Coffee house culture is celebrating its global triumph. There are coffee houses all over the world. No other metropolis is as closely associated with coffee as Vienna. The countless, long-established coffee houses have charm and are visited by many tourists every day. The concept has a long history and its success proves it right. The success can possibly be attributed to the fact that modernity meets tradition in the coffee houses. The professional coffee machine is next to the hand coffee grinder. The hipster works on his new Apple MacBook while sipping a mocha that was made the same way a thousand years ago. Like the professional coffee machine, the espresso machine is now a permanent fixture in all coffee houses.
No coffee house without a professional coffee machine
Anyone who enters a Viennese coffee house often feels as if they have been transported to another, long-gone time. The smell of delicious coffee is in the air, the furnishings are often traditional, dark wood meets comfortable wing chairs and the waiter is called “Herr Ober”.
The incomparable charm of the coffee houses is appreciated far beyond the borders of Vienna. Coffee houses are spread all over the world. Anyone who still expects that preparation equipment from the coffee houses is original is mistaken. The modern, professional coffee machine and the espresso machine are used in the coffee house just as naturally as the traditional mocha pot, which was used hundreds of years ago. The espresso machine is just as indispensable, precisely because espresso is the basis for many coffee variations. Modern preparation methods meet the Viennese tradition and complement it perfectly. For this reason, the espresso machine should not be missing in any coffee house.
The coffee house has had a long history before the espresso machine was invented
Long before the professional coffee machine was invented, the coffee plant was cultivated in the Arab world and the beans were processed into an aromatic drink. Coffee has been roasted, ground and brewed since the mid-15th century.
The first coffee taverns emerged and became popular hotspots. At that time, the espresso machine was far from being invented. Travelers got to know coffee in the popular place of pilgrimage Mecca and brought it with them to Europe. A few years later, starting in 1645, the first coffee houses opened in the port cities of London, Hamburg, Marseille, Venice and Amsterdam. However, it took several centuries before the espresso machine could be invented. The espresso machine was only patented in Italy in 1884. It was finally possible to prepare espresso, which is an essential part of cappuccino and many other coffee drinks. The first cafe serving coffee was in Paris in 1672. Only then, in 1683, did the first coffee house appear in Vienna, although initially without a professional coffee machine.
Turkish mocha at the gates of Vienna
According to a legend about the introduction of the coffee culture in the residence city of the Habsburgs, the Turks besieged Vienna in the expansion struggles. The Turkish army was defeated at the gates of Vienna and retreated. The Turks left sacks of coffee beans as a legacy. These sacks were given to Franz Georg Kolschitzky, who proved brave on the side of the Austrians.
According to another source, the coffee beans were given to the Armenian spy Deodato, who opened the first Viennese coffee house in 1685. This was many years before the espresso machine and professional coffee maker existed. It was only much later that the professional coffee machine changed coffee preparation significantly. With a professional coffee machine, everyone has a piece of Viennese coffee house culture at home these days.
