Florence
Espresso
In its pure, magnificent form.
La Marzocco, Via La Torre 14/H, Scarperia
There are a very many things that Florence is famous for: birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, playground to the Medicis, capital of Tuscany. Florence is also birthplace of the modern espresso machine, first designed by La Marzocco - the machine that makes 80% of the good espresso we drink in the U.S. We knew that its factory was in Florence, but we didn’t know that you could visit it for a tour! And, with no real industry connection, we didn’t think we’d be admitted. Well, we were wrong (they love fans) and our coffee dreams came true.
Anna-Lyssa emailed us with directions on how to reach the factory by train - just a thirty minute ride from the main station in Florence. And, we were met by a La Marzocco driver who took us to the factory. Our tour included an Australian who owned Sensory Lab, a coffee roaster and shop and an American who works on gender equity issues in coffee production and trade. Both of them were coming from Dublin, which just hosted the World Barista Championship. Not too shabby!
Francesco was our tour guide and he took us through the entire factory and offices. We started with some espresso in their cafe. And, then we went to where the magic happens. And it really is magic. 🔮✨
La Marzocco was founded by two brothers who ran a machine shop. They were commissioned to make an espresso machine by a cafe owner who wanted to use steam to make coffee. Apparently, before 1927, coffee was miserable in Italy (can you imagine) and people rarely drank it. But, with La Marzocco’s machine, coffee became smooth, refined, with a signature crema. The brothers continued to iterate on their machines up through the 60s, eventually perfecting the GS Model (“GS” stands for “gruppo saturo” or saturated group - the technology afforded by two independent boilers). Geek out about their history and technology, here.
The factory floor is divided by production line by model. Each machine is made by one person, who follows it from beginning to end. Quality control is introduced at multiple points, rigorously tested for any possible imperfection. It was a quiet workshop, with craftsmen wearing distinct red shirts and black shorts. They did look like little elves at the bench. We learned a lot about the machines that we’ve revered, but taken for granted for so long. For one, we didn’t understand much about the double-boiler technology that makes all of this work. Having a roaster and barista on tour meant that we learned a lot about the machine at work. And well, we just geeked out hardcore.
We had always known Seattle was a coffee city. But, we didn’t realize how much of the espresso industry is fueled by it - trends and business. La Marzocco has just a few U.S. outlets, which includes a distributor and maintenance shop in Seattle. We are spoiled coffee brats. And, now we really know it. Okay, we could go on and on and on about our factory tour, but we’ll stop. The last thing we’ll say is that we saw Piero Bambi, President of La Marzocco in his offices and gave us chills seeing how a family business could continue to innovate and trendset in such a massive industry. We left truly humbled and deeply inspired.
Well, the rest of the day was moot - for obvious reasons. No more sightseeing needed! We came back into the city and found a spot of overpriced lunch at the Mercato Centrale and took a catnap back at the hotel. For dinner, we could have had Italian food. But, we passed enough Chinese restaurants while we explored the city that we thought, “Eh, maybe we should have Chinese?” This was a huge decision for Yennie. Do you risk having really mediocre Asian food (and maybe have your stomach rage on you later)? Or, say, “Fuck it. It’s been two months and I want rice. I need rice!” The latter, obvi.
The Gods - Old and New were on our side. The restaurant we went to was packed with Chinese tourists (a good sign) and the menu had a lot of dishes we don’t even get in the U.S. very often, like Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, made with freshly stretched noodles. The restaurant was hot. The food was spicy. Yennie was happy. Chinese-Italians, the OG Marco Polo Experience. 🇮🇹🍜🇨🇳
Birra Moretti
Keeping the Chinese-Italian tradition alive.
Impressione Chongqing, Via Sant’Antonino, 34r
