The history of coffee might have been very different, and indeed,
much shorter if, after its introduction to Europe, people had not
immediately set out to find better ways to brew it. Numerous
inventions led to various infusion methods, most of which are still
in use today in slightly modified and refined forms. One of the most
ingenious was devised by a Frenchman who would be astounded if he
could see the influence of his machine on coffee consumption today.
In 1822 Louis Bernard Rabaut decided that a more efficient
extraction of coffee flavor would result if one could harness the
power of steam to drive hot water through coffee grounds instead of
just letting it drip through. Why not? Steam had been shown to be a
powerful means of operating machinery: it was simply the ultimate
form of hot water.
A larger commercial machine based on Rabaut's
idea was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1855 by Edward Loysel
de Santais. Later versions, develop just before the turn of the
century by Italians, allowed for individual cups to be brewed
simultaneously, and the name espresso (fast) was born. The
definitive model from which all modern espresso machines descend was
that made by Luigi Bezzera in 1902. The story of espresso machines
are Italian.
The early years of the twentieth century brought several changes
to coffee which would have far-reaching effects on its usage and
consumption. In 1908 a German housewife, Frau Melitta Bentz,
discovered that if she poured water through coffee pot, instead of
dangling a cloth bag in the water, she got a cleaner, tastier brew:
thus was the filter paper created, although since the 1670s coffee
had been filtered or dipped through perforated porcelain or metal
containers.
At about the same time it was discovered that caffeine is soluble
- in other words that it can be made to dissolve into whatever
liquid the beans might be soaked in, leaving beans without the kick
- and Kaffee Hag was born. For many years the average coffee
consumer did not consider decaffeinated coffee a serious
alternative. By the 1980s it claimed more than one-fifth of the
world coffee market.
