For some, the sounds might be puzzling — a clank, a hiss, a whoosh. But for coffee aficionados, there’s no mystery at all. It’s merely the hum and clatter of a delicious espresso drink being prepared. The creative design, ingenious mechanics, and attention to detail that go into espresso machines have intrigued Kent Bakke for nearly 50 years. But it didn’t start out that way. In fact, at the beginning, Bakke wasn’t even a coffee drinker.

In 1977, a random encounter at a Seattle sandwich shop led Bakke to a career steeped in coffee. For several decades, he partnered with La Marzocco, the venerable Italian espresso-machine maker, and eventually became its CEO in 1994. After his retirement in 2018, Bakke brewed up his latest venture: the Bakke Coffee Museum, where he displays some of his personal collection of coffee machines and grinders.