Uploaded September 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From the first espresso machines to today, the "recipe" for how they do their magic has been a combination of temperature, pressure, and water flow rate over time. In this video, we use the Decent to show you the "recipe inside the machine" from famous and important machines from espresso's past.
This is a deliberately simplified, whirlwind tour of the history of espresso machines, from my perspective. I show photos of important machines from history, that were typical of that stage.
My version of espresso's history is overwhelming about Lever machines, a brief E61 mention, pressure profilers like the Bianca and Rocket R9, and then Slayer, who were the first to suggest a radically different view on espresso extraction, finally addressing the different needs of light roasts.
Many thanks to Claudio and Simone of The Lever thelevermag.com magazine, who greatly aided me through lever machine history in the making of this video. I'm currently working with them on an article-length version of this historical view for their magazine, which I really wish were called "Be-Lever magazine".
-john
From the first espresso machines to today, the "recipe" for how they do their magic has been a combination of temperature, pressure, and water flow rate over time. In this video, we use the Decent to show you the "recipe inside the machine" from famous and important machines from espresso's past.
This is a deliberately simplified, whirlwind tour of the history of espresso machines, from my perspective. I show photos of important machines from history, that were typical of that stage.
My version of espresso's history is overwhelming about Lever machines, a brief E61 mention, pressure profilers like the Bianca and Rocket R9, and then Slayer, who were the first to suggest a radically different view on espresso extraction, finally addressing the different needs of light roasts.
Many thanks to Claudio and Simone of The Lever thelevermag.com magazine, who greatly aided me through lever machine history in the making of this video. I'm currently working with them on an article-length version of this historical view for their magazine, which I really wish were called "Be-Lever magazine".
-john
