Google pays tribute to Angelo Moriondo, the 'Godfather' of Espresso machines

Google remembered Angelo Moriondo, the father of espresso machines, with an animated doodle on June 6. The Google Doodle showed coffee being poured into cups from a machine. In a perfect nod to Moriondo on his birth anniversary, the Google Doodle was painted entirely in brown.

Moriondo was born in Turin in, Italy, in 1851 into a family of innovative entrepreneurs. His grandfather founded an alcoholic beverage company, which he eventually passed on to his father. Moriondo's father later established a chocolate brand, "Moriondo y Gariglio", along with his brother and his cousin. Inspired by his family, Moriondo also embarked on a business trip. He bought a hotel and a bar in the city of Turin.

Coffee was famous in Italy at that time, but customers had to wait a long time to prepare it. So, Moriondo thought that if he could make several cups of coffee at once, he would have an advantage over his competitors. He hired a mechanic to create a coffee machine. Once completed, the machine was presented at the General Exhibition in Turin in 1884, where it won a bronze medal.

"The machine consisted of a large boiler that pushed heated water through a bed of coffee grounds, with a second boiler producing steam that would flash the bed of coffee and complete the brew," Google wrote in a note accompanying the doodle.

In the following years, Moriondo continued to improve his invention. He managed to obtain a patent for the first known espresso machine.

"Happy 171st birthday, Angelo Moriondo," Google wrote. "Today, coffee lovers sip in tribute to the godfather of espresso machines."