Accademia del caffè espresso
A cultural hub focused on understanding and promoting espresso coffee.
Firenze, (IT) 2018
Housed in the old La Marzocco’s factory, and inaugurated in 2018, Accademia del caffè espresso is a multi-purpose center designed by Giò Forma. Conceived as a hub for research, culture, and experimentation, it brings together La Marzocco’s company museum and historical archive, an indoor coffee plantation, research and education laboratories, and the Officine Fratelli Bambi — a workshop dedicated to craftsmanship and artistry, producing bespoke espresso machines.
Envisioned as the Espresso Coffee Development and Cultural Understanding Center, the Accademia is dedicated to fostering encounters, knowledge-sharing, and both professional and personal growth across all traditional and contemporary expressions of coffee culture. Research, education, and technology form the three core pillars developed by La Marzocco — a company founded in 1927 and now headquartered in Scarperia — within the former industrial space, reimagined as a living cultural and educational environment.
The Accademia is the result of layered influences, ongoing research, and inspiration drawn from the past, reshaping the present and projecting coffee culture into the future. On site, visitors will find an original Bambi Bar, dedicated to coffee tastings — including rare and vintage blends — alongside an indoor greenhouse coffee plantation designed to explore cultivation challenges and specificities. Exhibitions and installations narrate the origins of coffee and its complexity, while a timeline traces the long evolution of design and technology.
The center also features spaces for experimenting with coffee machines, a structured program of courses for aspiring baristas and young artisans, educational exchanges with coffee-producing countries, as well as round tables, talks, and seminars — positioning the Accademia as an international reference point for coffee culture and innovation.
