History of the Espresso Machine (Smithsonian Magazine)

[StillShaving]

Thought some would enjoy reading this article: The Long History of the Espresso Machine

[elsmooth]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing (great pic).

[WickedSwde]

That's real culture. I'm just sad that so many humans doing their best to abuse it. A gum chewing teenage whatever standing there pushing a button on that pod feed machine serving something I don't wanna offer my worst enemy.
A real Barista who have a good machine and beans can make me smile for a long time )

[Go Forth]

Thanks for posting this.

Just to mention - That's a terrible looking, thin, blonde, espresso in the picture at the top of the article!

[malocchio]

interesting story,great photos !

[gearchow]

Great read! That 1910 Ideale is really something else to look at.

-jim

[Vlad]

Super cool. Makes me want a real espresso machine so bad.

[takeshi]

That's real culture. I'm just sad that so many humans doing their best to abuse it. A gum chewing teenage whatever standing there pushing a button on that pod feed machine serving something I don't wanna offer my worst enemy.
A real Barista who have a good machine and beans can make me smile for a long time )

That's not abuse. It's called niches. One size does not fit all. Plenty of people are happy with Starbucks (whether you or I or anyone else agrees or not) and there's nothing wrong with that. The existence of an option you don't prefer doesn't preclude what you do prefer. There are plenty of excellent coffee shops out there and if you can't find one near you then you can definitely get yourself set up at home.

[Argonaut]

That's not abuse. It's called niches. One size does not fit all. Plenty of people are happy with Starbucks (whether you or I or anyone else agrees or not) and there's nothing wrong with that. The existence of an option you don't prefer doesn't preclude what you do prefer. There are plenty of excellent coffee shops out there and if you can't find one near you then you can definitely get yourself set up at home.

That doesn't even make sense, and I think you missed the point of his statement.

[Go Forth]

That doesn't even make sense..

It does make sense. Negate might be a more accurate word than preclude.

[EricBNC]

That's not abuse. It's called niches. One size does not fit all. Plenty of people are happy with Starbucks (whether you or I or anyone else agrees or not) and there's nothing wrong with that. The existence of an option you don't prefer doesn't preclude what you do prefer. There are plenty of excellent coffee shops out there and if you can't find one near you then you can definitely get yourself set up at home.

I get what you are saying and I agree 100%.

[Argonaut]

That's real culture. I'm just sad that so many humans doing their best to abuse it. A gum chewing teenage whatever standing there pushing a button on that pod feed machine serving something I don't wanna offer my worst enemy.
A real Barista who have a good machine and beans can make me smile for a long time )

Someone longing for the traditions of old, appreciating when people took pride in their craft, using a technology that has seen it's hayday. Certainly there is a niche for the newer standard, and it does not preclude, nor negate the preferences of the few who choose to go "old fashioned". Where's my Mach III? I have a niche that needs to be scratched.

[JPDyson]

Some people just don't care enough about X for the nuance of how you do X to matter to them. Substitute X for shaving, coffee, beer, whiskey, audio/video, GTD, whatever. It doesn't mean they're abusing tradition, it just means they can't be bothered or haven't been shown.

The very existence of shortcuts or watered-down variants of your honored traditions is proof that people voted with their wallets that sometimes, cheaper/faster is more important than better.

[gearchow]

Time line cultural differences. From ornate, doesn't add anything, to remove anything that isn't required or make it perform better.





Espresso machines flow along on the same time line.

-jim

[EricBNC]

That's real culture. I'm just sad that so many humans doing their best to abuse it. A gum chewing teenage whatever standing there pushing a button on that pod feed machine serving something I don't wanna offer my worst enemy.
A real Barista who have a good machine and beans can make me smile for a long time )

I stopped at a local sandwich shop recently. While waiting for my take out order I sized up a nice 2 group Astoria machine and what looked like a Compak K-6 grinder with a hopper full of beans. I asked the young lady for a shot. She took the portafilter to a plastic tub and started scooping grounds. After much begging she agreed to grind some beans instead and went in search of someone to show her how to work the grinder.

Needless to say, the shot was bad. I would much rather see her push a button on a pod machine than ever serve me that shot again...

[gearchow]

...
Needless to say, the shot was bad. I would much rather see her push a button on a pod machine than ever serve me that shot again...

Now that is a lasting memory.

-jim