The Coffee Machine

The history of the first metal coffee maker dates back to the 16th century with the ibrik (or cezve), a small copper or brass pot used in the Ottoman Empire to brew Turkish coffee. This early design set the stage for more advanced coffee makers. In 1810, Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, created a metal coffee pot designed to brew without boiling, preserving the flavor of the coffee. By the 1820s, Louis-Bernard Rabaut’s French drip pot introduced a gravity-based brewing method that influenced later innovations.

The invention of the espresso machine in 1884 by Angelo Moriondo marked a major milestone in coffee maker history. Made of brass and other metals, it used steam to brew concentrated coffee. Although Moriondo’s design wasn’t widely commercialized, it inspired Luigi Bezzera and Desiderio Pavoni, whose refinements in the early 20th century led to modern espresso machines. These innovations in metal coffee makers shaped coffee brewing techniques and laid the foundation for today’s coffee culture.