La Marzoco GS/3 Owner's Manual - The History of La Marzocco
The History of La Marzocco
During the fi rst decade of 1900, various attempts were
made in Italy at producing so-called espresso coffee
which might justly be considered the ancestors of the
machines currently produced. They were hot water and
steam generators with vertical boilers of a considerable
size which literally lorded it over the counters of the
coffee shops.
The manufacturers of these machines, as well as being
skilled craftsmen, were true pioneers in the sense that
they found themselves having to tackle and overcome
numerous diffi culties: Giuseppe Bambi was part of
this small group of pioneers who, thanks to his strong
personality and wish to create something of his own,
managed to open a small workshop and set up his own
business.
After producing some coffee machines called “Fiorenza”
for one of his clients, he then began, with his brother
Bruno, to build coffee machines in his own right.
It was 1927 when the Offi cina Fratelli Bambi was
founded. They designed the machines entirely, made
them piece by piece, assembled and then sold them, all
at a time when every sale was a real conquest.
That’s why Giuseppe Bambi adopted the symbol of
the “Marzocco” for his company, a seated lion with the
crest of the Florentine Lily, the synonym of victory and
conquest, and called his company La Marzocco.
With the arrival of fascism and the consequent winds of
change refl ected in decorative styles too, La Marzocco,
while continuing to produce machines with a vertical
boiler, began to design a more linear and essential
chassis.
The number of cups of coffee which people drank at
coffee shops was growing slowly but constantly so that
the need arose to reduce the dimensions and improve
the output of the coffee machines.
On 25th February, 1939 Giuseppe Bambi registered
the Patent for a project for the fi rst espresso coffee
machine with a horizontal boiler.
This new arrangement meant all the brew groups could
be arranged in a line, making it possible to fi t in a larger
number and making it easier and faster to operate them.
The events of war halted the production of coffee
machines and when the war was over things had to begin
again from scratch given the gloomy economic situation
and the diffi culty of obtaining the machinery and raw
materials needed.
However, such was the ingrained enthusiasm and
entrepreneurial spirit that on 4th December, 1945 a
new patent was registered which was extended and
completed on 31st October, 1949.
This Patent, which enabled the resumption of business,
was for a semiautomatic mechanism which simplifi ed
the movements and operations of the barista, as well as
releasing the pressure from the fi lter holder.
The 50s were characterised by water pressure
machines where the coffee was no longer infused
by fi ltering but by hot water pressed through it
mechanically at high pressure.
So a spring was used to act on a piston that pressed the
water through the coffee at a pressure of approximately
10 atmospheres.
This changed the traditional system of percolation
of coffee, as well as the taste. What was to be called
“coffee crema” from that time on had been invented.
Later, to reduce the physical effort required by the person
operating the machine, an electrically operated geared
motor was added to raise the piston.
That was how the fi rst machine with automatic water
pressure and an electric motor was invented.
In 1961 the new headquarters of the company were built
on a hill outside Florence. During the tragic fl ood which
swept Florence in 1966, La Marzocco, although not
directly hit found itself having to face many diffi culties.
At that time half of its work was in the capital city of
Tuscany and the surrounding area and while the clients
who resided in the fl ooded areas were able to postpone
payment of their bills, La Marzocco had to continue to
honour its payments without receiving such income.
Thanks to patient and constant work these diffi culties
too were overcome and in 1970 La Marzocco began
to produce the new GS Series “continuous brewing
type machine after depositing the relative Patent on
1st December of that same year.
This was the fi rst professional machine in the world
made with two boilers of which one was for the
production of hot water and steam while the other
was to produce hot water exclusively for brewing
coffee, totally independent of each other. This
solution which still characterises all the La Marzocco
machines today means that a large quantity of
steam is readily available at the desired temperature
without interfering in any way with the temperature
La Marzocco History
English
13
La Marzocco, S.r.l. Firenze, Italia
Version 1.00