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Gaggia Espresso – A Trendsetter in Italian Coffee
When Achille Gaggia applied for a patent for his coffee machine in 1938, he could not have foreseen how popular the Gaggia Espresso maker would become. While working as a barman at his coffee bar, he found that the flavor of the coffee coming out of the machine was bitter due to the steam scalding the coffee grounds.
The technician attempted to remedy this by ensuring that the beans were ground evenly. He developed and patented an idea for making coffee (which later came to be known as Gaggia Espresso) by passing water through it using a screw piston. His subsequent death resulted in the patent being passed on to his wife Rosetta Scorza, who tried to approach several manufacturers to interest them in using this technology for making coffee machines. However, they were not interested. It is still unclear as to whether she shared the technology with Gaggia, but in September of 1938, he applied for a patent for a machine that used a screw piston lever and this saw the birth of the Gaggia espresso machines.
The Gaggia espresso maker underwent several transformations along the way. The initial screw piston caused a problem due to the water becoming too hot and despite several attempts and alterations to rectify this, the problem with leaks continued. Then finally, after the Second World War, he developed an up and down lever that was perfect for controlling the time for which the hot water passed at high pressure over the coffee.
The Gaggia espresso machines soon went commercial. In 1948, Gaggia S.P.A was set up for the manufacture of coffee machines. However, it only became available to households in 1977 with the launch of the Baby Gaggia. This model was considered the perfect machine for a small home. The rise in sales of the home model resulted in this coffee machines for home use becoming the primary focus of the company.
Even today these machines are popular the world over and reputed for their quality and reliability. Over the years, the technology has evolved from manual lever-based machines to automatic Gaggia espresso machines that work at the push of a button.
To this day, Gaggia espresso machines are manufactured in the Robecco sul Naviglio plant based in Milan (now owned by the Saeco International Group that is part of the Dutch giant Philips) where the old tradition of coffee is constantly being evolved with the use of modern technology to produce the best cup of espresso. Now, Gaggia espresso is a pioneer that has made Italian coffee famous.