Edward Loysel

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Wikipedia

Edward Loysel (Vannes, 1816 – 1865),[1] born Édouard Loysel de La Lantais, was a French-British engineer who patented an early espresso machine, and is known for having coined and popularised the terms "percolator" and "percolation."[2]

Initially professor of mechanics and natural sciences[3] in Marseille, France, he began to move into business in following years.[1] In the early 1840s, he first patented an advertising panel and a chess game.[3]

Later on, Loysel built over existing work undertaken by Jöns Jacob Berzelius in Sweden, the Count of Real and Pierre-François-Guillaume Boullay in France, and other techniques developed in Germany,[2][4] to patent in 1845 his "Hydrostatic percolator" described as "devices, intended to obtain, by infusion, liquid extracts and various substances".[5]

Mainly used for coffee, the machine was exhibited at the 1855 Paris Exposition.[6] As Loysel had moved to the UK in 1844 (and obtained British nationality in 1848), his machine was presented as part of the "English catalogue" of the world fair.[3][1] In London, he was member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

The success of Loysel's machine was also ensured by its capacity to produce hundreds of cups of coffee per hour.[6][7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Institution of Civil Engineers (1870). Memoirs — Mr Edward Loysel. Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Vol. 30. p. 475.
  2. 1 2 Adrian, Louis Alphonse; Adrian), Adrian (Louis-Alphonse (1889). Etude historique sur les extraits pharmaceutiques: comprenant la description des divers procédés et appareils ayant servi à l'extraction des principes actifs des végétaux et à leur concentration : suivie d'une double table bibliographique (in French). O. Doin. p. 171.
  3. 1 2 3 Pootoogoo, Sébastien (2015-04-08). "Elevator to espresso (Episode 5)". The black blob spot. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  4. ↑ www.barista.by. "History and development of the espresso machine". barista.by. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  5. ↑ Loysel de la Lantais, Edouard. "Appareils dits percolateurs hydrostatiques, propres à obtenir, par infusion, des extraits liquides et diverses substances, etc. [INPI: 1BB20893 - Brevets d'invention 1791-1901]". INPI. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  6. 1 2 "Loysel's Patent Hydrostatic Percolator". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  7. ↑ Une des plus heureuses surprises du palais de l'Industrie : Percolateur Hydrostatique de M.Loysel, Ingénieur Civil (Nº 473 du Catalogue anglais, Galerie du bord de l'eau). Vol. Tome 7. Paris: Cosmos / Revue encyclopédique hebdomadaire des progrès.des sciences. 1855.