The 91 Year Conversation
On a recent trip to La Marzocco HQ in Scarperia, our creative director learned that there’s more to coffee than the caffeine fix
As part of the La Marzocco induction pack, I am pretty certain there’s a section on the art of handshaking. Something along the lines of ‘How to greet people you’ve never met as if they’re a long lost friend you haven’t seen since what’s’isname’s 21st some 10 years ago.’
Heading to Florence one blurry-eyed, Tuesday morning, I thought this article would be another of those production-line visit pieces. However, once we pulled up in the factory car park, located about 50 minutes north of Florence in Scarperia, it quickly became apparent that the factory-by-numbers feature would not suffice.
Swiftly led upstairs by our host (and regular EJ columnist) Dan from La Marzocco UK, we found ourselves in an Italian villa-esque space that appeared part trophy cabinet, part museum, part coffee house. We were invited around the one of the last espresso machines that Bruno Bambi handcrafted himself which, above all, offered a mutual space for the greetings and small talk that would quickly follow. Staff of all departments and grades swarmed from behind their desks as members of the visiting Milan team ventured up the same set of stairs we had just climbed. Whether from Milan, Scarperia or the UK all were warmly offered a handshake and a genuine, heartfelt ‘bonjourno’.
Having gotten to know the UK team over the past couple of years, this sort of welcome from familiar faces should come as no surprise, but it’s rare to experience that same warmth as you move up the hierarchy from from local set-up to HQ. La Marzocco, however, pride themselves on building relationships to ‘enrich the lives of others,’ and it was truly staggering to watch them practice what they preach so effortlessly.
As we moved around the factory, lead by our guide Lavinia, the importance of the machine continued to grow. From communal-area-cum-trophy-cabinet, to meeting room, to think space and finally to factory floor, each area showcased a fully operational La Marzocco machine. Each one doubling as a hub for team members discussing operations, product development and marketing strategy over an espresso.
Even in the factory, it was rare to see a member of staff working alone. Coined the Master of Welding, Massimo, was possibly the only member of staff not to have a workmate directly opposite him. Understandable. He didn’t have long to wait to buddy-up, however, as every two hours the factory takes a 15 minute break.
During this time, a crowd formed around the machine, this time a Linea PB. Beautiful though it was, it wasn’t the machine that garnered attention, but the social platform it provided. It wasn’t the caffeine fix they gathered for, but the chance to converse. Here, an espresso takes around 30 seconds to pour and 10 seconds to consume, leaving 14 minutes and 20 seconds to get down to what really matters: The people around you.
And isn’t that what we all really want in a coffee break? A time and a place for events to unfold? I think back to the sitcoms of the 90s: From Frasier’s Café Nervosa to Friends’ Central Perk. They all had coffee shops, but the coffee was never the focus. It was the social space that the break provided, the conviviality that it celebrated.
Next time you have a coffee, try to forget about the drink itself and take a closer look at the situation. The coffee break is a platform for safe, open dialogue. It’s a time to think, debate and discuss. To create, celebrate and counsel. It’s a time to reinvigorate and re-engage. More than anything, the La Marzocco factory was a reminder that a cup of coffee is not about the caffeine, but the conversation.
Words & Photography by Thomas SUMNER
