We visited the Cosmos Coffee exhibition at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. It is a must-visit attraction for any coffee lover visiting the city. Curator of the exhibition, Sara Marquart, walked us around showing her favourite exhibits. You can visit Cosmos Coffee in Munich until May 2020, then it will travel around the globe for 2 – 3 years.
Sara Marquart is a food chemist who researched bitterness in coffee in her PhD program. We asked her a few questions about the coffee exhibition.
Sara, how long did it take to prepare the Cosmos Coffee exhibition from start to finish?
The Deutsches Museum (DM) is the world’s largest science and technology museum. We wanted to prove that we can also handle such a highly diverse and complex topic as coffee. So the idea of making an exhibition about coffee was around for some years already, until recently, in 2017, the decision was taken to realize Cosmos Coffee. That’s also when I started working for the Deutsches Museum. So it all began two years ago, with me starting at the museum and bringing my science expertise with me.
How long does it stay in Munich and what’s the plan after that?
It will be on a stage in Munich until 31st of May 2020. After its time in Munich, the exhibition shall tour around the globe to other institutions. Our touring manager is currently in communication with, e.g. Tokyo and Singapore.
What is people’s favourite exhibit so far?
People are indecisive, either way, it is the augmented reality coffee forest, the coffee maker shelf or the interactive roaster, with which people can roast their own coffee.
What was the exhibit that was the most difficult to secure for Cosmos Coffee?
The coffee maker exhibits, namely the rarest ones like the DP 47 La Cornuta from MUMAC, which is worth about $400.000. On the other hand, to have living coffee plants within the exhibition – German climate is not made for growing coffee, as you can imagine. However, we have skilful botanists to take care of the plants.
I can image you learned many new things but what stands out for you personally?
What stands out to me? That the coffee community around the globe is growing closer together. From growers to roasters, the communication along the supply chain is getting better.