Coffee drinkers know that Italian coffee and
espresso are always a great bet for getting your daily dose of
caffeine. Following the illycaffè
exhibition at Scotts Square earlier this month,
the mall's second coffee-themed exhibition
titled Espresso Italiano presents more
to learn about coffee's storied history.
1. It all started in
Venice. Italian-style coffee wasn’t developed until
the 19th century, but the Italians—namely the Venetians—imported
coffee as early as the 1570s.
2. The first patented coffee machine was
Milanese. In 1901, Luigi Bezzera registered a coffee
machine in Milan that consisted of gas-heated, brass boiler fired
by carbon. And yes, those are the same Bezzera machines you still
see today. The exhibition at Scotts Square also has some beautiful,
pre-Bezzera handmade brass coffee pots on
display.
3. Italy made the coffee bar
popular. These small espresso bars featured a long
counter with an espresso machine and encouraged standing up and
drinking.
4. Coffee bars were always
hip. Even in the 19th century, coffee houses were the
meeting point for artists, authors, philosophers and politicians
alike. Caffe’Greco in Rome was popular with composer Richard
Wagner, author Orson Welles and even a pope, Gioacchino Pecci, who
became Leo XIII.
5. Paying it forward started with
coffee. The Neapolitans have a tradition, caffe
sospeso, or suspended coffee, of buying two cups of coffee, but
only drinking one. The other is meant as a good turn so the less
fortunate could also enjoy a cup.
6. Coffee isn’t only for
drinking. While it is delicious when brewed, it’s got
more uses than one. Indian artists Amita and Mira Chudasama use
coffee as a pigment mixed with water for their paintings, and you
can view their original painting from 2006 at the exhibition.
Coffee grounds also double as a great exfoliator for dead
skin.
7. Lattes aren’t
Italian. In fact, traditional Italian coffees tend to
be in the form of espressos, macchiatos and cappuccinos. Lattes
were supposedly invented by an Italian-American in California in
the 1950s.
Want to learn more about the
history of Italian coffee? The Espresso
Italiano exhibition
runs Jul
15-Aug 2 at Scotts Square. Curated by
Luciano Calosso and Enrica Barbano from Colosseum Cultural
Association, with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute of
Singapore, the exhibition covers everything about the history of
Italian espresso, its artistic significance and modern day hipster
reincarnations. Take this chance to admire original coffee pots and
tools that date back to the 1700s–1800s.
Plus, enjoy a free cup of illy
coffee with a minimum spend of $50 in a single receipt at Scotts
Square during this period. Click here for other
promotions.