La Marzocco, founded in 1927, Florence, by Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi, is an Italian company specializing in high-end espresso coffee machines. It is based in Scarperia, with branch offices worldwide. History After the Bambi brothers manufactured their first coffee machine Fiorenza on commission, they established their own activity in 1927 specialized in hand-crafting espresso machines, and named it after the Marzocco – the city of Florence's symbol of victory and conquest and whose image and values were chosen to represent the company brand. As coffee consumption increased in Italy throughout the 20th century, La Marzocco over the decades introduced technological innovations, improved ergonomics and barista tools, establishing industry standards. In 1939, La Marzocco patented the first espresso machine with a horizontal boiler, which, in comparison to the previous vertical structure, organized the brew groups in a horizontal fashion, which provided efficiency for the barista and an opportunity to engage with customers. Following the introduction of the lever machines in 1947, La Marzocco began to manufacture its own models, keeping in mind design that would refer to the context of the environment and time. In the early 1950s, Piero Bambi, who is currently Honorary President, joined the business of his father Giuseppe and his uncle. From 1964 to 1970 La Marzocco produced the Poker series, in which the piston, unlike lever machines, was lifted and pressed during brewing by means of a diaphragm, that was inflated by steam pressure generated by the boiler. In 1968, Giuseppe Bambi's "Vulcano" grinder was awarded the Decorative and Industrial Arts Prize at the 14th Triennale di Milano exhibition. In 1970, La Marzocco patented its first series of professional semi-automatic, dual-boiler machines named "GS" (GS for Gruppo Saturo, or saturated group), winning the Qualità e Cortesia-Toscana prize in 1971. The two independent boilers separated coffee extraction from steam production thus, together with the saturated groups, ensured thermal stability and improved coffee quality in the cup since water now flowed through independent circuits. From the seventies onward all machine boilers are manufactured in stainless steel. In 1982, the GS/2 - a redesigned GS model - won the Premio Andino de Fomento prize, and in 1988 the American firm ESF (future Espresso Specialists, Inc.) run by Kent Bakke became the exclusive supplier of La Marzocco machines for Starbucks until the latter, after 16 years, transitioned to super-automatic machines. Kent Bakke began importing La Marzocco machines to the United