Double - Sided History

It's been a long time coming, but a very special restoration project has just been completed at the Bakke Coffee Museum, and we're so excited to share it with you!

This machine was incredibly unique to begin with — a rare example of a pre-WWII two-group vertical steam pressure machine with a lever attachment added at some point. (Presumably shortly after the lever was introduced by Achille Gaggia in ca. 1948.) The other original group, which used steam pressure from the boiler to force the hot water through the ground coffee, was left in place. The combination of old and new displayed in this Universal espresso machine, which was manufactured in 1930, makes this an very curious artifact of espresso history. And once we started looking deeper, things just got curiouser and curiouser...

As you may already know, the invention of the lever was a revolution in the history of espresso. The steam pressure machines that were common until just after WWII were only using around 2 bars of pressure or less, and the coffee they produced was closer to that from a moka-pot than that of a modern espresso machine. The new lever group-head, with a giant coiled spring inside, was able to reach the 9 bars of pressure that is still the standard today. A pretty substantial difference!

The lever is what brought about the intense espresso extraction topped with rich crema that we adore today. After Gaggia began producing and selling lever machines, other espresso machine companies quickly followed suit. Many cafes replaced their old steam pressure models with new lever models that proudly proclaimed "crema caffè naturale" and "funzione senza vapore", advertising that they were extracting the coffee without the use of steam. But for a short time, it was also possible to buy just the lever group and attach it to an old machine. This might have been done to save money, but another possibility was that some cafe owners wanted to offer both styles of espresso, old and new. Because people's tastes don't always change immediately, and some customers still preferred the steam pressure espresso they were accustomed to over the new "crema caffè".

an ad for a Universal lever attachment

We will never know exactly why this particular Universal ended up with a lever attached, but we are grateful to have it as part of the Bakke Collection. The machine represents a unique point in the history of espresso when one era was rapidly being overtaken by another. For a long time it has been an important talking point on our tours, helping explain the evolution of espresso. Then one day Kent wondered what it would look like if we restored half of it, so that it would be an example of old and new in more ways than one...

So we dove in! And almost immediately, found more mysteries and challenges. Our master machinist and espresso machine restorer, Lars, quickly realized that at some point someone had taken the machine apart and not put it back together correctly. But we had no similar example of a Universal from that era to compare it to. Fortunately, we were able to find enough photographs of comparable machines as well as old advertisements from the company to reconstruct the machine as it was intended. After that, we were able to take inventory of what was missing... Some parts needed to be replaced, some needed to be repaired and cleaned up. Getting the machine back to working order was a tedious puzzle, but eventually we were ready to test it for leaks, and see what kind of coffee came out.

an advertisement for Universal espresso machines from ca. 1930

Immediately we faced another problem — this machine was heated by gas. So far, all of the machines we have restored at the museum have been electric or converted to electric at some point in time. In order to test this Universal, and find out what kind of coffee it made, we had to light a flame on the old gas heating element. So, we hooked it up to a propane tank (outside!). It was very difficult to get it sufficiently hot. This was partly due to wind, and also because in the old days of espresso in Europe they were probably using a different fuel, like butane. But eventually it was it hot enough to pull some shots on both the traditional and the lever group. (Although there were still some renegade leaks).

After all that effort, we will probably not be making coffee on the Universal again anytime soon. But the exterior restoration realizing Kent's idea that the machine be half-way restored in order to showcase old and new has been a success, and the results are stunning! It's hard to imagine, but according to Lars, the polishing was the easy part of this project... Come by the museum and see for yourself!

100 Years of Espresso at Host Milano

Actually, more than 100 years of Espresso! But what an honor to be able to share some of the most iconic machines from the story of espresso in the city where espresso was born.

It is not a coincidence that the first espresso machines were born in Milan, and were in fact unveiled at the trade fair that was the precursor to the Host Milano fair today. Milan has long been a center of industry and innovation, and since the turn of the 20th Century the city has been the place where Italy presented the best of itself to the world. Milan's first "universal" exposition was in 1881, setting the stage for a long tradition in the city. After this came the famous 1906 fair, which placed great emphasis on the possibilities brought by railroads and steam engines. And several aspects of the steam engine era have important visual and technological parallels to the steam that powered and personified the early espresso machines. Speed, danger, new ideas, new ways of life!

In 1906, the Simplon Tunnel was completed, connecting Italy to Switzerland. The railroad tunnel, just over 12 miles cored through the Alps, remained the longest in the world until 1982. In honor of this massive achievement, and to otherwise promote the talents and resources of Italy, the Milan International Exposition was held for several months during the same year. This was the era of grand world's fairs and expositions across the globe — whole temporary cities were constructed, and visitors traveled great distances to attend. Besides celebrating the Simplon Tunnel, transportation was a major theme of the 1906 fair, and one of the major attractions was a "ferrovia elevata", an early elevated tramway that carried visitors to different exhibitions. The tramway was incredibly popular, and essential, as 225 buildings were constructed to house all the attractions displayed at the fair.

In one of those grand pavilions, Luigi Bezzera and Desiderio Pavoni had a booth where they served coffee to visitors from their recently patented machine. It was in fact the first espresso machine, according to conventional definitions. The first espresso! The first coffee made with the pressure of steam forcing the water through the ground coffee, and the first use of the portafilter to make every cup "expressly" for each customer, a totally new phenomenon.

Bezzera and Pavoni were also the first to use the term "caffè espresso", words that seem inseparable to us today. The word espresso in Italian has a clever double meaning: express meaning fast, appropriate for an increasingly fast-paced world, and also express to describe the water being forced through the coffee by pressure. The surviving photograph of their booth (below) has become the defining image of the birth of espresso.

Bezzera and Pavoni collaborated to achieve their goal of manufacturing and selling the original espresso machine. It is difficult now to say who was responsible for what aspect of the machine's design. And although these two men are given the credit for the first espresso machine, they were following in the footsteps of other brilliant inventors working to solve the problem of a better cup of coffee, including Angelo Moriondo. Not long after the 1906 fair the two parted ways, each selling machines under their own name. The earliest Bezzera and La Pavoni machines were nearly identical, sometimes only differing by the number of bolts on the boiler.

It wasn't until the 1920s that the tradition of a giant trade fair resumed again in Milan with regularity, but after that date it occurred annually, becoming a primary stage for promoting new ideas, inventions and technologies. As the demand for caffè espresso increased, more and more companies started up making and selling espresso machines, and many of them proudly displayed their creations at the Milan Fair. To name just a few — Snider, Universal, La San Marco, La Pavoni, and later Cimbali, Gaggia, Faema and more...

The Host Milano trade fair, which focuses on hospitality, goes back to 1937. The Host fair is a direct descendant of the Fiera Milano tradition. It is one of the most important hospitality trade fairs in the world, taking place every other year, and it is now held at a large exhibition complex at the edge of Milan instead of in the city center. The coffee industry is a major part of Host, taking up multiple large exhibition halls. You could walk for miles and still not see all of the latest espresso machines, coffee technology, and supporting products, before you even get to the gelato, pastry, restaurant service, and furniture sections!

Host Milano has inherited the role of the Fiera Milano trade fair in displaying the latest coffee innovations. So it was very appropriate and meaningful that we were able to display the history of espresso through a selection of vintage machines at this year's fair. In collaboration with Henk Langkemper, and Enrico Maltoni of Mumac Cimbali, we were able to offer visitors a close up look at some of the best and most beautiful espresso machines ever made. Visitors truly enjoyed being able to engage with the machines and learn about the history. Some had no knowledge of the history of espresso, and seeing the vintage machines brought the history to life. Other visitors introduced themselves as avid collectors, coming from all over the world, eager to share knowledge and talk about the history. All around, we were able to spend five days sharing and absorbing the best of coffee, old and new, in the city where it all started.

Sharing history is always important. It helps you have more appreciation for the present, as well as the past. And so much of the story exists in the physical machines themselves, in their unique technological aspects and quirks as much as their stunning beauty. Thank you to Henk and Enrico for your passion to collect and preserve the history of espresso! Thank you to everyone that shared your coffee story with us! And thank you Host Milano for helping us make this happen!

Big Movie Night!

It's time for another movie night at the Bakke Coffee Museum! Warning, this film might make you hungry!

On Friday, August 29, the Bakke Coffee Museum is proud to present the classic Big Night (1996). The movie follows the lives of two brothers, immigrants from Italy, struggling to run an Italian restaurant in 1950s New Jersey. Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub play the brothers, and the movie also features Isabella Rossellini and Minnie Driver. And the food...! Extravagant Italian food is also front and center for much of the film. If you haven't heard of timpano yet, you will be obsessed by the end of the film!

Preparing to cut into the timpano

This is an outdoor movie, the event will be held in the museum parking lot. The presentation will start at dusk, approximately 8pm. The museum will be open to visitors starting at 6pm. This event is free! But please bring your own chair and clothing suitable for the cooler evening time. Space is limited, RSVP required through brown paper tickets:

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6695453

Hope to see you there!