Italian espresso coffee is included in the intangible cultural heritage Italian espresso machine development history

According to foreign media, on January 20, local time, Italian Vice Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Gian Marco Centinaio informed the media that Italian espresso was officially listed as a candidate for the intangible heritage of mankind by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It will be formally approved and released in Paris before March 31.

As an indispensable part of Italian life, every espresso tells a history about the regional, cultural and industrial era that has promoted the rapid development of society.

For us, espresso may just be a full-bodied, refreshing drink, or it may serve as a base to make a variety of coffee drinks. But for the Italian people, it is not only a real ritual of life, but also a kind of cultural consciousness, is an integral part of the Italian national identity, it makes Italy different in the world. The emergence of espresso was not for cream and taste at first, but to cater to the rapidly developing society at that time, in which everyone pursued speed. With the rapid development of the industrial age, everything must be faster, more efficient and more mechanized, and coffee is no exception.

The efficiency of brewing coffee in the traditional way was too slow. At that time, Italian men (in Italy in the late 19th century, coffee was usually exclusive to men) drank coffee because of the caffeine in the coffee (the beans used at that time were not fine coffee. (usually robusta beans) can make them efficient for an hour, but the steps of making coffee are cumbersome The impatient people turned their attention to the steam engine. Using the pressure generated by the steam engine, hot water can quickly pass through the coffee powder and extract the rich coffee liquid, so in 1884, someone successfully registered a patent for a steam-powered machine used to make coffee in Turin, Italy. The production speed of coffee is very fast, that is, the taste. Scorched and bitter, it is hard to swallow. But because it is extracted quickly, the coffee produced by this machine is named "espresso" (express Italian translation: fast)

Although the first try of "fast coffee" is not good, but after knowing how to get a cup of coffee quickly through steam pressure, Italians have turned on the switch and constantly upgraded the steam-powered coffee machine. At first, the Italian Milan designer Luigi Bezzera (Bezerra) bought the patent of the steam-powered coffee machine, adding a new handle and powder bowl to the original steam boiler coffee machine, studying and adjusting the grinding thickness of coffee beans, so that coffee particles can be pressurized by external forces, so that their own (powder layer) tightness can resist the rapid passage of high-pressure water flow, and can better distribute the water flow under high pressure impact. Let the water flow evenly through the whole powder layer and "squeeze out" a cup of coffee with a balanced flavor. In addition, there is a new cooling channel in the coffee machine to avoid the bitter taste of the extracted coffee caused by the high water temperature, and a patent was applied in 1901. The company that spread espresso to all parts of Italy is La Pavon, which acquired Bezzera patents. After the acquisition of the patent, La Pavoni added a pressure relief valve to solve the problem that the temperature and pressure inside the machine will change with the intensity of the heated flame, as well as the addition of steam rods.

The upgraded coffee machine was named Ideale and was launched in 1906. With the advent of Ideale, more and more Italians like the coffee quickly extracted by this machine. The word "espresso" was also included in the dictionary in 1920, defining "espresso made with a pressurized machine or filter." And the espresso machine began to be popularized all over the world, making people realize that this pressurized coffee machine from Italy can quickly make espresso coffee by Pier Arduino from Turin, Italy. He sold this unique Italian coffee machine to France and exported it to other parts of the world. At the same time, he also made publicity posters that made more people realize the espresso.

By 1942, Arduino felt that the current espresso was not strong enough, so he added a manual spring piston to the machine, so that the original extraction pressure of only 1.5-2bar could be increased by manual pressurization, making the extraction pressure of the coffee machine reach 8-10bar. The grinding of coffee beans also pays more attention to fineness and evenness, making the coffee "squeezed out" by the machine to be more concentrated, and the espresso we now know begins at this time. By 1961, faema had automated manual spring pistons, ensuring the stable quality of every extracted espresso, and the E61 coffee machine became the first semi-automatic espresso machine, which suddenly spread all over Italy because of its simplicity, cheapness and small size. Italians gather in cafes and drink cheap and unique coffee together, which constitutes a unique social activity in Italy.

In 1970, Ulka's company made a semi-automatic coffee machine for family use, allowing families to make their own espresso in the kitchen. In 1987, Starbucks purchased commercial espresso machines in large quantities, so that espresso, which can represent Italy, was widely used in people's daily lives around the world, and espresso machines were widely used in major cafes around the world. Today, espresso is not only known in Italy, nor can it be drunk only in Italy. Espresso has become a coffee age and has made more people understand the cultural history of Italy. In this special period of the epidemic, people around the world do not forget to drink a cup of espresso, which proves that it has become an indispensable ritual of life.

As early as March 2016, Italy began to apply for the inclusion of espresso in the intangible cultural heritage qualification. today, it has only been selected on the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage candidate list and officially entered the approval process. Sentinayo said he was honored to see Italian espresso listed as a candidate for the intangible heritage of mankind by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He also said that the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry has formally sent the nomination document to UNESCO headquarters.

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