In every two Third-Wave bars in the metropolitan area one can find a filter coffee-machine of the brand La Marzocco – the quintessence of the espresso technique.
While this sector is in part undergoing fluctuations, this traditional business, having its premises in the North of Florence, continues to achieve constant production growth. Having a Marzocco on your worktable means more than having a simple appliance; it is a statement, a status symbol, a cult, one may dare say a fetish. We spoke to the son of the founder, Mr Piero Bambi.
Interview by Patrick Großmann
SCARPERIA, MID-MAY. A small town in the heart of Tuscany … and, in the vicinity of this charming village, one may find – as is typical, hidden among a cluster of anonymous warehouses – what is considered to be, without exaggeration, a temple of the Italian espresso coffee culture: the corporate headquarters of La Marzocco. Today, however, everything seems to be oddly reminiscent of a particular British economy car. In fact, on the Mugello track, right around the corner, the “International Mini Meeting” is taking place, that is: the meeting of all the models of the Mini Cooper; wherever you look you can see one. Old, new, rare. At every intersection and in every service station. From a certain point of view, they are precursors of that which even the brand La Marzocco, created in 1927 and having the Florentine lion as part of its logo, symbolises more than anything: a crossroad between history and progress, tradition and modernity.
Since Piero Bambi sold La Marzocco to a group of American investors in the mid-nineties, one can sense a future-oriented aura in this Florentine village. The ever pulsating heart is now beating faster. Immediately upon entering the welcoming building, internally designed as a Tuscan cottage, it is evident that there is something distinctive when compared to most of the competitors in this sector. Both the appealing entertainment areas as well as the whole production facility – the latter of which is still based on manual work – offer a well-structured and flawless environment. There is a video-conference room which is used to maintain contact with the Marzocco USA. “We are proud to be one of the very few businesses in Italy to use 100% solar energy for all the power that we need”, states the Exports Director Barbara Galea who accompanies me from one warehouse to another and explains everything on a flat-screen. What follows is the impressive history of the machines: fascinating manual-lever machines of the fifties which would constitute a real legacy for collectors, next to avant-garde models of the seventies and eighties, and on top of all, GS and Linea. Unexpectedly, next to one of the machines appears Mr Signor Bambi himself. In a certain way, Mr Bambi is a relic in this environment, only he is a very ‘alive’ relic!
“Do you like manual-lever machines? No personally I don’t. They are too inconsistent, like a slot-machine: sometimes money flows abundantly, but most of the time it doesn’t”. Bambi laughs loudly, with his guttural voice. “Obviously they were good for their time and they constituted a revolution. We started to have cream in our coffee. But let’s not fool ourselves: with a manual lever, one can brew very dark beans, robust, like Passalacqua or Izzo which require a very high temperature – the rest gets burned.” We sit down.
Mr Bambi, how does your day start off? Piero Bambi: At home, with a light American coffee made with the coffee-maker; I also add some milk. I drink my first real espresso only once I’m here. My God, I’m so Italian! (laughs) This will make you laugh: I have a GS/3 in my kitchen which I almost never use. Why should I? I am surrounded all day long with all these coffee machines …
During these years, did you change anything in your preferences or your habits? Definitely I drink much less coffee than before; normally I take a maximum of four cups. I used to drink at least twice as much. And that would still be a moderate amount. My uncle, who used to go visit clients, most of the time did not manage to drink any less than 15 or 20 espressos, and he lived to the ripe old age of 93 years nonetheless. You can try, you can limit the number of coffees, but you would also want to be sociable. But come on, there’s worse than that. We’re lucky to be selling machines for espresso and not grappa! (laughs)
Do you tell the barista if the espresso prepared is not good? Of course not! That’s one thing the Italians don’t do. We don’t say anything, we leave and never go back. Anyway, I am a person who doesn’t speak much. Even if the vapour nozzle or the hopper of the grinder is dirty – that’s enough for me to never go back in such a place. And everyone should do the same.
Do you remember the best espresso you ever drank? It would be a lie … especially since very recently, I did not have very high expectations. You must keep in mind that the espresso here in Italy is a basic drink. An Italian person would notice more quickly if there is anything wrong with the shot of espresso he is offered. Today this is a bit different. I have learnt a lot from young people, and from our clients around the world. The espresso drink is much more complex than what most Italians think (reflects). But, you know, you can always be surprised. In fact recently a very small Italian coffee-shop in the area offered me an espresso which really astonished me.
As an Italian, do you like the very light coffee that seems to be prevailing in the Scandinavian countries and in the USA? I think that these developments are extremely interesting. One should keep both ears and eyes open, even at my age. Otherwise one can never evolve; one remains at a standstill. If want my opinion, I think this is precisely the problem of our country: we always do things as we have always done them. We love the status quo; if in doubt, we would rather look at the past than the future. As a principle, and because of our stubbornness. Whether it’s coffee, football, architectural monuments or politics. Back to your question … some years ago, in Oslo, I met Tim Wendelboe, who is Norwegian – well, the coffee that guy manages to produce is absolutely amazing. Even if it contains a little extra fruity taste, I would very much prefer it to the old way (laughs). Not the least for health reasons.
What do you mean? That’s very simple: chemistry is at the basis of everything. Did you ever smoke?
No, I am a non-smoker. You should be glad about that. Had you been a smoker, you would know that smokers remain loyal to the same cigarette brand in an almost maniacal way. As for other drugs, alkaloids make you coffee-dependent, especially if you always drink the same coffee. People get used to a particular taste if they consume the same coffee components every single day. The toasting process is one of the most complex processes you may think of. If at this stage of the process one makes some variations, instead of always and invariably using method F, it is possible avoid the ‘habit’ and therefore the related dependency. From the taste point of view, I am always looking for ‘my’ taste. I haven’t yet found my “non-plus-ultra”.
Indeed, I am under the impression that change and transformation are at the core of your philosophy. Exactly. When in the sixties everyone used to rely on the new E61 pump-driven machines, the roasting used to make us go mad. Their coffee, which used to be blended according to the requirements of the manual levers, used to be too dark. They had to be adapted and for many this was difficult at first. But this is the evolution that comes with the passage of time. Things change, whether we like it or not. The machine’s pressure used to be 1.5 bars, today it is usually 0.8. The result is that today the coffee has a richer and more pleasant taste.
If your take a look at many of the “third wave” baristas, it seems that rather than the classic connoisseurs there are cultural icons behind the filter machines, like tattooed pop stars. Do you understand this development? Absolutely, this world is deeply fascinating for me. These youths dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to this theme – which is vital for me – and they do it with such a research spirit and such passion … how could it be otherwise? Here you can find admiration rather than arrogance. The fact that they look different and wear different clothes from a man of my age is very obvious – after all I could be their grandfather – but it is also a positive aspect because this draws attention. They show me a lot of respect and this fills me with pride. The fact that the espresso coffee machines are once again in the limelight brings me great joy. There are days when I am here at the firm and I am amazed; I cannot believe it’s true.
And yet – given all the Latte-Art-Championships – at the end of the day this is just a hot beverage. Doesn’t it ever happen to you to find yourself shaking your head, even maybe secretly? No, because this is the very expression of enthusiasm. Passion in its purest form. In my opinion, just the willingness to achieve something, to obtain something apparently impossible is worthy of a reward. Unfortunately, this is something that cannot be said of the majority of baristas who work here in Italy. At most, in the bars here in Italy, one can drink the standard coffee – nothing more, but at least nothing less either. For one Euro one cannot expect much more than that. Everywhere around the world an espresso costs much more. This is rightly so, since a perfect espresso should be exactly so: a small luxury. Our machines contribute to render it so, but one has to afford it. Just like a good barista who understands that all the small details are interconnected. This includes hygiene.
With La Marzocco and machines like Strada that represent status symbols of technical feasibility, you have became an integral part of this scenario, and to a certain extent, you have also contributed to its forging. What distinguishes you in particular from the other manufacturers? First of all the fact that we are on the same wavelength of our clients! We are and have been since the beginning as courageous and curious as the coffeemakers, who we just mentioned, and we honestly listen to them; we take their suggestions seriously. The trick is the same, it hasn’t changed: that is, to learn from history – and dare to try something new! For instance, Florence, in contrast to this, lives only and exclusively in the past and draws from the past. Anywhere you look: Medici, Medici, Medici! (sigh) Everything in Italy which is stately gets rusty.
A disaster. But let’s change subject, otherwise I become irritated.
Indeed, at La Marzocco, you never rested on your laurels. At a time when everyone around the world manufactured vertically, in 1939, my father Giuseppe developed the horizontal boiler. Nobody took him seriously when, at the end of the sixties, he started testing the first dual boiler machines, which then culminated in the GS. And even the first semiautomatic group was created by us. Or let’s take the materials used as an example: everyone relied on copper and brass as of the seventies, while we started using only stainless steel for our boilers, brew groups and filter holders.
Why? Because in combination with hot water, it is more hygienic and is put under less stress. Stainless steel is much more complicated to process, but the aspect of technique and taste were borne in mind. It needs more time to reach optimal temperature, but retains it much better. We always want the best. There was a time when even other brands experimented with stainless steel, but they went back to using copper. Everyone but us, and a couple of small nutty manufacturers (laughs).
Looking back, what was the most complicated invention? No doubt, it was the dual boiler, but not due to the new structure, but because we absolutely wanted to manufacture it in stainless steel.
Who came up with the idea at the time to transform two separate boilers? It was my father’s last project because, towards the end of his work activity, he was ever more convinced that the temperature of the brewing water was likewise important and maybe even more important than the brewing pressure. At that time, all of the pumps brewed more or less at the same pressure, and nevertheless, the outcomes were extremely different. The solution was to make the temperature both directly adjustable and more stable.
Did people immediately understand and accept Giuseppe’s approach or was there some kind of resistance? Our clients were enthusiastic. Those who encountered some difficulties and spoke ill of the approach were our competitors (laughs). It’s strange how we all took the same path, after all.
What is, in your opinion, the biggest technical issue to resolve in the near future?
Apart from further reducing temperature variations, which in the meantime we have managed to restrict to around 70°C thanks to the saturated groups, and that of pre-heated water to 0.25°C, it has to be the size of the machines. Trivial but true. The professional espresso machines still take up too much space. He who manages to make them smaller without losing too much space for the cups, will have won.
Going back to your father: was he such a tireless person as he is conceived to be? Far be it from me idealising him, but that’s the way it is: my father had an extremely strong personality with an overwhelming will. For him, absolute commitment to his own work used to take priority: Giuseppe practically lived in his factory. If by tirelessness you mean to say the fact that he was at home, on multiple levels, then you are right. My father had a lot of talents, from designing the product, to traditional know-how in several areas, to sales. By and large, he was able to realise any project by himself, even metal processing, obtaining a level of quality which nowadays doesn’t even exist anymore in this form.
But for you, being a child at the time, wasn’t it hard having to do with such a workaholic as head of household? There is some truth in this. On Sunday my siblings and I had to almost always go to the cinema with our uncle, as dad went again to work brooding over some technical issue. At the time, we were far from being well-off. La Marzocco consisted of him and his brother Bruno, and that was it! I saw the sea for the first time when I was 13 or 14, when immediately after the war, my father stopped manufacturing and for some time he was a mere employee. For the rest, he has never taken a holiday with us.
So what they say about you is true: you have practically grown up in this factory. (laughs) Yes. But that wasn’t complicated: our apartment was right on top of the factory. When I was young, many times I used to go down to the factory to look at the machines and tools. Sometimes my father even used to let me use the milling machine which made an overwhelming noise. So, since an early age I started to be fascinated by all this, and this hasn’t changed over the years.
Why did you eventually cede your rights to a group of American investors in the mid-nineties? For sure, this was not directly related to Starbuck’s, as our competitors like to say instead. It happened afterwards. In 1987, when my father passed away, I suffered a heart attack. And since I had no children, I had to concretely face the issue of succession. More than anything, the brand needed to be secured in memory of Giuseppe Bambi before anything happened to me. Kent Bakke, today’s CEO and ex-US importer, has been a dear friend of mine since the sixties. I knew he would intuitively know what the brand La Marzocco was all about, and that two particular things were important to me: to keep our name and the place of production in the vicinity of Florence.
Your success proved you right: currently you produce more than 5 000 machines a year, with worldwide exportation spanning over more than 90 countries. I would like your honest opinion about this: does the company still have an Italian identity? Of course. From a logistics point of view, maybe things are now more organised and less chaotic than before, but in essence we’re the same. If it weren’t so, I wouldn’t be here every day, now that I am 79 years old.
TECH-TALK NEWS
AS REGARDS LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AND TECHNICAL DETAILS, TWO MARZOCCO EXPERTS REPLIED TO OUR QUESTIONS
Recently, during your “Out of the Box” event in Ingolstadt, you presented the new Linea PB. What is new and different from the classic Linea? Andrea Simonelli: The most important thing: the brewing temperature and the vapour pressure are now regulated with two PID controllers and no longer using the mechanical thermostat and the pressure switch. Moreover, there is an improved controlling electronic mechanism, steel keys as well as some other new details. These are all things that have been pointed out along the years. And you have gone even further in the development of Strada which may rightly be defined as the object of desire of the community of baristas. Ettore Scagliola: Exactly. There was a set of proposals which had been put on an online blog ad hoc. There was what was known as ‘Street Team’. The most difficult thing to do was narrowing down ideas. The result was a modern model which modified today’s method of extracting espresso. Strada is nothing short of a revolution. An instrument which an expert barista can experiment and cleverly play with. Not everyone can do that, that’s obvious. Simonelli: Just like not all students of a driving school can drive a Ferrari. You can hit the wall immediately. But let’s be honest: how many baristas need the Pressure Profiling offered by Strada MP? Simonelli: The general public certainly does not need it, however the circle of experts and coffee geeks would definitely find it useful. Especially if they are preparing Single Origins of a high level, this will enable them to do miracles and achieve totally unexpected results …and no one in Italy would willingly drink it. Scagliola: (laughs) Exactly. Strada is mostly intended for an international market.