La Marzocco Commerical Espresso Machines

La Marzocco

Espresso was brewed for the first time in Turin, Italy in 1884; but it was in Florence, Italy where inventors, machinists, and entrepreneurs worked to create much of the early innovation in espresso machines. One of these inventors was Giuseppe Bambi, who created his first “Fiorenza” espresso machines for clients in the 1920’s. After achieving success with his early work, Giuseppe, in collaboration with his brother Bruno, began designing and building coffee machines independently, and in 1927 the Bambi brothers founded La Marzocco to continue to perfect their craft. They took the name of their company from the symbol of that city: A lion standing atop a shield with a fleur-de-lis crest, which represents victory--something the brothers hoped to achieve. La Marzocco has been manufacturing high-quality espresso machines ever since.

Over the decades, La Marzocco has become famous for technological innovations in commercial espresso machines. In 1939, La Marzocco patented the first espresso machine with a horizontal boiler. This allowed for more group heads to be attached to the machine than could fit onto the old vertical boiler machines. This made for a more efficient brewing process, which was important because coffee was rapidly increasing in demand in Italy in the 1930’s. In addition, the new machine was simpler to operate than the older models. This simplicity allowed the barista using the machine to spend more time and energy engaging with customers. The horizontal boiler is today an industry standard.

The Second World War brought production to a halt, and La Marzocco nearly went under. After the war, dim economic prospects and difficulty in procuring machinery and raw materials forced La Marzocco to begin anew. In 1945, the company patented a semiautomatic mechanism that simplified movements by the barista to an even greater degree, and released pressure from the portafilter. This helped them get back on their feet.

The 1950s were characterized by lever machines, which, through a spring activating a piston, pressed water through coffee at great pressure. This technology not only modified the traditional method of percolating coffee, it transformed the taste and enhanced the “crema,” the creamy-looking foam at the top of a cup of espresso. This method of extraction has become an industry standard as well.

In 1964, the Poker series of hydro-compression machines was launched, which, unlike lever machines, lifted and pressed during brewing by means of a diaphragm that was inflated by steam pressure generated by the boiler.

In 1968, when Giuseppe Bambi's came out with the prize-winning "Vulcano" grinder, which gave greater control and customization to the barista and allowed for greater grind consistency.

In 1970, La Marzocco patented its first series of professional semi-automatic, double-boiler machines, called the GS series. GS stands for “gruppo saturo,” Italian for “saturated group.” The brew groups were attached directly to the boiler and their shape was designed to create a chamber so that water circulates continuously, thereby maintaining constant temperature. By separating coffee extraction from steam production and ensuring temperature stability, coffee quality was improved dramatically.

In the 80’s and 90’s, La Marzocco began to have a prominent place in the international market. For example, La Marzocco Linea commercial espresso machines were used at almost all Starbucks locations for many years.

From 2000-2008, La Marzocco was the official espresso machine sponsor of the World Barista Championship (WBC), the renowned international coffee competition focusing on promoting excellence in coffee and advancing the barista profession.

In 2015, the company introduced a new machine specifically designed for the home espresso enthusiast: the Linea Mini. The Linea Mini presents the design and performance of a La Marzocco, including quality technological components, redesigned for the kitchen. With the Linea Mini, La Marzocco aims for an excellent-quality espresso in the home.

Today, every commercial espresso machine from La Marzocco is assured to be high-quality and the heir of years of technical innovation. All La Marzocco boilers are fully equipped with insulated boilers, increasing energy efficiency by 20%. The Linea PB model is equipped with programming that allows the machine to enter a “stand-by” mode, improving energy efficiency. La Marzocco has plans to include this feature on future models.

With the models such as the Strada EP commercial espresso machine, you get fully-programmable pressure profiling, which gives the barista more control over the pressure of the water and steam. This allows the barista to bring out different flavor components which affect the balance and body of the shot, and produce a rounder, softer espresso that highlights brightness, sweetness and delicate notes.

La Marzocco is also a company committed to sustainability and being a global citizen. La Marzocco generates electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity, producing 100% of its electrical needs. The program is monitored daily by an Energy Brain allowing for the company to begin to gather exact data on its carbon footprint. La Marzocco also aims to design machines that will lead to a minimal impact on the environment. Where possible, sustainable materials, components and packaging are used so that machines and packaging can be recycled. La Marzocco, additionally, adheres to a waste tracking system for those materials not subject to recycling.

At Kaldi, we are proud to sell La Marzocco espresso machines and to be part of a long tradition and of coffee making excellence.

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Overwhelmed by the choice of commercial espresso and coffee equipment? Our experience since 1995 ensures we can assist you in choosing the perfect machines to meet your needs.

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