.
The primary pain point he observed was speed. The standard brewing methods of the era were slow, requiring several minutes to prepare a single cup of coffee. During peak hours, like the frantic intermission of a nearby theater, customers would be left waiting, leading to frustration and lost sales. Moriondo, a man who understood both mechanics and business, saw this inefficiency not just as an annoyance, but as a problem waiting for an engineering solution.
A Patent That Changed Everything
In 1884, Moriondo presented his solution at the General Expo of Turin. That same year, on May 16, he was granted patent number 33/256 for a “new steam machinery for the economic and instantaneous confection of coffee beverage.” The patent was co-titled to a mechanic named Martina, who likely handled the physical construction.
So, how did Moriondo’s machine work? It was a monumental contraption by today’s standards. His innovation was a system that used a large boiler to force hot water and steam through a bed of coffee grounds, and then incorporated a second boiler that would push a jet of steam to cool the coffee down instantly as it hit the cup, theoretically creating the perfect serving temperature. Most importantly, it was designed to brew multiple batches of coffee in quick succession, with different groups being used simultaneously. This was the genesis of the “fast coffee” concept—the espresso.
Why Isn’t His Name More Famous?
Given the monumental nature of his invention, it’s natural to wonder why Moriondo isn’t as celebrated as his successors. The answer lies in his intentions and the era’s business landscape. Moriondo was not an industrialist looking to manufacture and sell machines to the world. He was a businessman who saw his invention as a competitive advantage for his own establishments.
He guarded his invention closely, choosing to build only a few machines by hand for use in his own bars. He never commercialized the patent on a large scale. While he did present it at exhibitions and even won a bronze medal, the invention remained a localized marvel. It was only after his patent lapsed that other inventors, like Bezzera, took the core concept, refined it (most notably by adding a portafilter and removing the cumbersome cooling mechanism), and began the journey toward the modern espresso machine we know today.
The Legacy Woven Into Every Cup
Though his name faded from common knowledge, Angelo Moriondo’s legacy is inextricably woven into the fabric of daily life, especially in Italy. His fundamental idea—using pressure to brew coffee rapidly—is the very soul of espresso. Every café, every barista, and every coffee lover who enjoys a rich, concentrated shot in a matter of seconds is participating in the vision he first brought to life.
His story is a poignant reminder that innovation isn’t always about global domination. Sometimes, it’s a quiet man in his workshop, solving a practical problem for his customers. He may not have mass-produced his machine, but he produced the spark. The brilliant, pressurized spark that ignited a global passion.
Remembering the Father of Espresso
Today, efforts are being made to restore Angelo Moriondo to his rightful place in history. Coffee historians and enthusiasts are bringing his story to light, ensuring he is recognized as the originator. The next time you stand at a coffee bar and watch the barista pull a shot, take a moment to think about the 19th-century Italian gentleman who looked at a slow coffee pot and imagined something faster, something stronger, something better.
His invention was more than just a machine; it was the birth of a ritual. It created the space for the coffee break, the social hub of the espresso bar, and the entire culture that surrounds this beloved beverage. Angelo Moriondo’s story may have been untold for a long time, but the result of his genius is enjoyed by millions every single day.