Google is celebrating the 171st birthday of the godfather of espresso machines, Angelo Morionado, with a special Google Doodle on June 6, inviting all coffee lovers to pay tribute to the inventor.
Created by Olivia Whin, the doodle is painted in coffee color and features a GIF of an espresso machine.
While coffee was extremely popular in Italy, people spent a lot of time waiting for the coffee to be made. Google said in a blogpost that Moriondo came to the customers’ rescue and felt that brewing multiple cups of coffee at once would allow it to serve more customers at a faster rate, giving it an edge over its competitors.
Morionado patented the first known espresso machine. “The machine consisted of a large boiler that pushed hot water through a bed of coffee grounds, with a second boiler producing steam that would flash the bed of coffee and complete the brew.”
Morionado presented his espresso machine at the General Expo in Turin in 1884, where it was awarded a bronze medal. He obtained a patent titled, “New Steam Machinery, Method for the Economical and Instant Confection of Coffee Drinks”.
Born in Italy in 1851 to a family of entrepreneurs, Moriondo never stopped creating new ideas or projects. His grandfather founded a wine production company, which was handed over to his son (Angelo’s father), who would later form the popular chocolate company, “Moriondo and Gariglio”, with his brother and cousin.