Who Invented the Espresso Machine? From Moriondo to Gaggia

Who invented the espresso machine? There is no single name, and that is the honest answer. Angelo Moriondo of Turin patented the first known steam machine for making coffee quickly in 1884, but it brewed in bulk. Luigi Bezzera of Milan made single servings possible with a patent filed in 1901, Desiderio Pavoni turned that design into a product, Achille Gaggia’s lever gave us crema after the Second World War, and the Faema E61 of 1961 created the pump machine most cafés still resemble.

So the espresso machine was not invented in one flash of genius. It was improved, step by step, by engineers and café owners in northern Italy over about 80 years. Here is who did what, and how each step changed the drink in your cup.

Key takeaways

• 1884: Angelo Moriondo patents a steam machine for “instantaneous” coffee in Turin. It is the earliest known patent of its kind, but it made coffee in bulk, not by the cup.
• 1901–1906: Luigi Bezzera files a patent for individual servings; Desiderio Pavoni buys it in 1903 and starts selling machines in 1905. Both show their machines at the 1906 Milan exposition.
• 1938–1948: Achille Gaggia patents a piston system, then develops a spring-lever machine that pushes water through the coffee at far higher pressure. The result: the first espresso with crema, sold from 1948.
• 1961: The Faema E61, introduced by Ernesto Valente, replaces muscle with an electric pump at about 9 bar and becomes the template for modern machines.

In this article

1. The short answer: four inventors, not one
2. Angelo Moriondo and the 1884 patent
3. Bezzera and Pavoni: espresso by the cup
4. The steam era: why early espresso tasted burnt
5. Achille Gaggia and the birth of crema
6. The Faema E61: the pump takes over
7. Espresso machine timeline
8. What this history means for your espresso at home
9. FAQ

The short answer: four inventors, not one

If you need a single answer for a quiz, it is Angelo Moriondo, who holds the earliest known patent for a machine of this type (1884). But a historian would add three more names, because Moriondo’s machine could not make what we now call espresso:

Angelo Moriondo and the 1884 patent

Angelo Moriondo (1851–1914) came from a Turin family of liqueur and chocolate makers, and he owned the Grand-Hotel Ligure on Piazza Carlo Felice and the American Bar in the Galleria Nazionale on Via Roma. On 16 May 1884 he was granted a six-year patent for “new steam machinery for the economic and instantaneous confection of coffee beverage.” He showed the machine at Turin’s General Exposition that same year and won a bronze medal.

The machine used a large boiler to push heated water through a bed of coffee, with steam used to finish the brew. It controlled steam and water separately, which is why historians see it as an ancestor of the café machine. Its limitation was big: it brewed coffee in quantity, not one cup at a time for each customer. Moriondo kept improving and patenting his invention, and registered it in Paris in 1885, but he never mass-produced it. He built a handful of machines and kept them in his own establishments, almost as a showpiece. Google marked his 171st birthday with a Doodle on 6 June 2022.

Bezzera and Pavoni: espresso by the cup

Luigi Bezzera’s single servings (1901)

The next leap came from Milan. On 19 December 1901, the mechanic Luigi Bezzera filed a patent for improvements to the coffee machine, granted on 5 June 1902. His design brewed coffee in individual portions, made “expressly” for the customer in front of the counter, and is credited with the first removable portafilter: the handle-and-basket you still lock into a machine today. Faster service and lower costs made the idea commercially attractive. Bezzera, however, had little interest in the selling side.

Desiderio Pavoni turns it into a business (1903–1905)

That is where Desiderio Pavoni came in. In 1903 he bought Bezzera’s patents, added a mechanism to release pressure, and founded La Pavoni, which began selling machines in 1905. Production was tiny at first, about one machine a day in a workshop on Via Parini in Milan. Pavoni’s first model was called the Ideale. These are generally regarded as the first commercial espresso machines.

The 1906 Milan exposition

In 1906 Milan hosted an international exposition celebrating the new Simplon railway tunnel, and both Bezzera and Pavoni showed and sold their machines there. Bezzera’s stand presented the drink as “caffè espresso,” and the fair is often described as the first public use of the word for this kind of coffee, although that detail is hard to confirm. For roughly the next decade, the espresso market stayed largely a Milan affair.

What does “espresso” mean?

The Italian word is the past participle of esprimere, from Latin exprimere, “to press out.” It carries a double meaning that suits the drink: coffee pressed out by force, and coffee made expressly for you, on the spot. English writers started using the word around the 1940s.

The steam era: why early espresso tasted burnt

Every machine from Moriondo to the 1930s relied on steam pressure from a boiler. Those machines reached only about 1.5 bar, a fraction of what modern espresso needs. The steam and high temperatures also scorched the coffee, so it often came out black, harsh and bitter, with no crema, and a cup could take close to a minute to brew.

Manufacturers kept experimenting between the wars. In Turin, Pier Teresio Arduino of Victoria Arduino promoted machines as stylish symbols of modern life and tried, without success, to use air pumps and screw pistons to raise the pressure. In 1935 Francesco Illy patented the Illetta, which used compressed air instead of steam. The real breakthrough came from a Milanese café owner.

Achille Gaggia and the birth of crema

Achille Gaggia (1895–1961) ran a coffee bar in Milan. In 1938 he applied for a patent on a “steamless” system that used a hand-operated piston to force water through the coffee. After the Second World War, in 1947, he refined the idea: a lever-operated piston with a powerful spring, which pressed water through the coffee at up to about 12 atmospheres. Gaggia founded his company in 1947 and incorporated it in 1948, when sales began.

Much higher pressure, with no steam scorching the grounds, changed everything. For the first time, the shot came out topped with a fine, golden foam. Gaggia’s advertising made the most of it, highlighting the absence of steam and the presence of crema, and the drink was sold as crema caffè. Lever machines also limited a single shot to about 30 ml (1 fl oz), and even after pumps removed that limit, the short shot had already become the standard.

The Faema E61: the pump takes over

Ernesto Valente, who founded Faema in Milan in 1945, had built Gaggia’s 1948 machines before the two men parted ways over which markets to chase. Valente wanted cheaper machines for a mass market, and in 1961 he launched the Faema E61.

The E61 replaced the barista’s muscle with an electric pump, controlled by a simple on-off switch, that pushed water through the coffee at about 9 bar, the pressure most espresso machines still target. It is also credited as the first heat-exchanger machine: a single boiler kept hot enough for steaming milk, with a separate line of fresh water passing through it to be heated for brewing. The E61 was cheap, with a bold pop design, and it arrived just as much of Italy was being connected to electricity. Its heat-exchanger layout became nearly universal among semi-automatic machines, and pump machines remain the most popular design in commercial espresso bars.

Espresso machine timeline

What this history means for your espresso at home

Every step of this story solved a problem you can still taste. The jump in pressure, from about 1.5 bar to about 9, is what gives espresso its body and crema. Getting rid of scorching steam is why a good shot can taste sweet instead of burnt. And the single-serving portafilter is why grind and dose matter so much: the water passes through a small, tightly packed puck of coffee in well under a minute, so the coffee has to be fresh and finely, evenly ground. For a step-by-step method, see our guide on how to make espresso at home.

The beans matter too, and freshness is the part you control most easily, which is why our coffee is roasted 1–5 days before delivery. If you like a lively, modern shot, try our African Espresso, a medium-dark blend of Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ethiopian coffees with red fruit and chocolate notes. If you prefer the dark, intense style of a classic Italian bar, our Italian Roast is our darkest roast, a blend of specialty grade Arabica and Robusta with smoky, dark chocolate notes and a thick crema. Both come whole bean or ground for espresso machines and moka pots.

Espresso machine history FAQ

Who invented the first espresso machine?

Angelo Moriondo of Turin holds the earliest known patent, granted in 1884, for a steam machine that made coffee quickly. Because it brewed in bulk, many historians give equal credit to Luigi Bezzera and Desiderio Pavoni, whose Milan machines of the early 1900s were the first to make coffee by the cup and to be sold commercially.

When was the espresso machine invented?

The first patent dates from 1884. Machines that brewed individual cups followed in 1901–1905, the modern high-pressure lever machine in 1947–1948 and the pump-driven Faema E61 in 1961.

Who invented crema?

Crema appeared with Achille Gaggia’s spring-lever machines, sold from 1948. The much higher pressure created the golden foam, which Gaggia marketed as crema caffè.

Why is it called espresso?

The Italian word comes from esprimere, “to press out,” and also suggests coffee made expressly for one customer on the spot. Bezzera’s machine was the first to make coffee in individual portions for each customer.

How much pressure does an espresso machine use?

Early steam machines reached only about 1.5 bar. Gaggia’s lever machines pushed far higher, and since the Faema E61 the usual target has been about 9 bar.

Sources

1. Espresso machine. Wikipedia, accessed October 2026 (citing Bersten, Coffee Floats, Tea Sinks, 1993, and Stamp, Smithsonian Magazine, 2012). wikipedia.org
2. Espresso: history and etymology. Wikipedia, accessed October 2026. wikipedia.org
3. Angelo Moriondo. Wikipedia, accessed October 2026. wikipedia.org
4. Google Doodles. Angelo Moriondo’s 171st birthday, 2022. doodles.google
5. Luigi Bezzera; La Pavoni. Wikipedia, accessed October 2026. wikipedia.org
6. Gaggia (company history and the 1938 patent). Wikipedia, accessed October 2026. wikipedia.org
7. Faema. Wikipedia, accessed October 2026. wikipedia.org
8. Milan International (1906 Esposizione Internazionale del Sempione). Wikipedia, accessed October 2026. wikipedia.org
9. Online Etymology Dictionary. Espresso. etymonline.com

Facts checked in October 2026.

Keep reading: How to make the perfect espresso at home · The history of coffee · Whole bean vs ground coffee · Shop our blends