Cappuccino conquests
There will be an opportunity to see an exhibition entitled The Capppuccino Conquests as part of the showcase of research work in the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities in the foyer of the Weston Theatre on the De Havilland campus of the University of Hertfordshire from 23-27 April 2007. The exhibition will include a selection of commercial coffee machines loaned by the Hertfordshire-based food services company Mulmar (www.mulmar.co.uk ), who are the exclusive UK distributors of the Faema and La Marzocco machines, and supplied the ‘Leggenda’ machine currently in operation in the newly-opened state of the art café situated in the Gallery of the Art & Design building on the main, College Lane, campus.
The curator of the exhibition, Professor Jonathan Morris of the University of Hertfordshire, is director of ‘The Cappuccino Conquests’ research project (www.cappuccinoconquests.org.uk) that traces the spread of ‘Italian style’ coffee from the origins of espresso at the beginning of the twentieth century, through to the global popularity of beverages such as cappuccino and caffè latte today. He has produced a set of panels illustrated the development of machines and roasting in Italy, the ‘50s coffee bar boom and the growth of the Anglo-Italian café in the UK, the role of espresso in the speciality coffee revolution in the US and the impact of contemporary ‘cappuccino culture’ in countries as diverse as the UK, Hungary, China and Italy itself. A selection of home machines, coffees, merchandising and espresso paraphernalia will also be displayed.
This exhibition follows the highly successful exhibition organised last November at the Bramah Museum of Tea and Coffee in London between 18-26 November 2006. This featured eight historic coffee machines brought over from Italy by the well-known collector Enrico Maltoni (www.espressomadeinitaly.com), including vertical machines made by San Marco and Rancilio as well as such classics as the Pavoni Concorso (Diamante) and the Faema E61. These were exhibited alongside gems from the Bramah Museum’s permanent display such as the La Pavoni Ideale and the Gaggia Spagna. Two contemporary machines were provided by Mr. Maltoni’s sponsors, Lavazza and Rancilio.
Over 80 international guests from both the coffee and academic worlds, attended the preview event sponsored by Lavazza UK. They included many delegates from the conference on ‘Consuming Italy’ that was organised simultaneously by the Cappuccino Conquests project at the Italian Cultural Institute in London.
Professor Morris will also be speaking in the seminar programme organised by the UK chapter of the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe at the Caffè Culture trade fair to be held at London Olympia, 23-24 May 2007. He can be contacted at: j.2.morris@herts.ac.uk