Each time I pull one, the bar goes up a little and it will be harder to pull the next one.” —KARL RICE, ALT.COFFEE NEWSGROUP, 2001, REFERRING TO THE PERFECT SHOT OF ESPRESSO Milanese manufacturing plant owner Luigi Bezzera was upset. In his opinion, his workers spent too much time making coffee and not enough time on his assembly lines. Bezzera devised a steam-powered solution to speed things up: a machine that shot steam through coffee grounds directly into a cup in just twenty seconds—coffee made to order. Now his employees could get their caffeine and get right back to work. Bezzera’s employees back in 1901 may not have appreciated their truncated breaks, but they loved the strong, caffeinated nectar. Figuring he was onto something, Bezzera patented his “fast coffee machine,” now regarded as the first espresso machine. The coffee was somewhat bitter because the steam was too hot (higher temperatures produce bitter coffee, lower temperatures produce sour coffee), but it caught on.
