Espresso without crema?
In the 1940s, Achille Gaggia, an ambitious Italian inventor, developed the first modern espresso machine. Gaggia recognised that the pressure brewing systems used up to that point in the coffee machines were not sufficient to release the full aroma of the beans. By means of specific experiments, he developed a new pressure system that generated water pressure of 9 bar and thus optimised extraction. Using a simple lever function, he succeeded in developing the espresso of today. Incidentally, Gaggia's technical innovation was created with the effectuation model that the café+co Explorers got to know during their workshop in Milan.
The result was a delicious, aromatic espresso with a thick, golden-brown crema on the surface. You could say, the crema was a product created by accident. However, it first had to establish itself before it became the favourite of the coffee world. But that is another story!
Let us come back to our café+co Explorers. After Big Data and AI in London, the journey took the 14 café+co Explorers to Milan where their task was to look at innovation and creativity. Because the café+co Explorers are also called upon to take creative and innovative paths for the challenges of the future. The café+co Explorers have summarised what they think about that for you in a brief video:
Milan and specifically the history of the coffee machine have shown that courage to develop further makes companies successful and can revolutionise entire sectors. After Milan, three things have been established at any rate for the café+co Explorers:
- Everybody can work in an innovative and creative way when their thoughts are free and methods for creative working are used as support.
- Not every innovation requires a big budget – sometimes it is the small steps that make a huge difference.
- Innovative companies create space and time for working on further development.
The crema is a good example of this. Achille Gaggia created an innovative solution from a creative idea and in the process discovered the crema by chance, a product that has become an integral part of today's coffee world. We look forward with anticipation to the "accidental products" that the café+co Explorer project has in store for us.
