"Widespread caffeine use explains a lot about the twentieth century."
~ Greg Egan, Australian science fiction writer, 1961-

Whether you prefer fresh-brewed coffee, the comfort of a hot cup of tea, the click-hiss when opening a can of cola, or the smooth sweet promise of a chocolate bar, you are counted among the billions of people on earth who enjoy a daily dose of caffeine. Our desire for it is unquestionably universal. Caffeine is the most demanded commodity on the global market: the demand for coffee alone is second only to the world’s demand for oil.

Exhibit Entrance Gallery With the look and feel of a bazaar, the entrance gallery is designed to impress the visitor with the textures, colors, and aromas of the thousands of caffeinated products worldwide.

The American Caffeine Culture

• 500 billion cups of tea are consumed a year
• 500 million cups of coffee are consumed a day
• and on average, each American consumes 600 cups of cola a year
• and eats at least one chocolate bar every day

Capitalizing on these treasured commodities to capture the attention and imagination of people of all ages, Cafétura, the epic journey of caffeine presents them as examples of how our natural world develops our cultures, and how our cultures shape the natural world around us. Our pursuit of caffeine has enlightened monks, inspired artists and inventors, defined commerce, shaped global politics, sculpted landscapes, and impacted human health on a global scale.

A Traveling Exhibit

Designed for natural history, history, and art museums, botanical gardens, and science centers, Cafétura, a hands-on interactive experience, will speak to children and adults alike, and attract new audiences—high school and college students, young adults—to public education institutions. It will impress visitors with the science involved in producing the most luscious chocolate and the perfect cup of brewed coffee to developing the most common pharmaceuticals on earth. They will be awe struck by the millions of people involved in the production and delivery of a daily cup of coffee/tea to to billions worldwide and the natural resources required to meet its global demand. Visitors will leave the exhibit with a better understanding of the life history of our most demanded commodity, and our social responsibility to be good stewards of its production and appropriation.

Exhibit Space Cafétura, the epic journey of caffeine is a flexible 4-to-7,000 square foot traveling exhibit.

Boasting of thousands of objects, artifacts, specimens, and artwork, Cafétura will delight its visitors with the accompanying myriad of stories that thread through the exhibit. From a life-size reconstruction of the first Japanese Tea House and the 1950's American Miracle Kitchen, to interactive human bodies and brains, the visitor will be immersed in a multi-dimensional story about the nature of caffeine and its import on civilization. Witnessed through state-of-the-art interactives, immersive settings, fine artwork, exquisite caffeine equipage, and the most diverse collection of caffeine products ever assembled, its visitors will be captivated.

Inspirational

Our celebration of caffeine is expressed in the rituals of its preparation and consumption—espresso machines, high-tech tea infusers, home chocolate fountains, fine china, favorite mugs, and the millions social caffeine establishments. Our love affair with these consumables has defined some of the greatest cultures in the history of civilization—Chinese, Japanese, Arab, and Mesoamerican, shaped the religious practices of Islam, Zen Buddhism, Mayan, and West Africa, heralded in the Ages of 'Reason and Change', 'Industry', 'Starbucks,' and 'Jolt,' and in-heartened some of the world's greatest artists and scientists. A multifarious story, caffeine's journey from its production in the fruits and leaves on trees, to the most desired comestibles on earth, mirrors our own journey, the history of human civilization. The tale of caffeine is one of pleasure, politics, obsession, money, and invention. Like all good stories, it is complex and historic; it combines bloodshed with peace, Zen Buddhism with slave trade, and divinity with genocide. It is a story of fine art, elaborate etiquette, religious rituals, and addiction. Our obsession with caffeine in the form of coffee, tea, chocolate, kola (cola), and energy drinks has created the world's richest men, inspired the most pious monks, and changed the landscape of the world.

Specifications

Cafétura is being developed by a multidisciplinary team that includes scientists, education specialists, designers, artists, and builders, as well as cultivators, importers, and distributors of caffeinated products. Designed using modular components, Cafétura can be exhibited in galleries from 4-to-7,000 square feet in size, and accommodate the temporary display of each venue’s collections.