La Marzocco celebrates 90 years of innovation in espresso machine design and technology through a yearlong tour featuring events and pop-ups all over the world.
BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Photos courtesy of La Marzocco
This year, La Marzocco is celebrating its 90th birthday with a series of events, pop-ups, and parties. Just last week, La Marzocco hosted a 90s-themed party at its KEXP cafe in Seattle during the Global Specialty Coffee Expo, and will continue to host events throughout the year all over the world. Hitting cities like Shanghai and Melbourne, the tour plans to celebrate “ninety years of heritage, technology, and design, with the people, the worldwide specialty coffee community, and the future placed at the center,” a press release states.
Almost every single barista has at one time or another made coffee on a La Marzocco, the espresso machine powerhouse based out of Italy. Their versatile lineup ranges from a classic Linea to a Strada EP with all the bells and whistles to custom machines like the five-group Strada made for ALL DAY in Miami, weighing in as the largest Strada in the world. La Marzocco has been making industry-changing machines since 1927, and has introduced innovations to espresso brewing such as the first double-boiler machine, the first saturated grouphead, the first commercially available PID-controlled machine (PID is an acronym for ‘Proportional, Integral, Derivative’), and the first pressure-profiling machine.
La Marzocco gets its name from the symbol of Florence, Italy—the lion—and has been a staple in specialty coffee shops since the 1980s. La Marzocco was founded by brothers Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi, and was originally named Officine Fratelli Bambi. The brothers were commissioned to build their first espresso machine, the Florenza; the original machine was thought lost for years until it was traced back to a pastry shop in Florence. Replicas of that original will be on display at all event pop-ups. To walk patrons and guests of the celebration tour through the history of the company, each event will feature an ‘ambassador,’ dressed in the garb typical of the 1920s and chatting with patrons about the history of the company.
La Marzocco prides itself on building state-of-the-art espresso machines, which are all handcrafted just outside of Florence. As La Marzocco reflects on the last 90 years of innovating and building machines, they also look to continue pushing boundaries and leading technological advancement in espresso brewing. “While the company has experienced significant expansion in the last decade, it has not lost sight of its aim to express the values under which it was founded 90 years ago … meticulously persevere the manufacture of the finest-in-class specialty coffee equipment, while encompassing people, heritage, technology, and design,” the press release states
To check out where and when the next event will take place, check out the La Marzocco website, where you can also learn about the history of the company. And if you’ve never seen a La Marzocco before, pop into your local cafe—chances are there’s one sitting on the counter.
