Gaggia founded the company 10 years after the first patent
In 1895, a man came into the world who greatly influenced the direction of the world of coffee. Giovanni Achille Gaggia owned a café in Milan, but he was a fanatic who constantly invented, improved and tried something new. Around 1930, coffee was incredibly bitter, Gaggia likened it to come to Milan full of fog – you wouldn’t enjoy it. In September 1938, Gaggia filed a patent for a coffee machine that prepared coffee without using steam. And this was the beginning of a new era of espresso.
This Milan coffee lover designed a revolutionary piston mechanism that pushes water through the ground coffee bean at high pressure that leaded to espresso preparation in just 15 seconds. It is said that Gaggia was inspired by an American military off-road vehicle that used a hydraulic system to create this patent. It is interesting to note, however, that he founded his company – Gaggia – 10 years later, in 1948.
Historical coffee machine Gaggia – America
Patents, satisfied customers, new coffee machines as well as foreign markets were achieved by Gaggia company. His machines have taken their place not only in Europe, for example, they have achieved great success in Britain, but also in America, Africa and Australia. Many Italians, who have decided to live their American dream also helped to his success in USA.
This was also reason why the Gaggia – America coffee machine was created. By the first sight of the name it is clear for which market it was primarily intended. This historic piece began to be manufactured in the second half of the 1950s and today is a rare model, you can find only a few pieces in the world. It is especially interesting for its design, which is significantly beyond the standards of the Gaggia brand. It combines its own elegant lines and refinement, but this time it is a more robust machine that symbolizes the power of America.
How was the refurbishment of Gaggia – America
What have we done in over 150 hours of work on this machine? If you read our articles about the historic coffee machines Victoria Arduino and Faema, you know that we have taken this piece back to the last part again. Everything was checked, cleaned, repaired, replaced useless parts with a new one and again everything with respect to the original look and put the machine together.
In particular, the head of the machine, as with Faema – Lambro, although similar coffee machines are still produced today, the dimensions are different, so we had to produce, combine, and modify spare parts. Piston seals were one of the most difficult parts: we get some of them in Prague, but we had to make the rest spare parts on our own. It was a system of 5 rings in the piston, which operate on a similar principle as the seals in the car, and therefore play an essential role in the preparation of coffee
This historical coffee machine after the refurbishment did not go to the hotel or cafe, we enjoyed it for a while in the workshop and have coffee, then took the place of honor at the exhibition in our Espressophille Lab, where we do barista trainings and education. Feel free to come see it, along with other pieces, we will be honored.
