Who was Angelo Moriondo? Google Doodle honors espresso machine inventor with COFFEE painting!
Google Doodle is paying tribute to Angelo Moriondo, the godfather of espresso machines, on his 171st birthday on June 6. The doodle, created by Olivia When, is a GIF of the first known espresso machine that shows the early stages of coffeemaking. The search engine giant also revealed that the doodle was painted entirely with coffee.
Angelo was born on June 6, 1851, in Turin, Italy. Google said in a note that he came from a family of entrepreneurs "who never stopped brewing new ideas or projects." His grandfather had set up a liquor production company which his father eventually handled. When it came to coffee, the concoction was at the peak of its popularity during Angelo's time, except not nearly as convenient as it is today. Back then, people had to spend a great amount of time to brew their coffee, until an ingenious inventor came along.
RELATED ARTICLES
Who was Montserrat Caballe? Google Doodle honors award-winning opera singer with murky tax past
International Women's Day 2022: Animated Google Doodle honors women's diverse roles in society
Angelo Moriondo was the first man to patent an espresso machine. Google's note said, "Once upon a time, in 19th century Italy, coffee was the hottest item around. Unfortunately, brewing methods required customers to wait over five minutes to get their drink. Enter Angelo Moriondo, the man who patented the first known espresso machine." His machine was shown at the General Expo of Turin in 1884. Funnily enough, he secured the third position and came home with a bronze medal.
Angelo Moriondo's espresso legacy
Moriondo's espresso machine consisted of a large boiler that pushed hot water through a bed of coffee grounds. The Google Note further read, "A second boiler producing steam that would flash the bed of coffee and complete the brew. He received a patent titled, New steam machinery for the economic and instantaneous confection of coffee beverage, method ‘A. Moriondo’."
The machine was built by a mechanic named Martina under Moriondo's supervision. The invention was finally confirmed by an international patent publication after being registered in Paris on October 23, 1885. Angelo spent his following years making his invention even better, each improvement being patented. Surprisingly, the inventor was never willing to expand his operation to a larger scale and limited himself to building a handful of these machines and conserving them in his establishments.