Coffee machines are an interesting machine with an interesting history. In this article you can learn about its history which goes back further than you might imagine.

Obviously, coffee making stretches back way before the coffee machine was invented, although back in the day this didn't involve coffee granules and a kettle, as is common place nowadays. In the 1800s coffee was made through grinding the coffee itself up and putting that into a pan of boiling water, which admittedly is quite similar in principle but at the same time there's much less chance of burning the coffee the way we make it now!

The evolution of the coffee machine is very much a French thing and they can lay claim to two of the very first methods, drip brewing and perculating, both of which have had a big influence on what was to come. The general idea of both is that water is gradually added to the coffee to maximise the flavour.

Throughout the rest of the 19th century vacuum brewing became the most popular method and coffee machine production and development began to go global, with America becoming one of the leading nations. With the dawning of the 20th century the French idea of perculator coffee was perfected in the US by Hanson Goodrich and his design is still used today.

Over the years as technology has advanced and commercialisation has grown, coffee machines have got better but in most cases the principles of the original methods are the same. From the 1960's onwards electric drip machines were introduced, making the process a lot easier and the results much better.

The more recent history of coffee machines has basically seen an overall perfecting of the machine and what it can do. Most machines now allow for more than cup to be prepared at the same time, some even allow for different types of coffee to be used, such as ESE pods and coffee beans. As well as this, practically all are now able to make cappuccinos using the steam that is produced by the machine. They can be quite tricky to master but well worth it when you do!

Hope you've enjoyed this article, the history of the coffee machine is quite an interesting one that stretches back over 200 years and has lead to the kind of coffee we can make at home or get in Starbucks today. Another significant chapter in the history of human invention, and one that has produced some very tasty results!