L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LISA BRANCATISANO I t takes a lot of things to pre- pare a good cup of coffee: obviously, a good coffee blend and a good machine, to say the least. T h e r e ' s a b r a n d t h a t i s known all over the world for its excellence in coffee machines and you have probably noticed it several times at your favorite bar or maybe even in a movie. La Marzocco is easily recogniz- able for its logo, a lion sitting with the emblem of the Lily of Florence, also associated with Italy for the name. F o u n d e d i n 1 9 2 7 b y Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi, La Marzocco company made their first coffee machines within the city of Florence before moving their artisanal workshop to Pian di San Bartolo, on the top of a hill near the city. T h e f i r s t c o m m i s s i o n e d model was named Fiorenza and designed by one of Bambi's c u s t o m e r s . A f t e r t h a t f i r s t machine, Giuseppe decided to d e s i g n a n d b u i l d h i s o w n machines and, with his brother Bruno, established the Officina Fratelli Bambi. He put a little lion inspired by Donatello's Marzocco, the symbol of the ancient Republic of Florence, on the top of the first machine and then decided to call the new factory "La Marzocco." I n 1 9 3 9 , L a M a r z o c c o designed and patented the first h o r i z o n t a l b o i l e r c o f f e e m a c h i n e , i m p o s i n g a w o r l d standard. This was the first of a long series of innovations, such as the double boiler system with s a t u r a t e d d e l i v e r y g r o u p s . Designed and manufactured by Giuseppe Bambi, it featured two groups, a vertical boiler and a polygonal body with 12 faces. The upper cap bore the bronze- cast Marzocco symbol. It functioned with hot water and steam pressure, generated by a vertical boiler, distributed on ground coffee by a 3-way tap. The tap, working by rotat- ing a hand lever, was placed on the group's body. When the machine was not used, the tap allowed for the release of the pressure created in the filter- holder during coffee brewing. Estimated production: 30-35 units. Tradition, research, quality and reliability are factors that have always distinguished the Florentine company. Marzocco coffee machines are excellent for preparing cof- fee and unique for their design all at once, always evolving through the decades and the centuries. Even, when the com- pany moved into a bigger facto- ry to expand production using the most innovative technolo- gies, La Marzocco machines remained a handmade reality, with a huge attention placed on design and quality. Still today, highly specialized personnel supervise each stage of the pro- d u c t i o n o f e v e r y s i n g l e machine, hand-crafted to order for each and every client. In this way, Giuseppe Bambi's great e x p e r i e n c e a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l pride have continued to live on for well over 90 years. The second generation of the Bambi family is represented by Piero, Giuseppe's son, now an octogenarian you can still find at work every day. He designed the new Linea Mini, a coffee machine for domestic use, hand- made with the same components u s e d i n t h e c o m m e r c i a l machines to ensure the same durability and quality in prepar- ing coffees and cappuccinos. It's exciting to think that in every corner of the world, while h a v i n g a b e l o v e d c u p a t a favorite bar, someone is in fact enjoying a coffee prepared with one of the machines manufac- tured in Scarperia, a small town outside of Florence, also famous for its ancient tradition of knife making. La Marzocco mission today is to preserve the manufacture of the finest specialty coffee equipment, while encompassing people, heritage, technology and design. One thing that struck me as I toured the head office and factory was the sense of family among the employees. Many have worked here for a long time, and each has a sense of pride for the company and the bespoke machines they are cre- ating. It's hard to look at a coffee machine the same way after you understand what goes into mak- ing that perfect espresso. You may have excellent coffee beans and may have ground them cor- rectly, but unless the machine you are using has the capabili- ties of forcing the hot water through the coffee with enough pressure to ensure your espresso is the right drinking temperature ,and also has the signature "cof- fee-froth" on the surface, you might just be better off visiting your local barista for a guaran- teed good brew. IL MARZOCCO The Marzocco is the heraldic l i o n s y m b o l o f F l o r e n c e . I n Roman times, the city was con- secrated to the god of war Mars, whose name gradually evolved, due to the popularization of the n a m e , i n t o M a r t o c u s , l i t t l e Mars, and then into "Marzoc- co." With the advent of Chris- tianity, its role as protector of the city came to an end, but its n a m e r e m a i n e d , t a k i n g t h e shape of an heraldic lion, sym- bol of the free Republic of Flo- rence during the Middle Ages. La Marzocco takes its name from the heraldic lion, in partic- ular from the one sculpted by Donatello in 1418-1420. The lion is seated, with one paw sup- porting the coat-of-arms of Flo- rence, il Giglio, the lily. Just as the Marzocco statue represented t h e c o n q u e s t o f n e i g h b o r i n g lands at the time of the Floren- tine Republic, the Marzocco on the company's coffee machines wanted to symbolize their win- n i n g s t r a t e g y e v e r y t i m e a machine was designed, manu- factured and sold. Indeed, at a time when few people drank coffee and even fewer shopkeepers were willing to invest in a machine for a bev- erage that could not be defined as popular, each sale was a suc- cess. For this reason, Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi adopted the image of the Marzocco, a symbol of victory and conquest, the symbol of Florence. Marzocco coffee machines are excellent for preparing coffee and unique for their design Piero Bambi, son of La Marzocco's founder, Giuseppe La Marzocco: the coffee machine behind Italy's best caffé LIFESTYLE FASHION FOOD ARTS DESIGN

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