Coffee Company’s, Leslie Vreugdenhil, after his trip to La Marzocco last winter, published this amusing story.

“Early this year I was like a coffee geek, a La Marzocco fan who paid a visit to the factory. It was like a live How It’s Made show and a meet-and-greet with Justin Bieber, although with a bearded Italian guy.

So there we were, Hayo, Tom and I, with very small eyes in the middle of the night at the airport. After the customs control, our fantastic host Henk Langkemper quickly provided us with a cup of coffee after a stiff flight to Italy. A gruff Italian man picked us up at Pisa’s close-fitting airport, twice confirming the prejudices on Italian driving.”

“Once we arrived in the small mountain village where La Marzocco had arranged our hotel, we realized how busy it was in the suburbs. The cliché of the village with only one street and some grandfathers on a bench was perceived all around us. We went for a short walk and just like a true local, Henk told us about the history of the village and then we were picked up by a van from La Marzocco who brought us to the factory.”

“The factory was not what I had completely expected from the producer, in my opinion, of the best machines in the world. It is a small, family-like business there, in which a group of engineers meet and work on the espresso machines rather than in a stuffy office downtown. After being introduced to Piero Bambi, the company’s chairman who continues designing espresso machines whereas people of his age in the Netherlands are planting geraniums, I realized this was not just a business. So we learned the LM Linea PB stands for Piero Bambi. Indeed, the flamboyant man designed the latest flagship model for La Marzocco.”

“After a brief tour of the factory, where we came across other golden espresso machines, it was time to eat. Naturally, Italy would not be Italy if there was no pasta. We were hoping for good food but this exceeded all expectations. The simplest ingredients turn into fabulous pasta dishes. The fact that we found ourselves in a small restaurant across the road and sat between the espresso machine technicians completed the whole picture for us. Hours later it was time for the rest of the wax tour.”

“The tour led us through the next floor of the factory where original technicians were concentrated on the most beautiful machines. Every technician had his own task and did it with passion and inspiration. How focused these men and also the women were, who worked on the product, made me realize the reason why this can only be done in Italy. These people are proud of the brand they work for; they work with passion and pride. Great Italian ego motivates the craftsmen to make the best machines ever.”

“In the afternoon it was time of course for a tour in Florence in a speedy Alfa driven by our Italian host Enrico, who brought us there in a fraction of the calculated travel time; a charming Italian with a sports car who knows everything about espresso machines, art and food. He led us around Florence full of energy and pride, as we went through all the sightseeing and saw the city’s symbol; this was a lion that answers to the name – you guessed it – Marzocco.”

“It was a long day for us and we decided to stop by a brown Florentine café with delicious cold beer and a great aperitivo. We had our evening courses and again we were really blown away by the marvelous Tuscan cuisine. The local cooking of meat and cheese was so impressive that all Dutch food now seemed disappointing.

After a deadly quiet night in the Tuscan mountains, during breakfast we discussed about how noisy the Netherlands was and about how much we didn’t feel like going back. Unfortunately there wasn’t too much time to think, and we were quickly brought to an exhibition room for a very informative presentation on water and later the Strada (adjustable pressure machine). An intensive morning followed again by an amazing lunch, and then in the afternoon we found ourselves once more in the factory, just on time for the coffee break, during which the technicians were playing Ping-Pong and fussball. Great to see these people work and enjoy life. Later we experienced the welding of a master cylinder and took a peak into the secret workshop of the product engineers.”

“After yet another great dinner with fine wines, our adventure at La Marzocco was already over. Three great but tiring days later we were back on the autostrada. Henk and Enrico provided us with exceptional hospitality, offering a memorable trip where we were able to look behind the scenes of Italian passion and pride. Now I understand why Italians are the best in the world within prestigious industries. La Marzocco, Ferrari and Gucci are not coincidences, but are driven by the Italian pride of being the best in the world.”

Thanks to our partner Espresso Service West for making this trip happen.