A Brief History of the Coffee Machine

Though coffee machines have changed considerably over the years they all basically do the same thing – namely attempt to produce a fine tasty hot beverages for us to consume.

The first coffee machines utilised a simple process of placing the roasted or ground coffee beans in a pan of hot water, covering it with a lid so that the infusion could be activated. The main design of these machines was to trap the coffee grounds in the pot so that they got caught in the pot and were not poured into the cup.

Coffee houses, serving coffee and other beverages, have been in existence for over 500 years. It was discovered in France in the 1700’s that coffee actually tasted better if the water was not at boiling point but just off the boil and was dripped onto the coffee grounds.

The biggin, as introduced in France around 1780, was a double chambered coffee; the upper chamber held the coffee in a cloth sock onto which water was poured and the infusion drained through the holes into the lower chamber and was then heated from underneath. Then became a plethora coffee making inventions such as the coffee percolator, filter drip, French Press, and others as well as later inventions such as the commercial espresso machine.

The use of commercial coffee equipment and vending machines are now widespread and are available to rent, lease or buy from a number of professional coffee and beverage vending machine companies.

Service Maintenance Agreements are also offered to establishments in order to keep the machines running at optimum level, thereby allowing the business to concentrate on running their affairs whilst providing their staff, clients and customers with first rate quality coffee and other hot drinks.

Modern coffee machines can dispense coffee from bean to cup, freshly ground or even coffee drinks made from instant coffee granules. Some are now even fitted with face recognition software so that the machine instantly dispenses a cup of coffee to suit individual personal tastes solely by recognising the customer in front of the machine.

The size of coffee machines is also varied and includes compact countertop versions to large freestanding equipment which can be branded in specific logo colours for a corporate look.

Coffee machines are an important part of office life and many important snippets of gossip and information have changed hands on or near the office coffee machine which is now part of western culture.

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