Visitors to the pop-up in London were invited to sip a coffee and enjoy watching how it transformed their brainwaves to create a piece of artwork.
A new interactive art exhibition reveals how coffee impacts your brainwaves. The ‘Art of the Espresso’ offered coffee enthusiasts the chance to savour their brew whilst simultaneously creating a unique piece of art. The event – billed as a visual tribute to the nation’s beloved morning tradition – is happening today exclusively at London’s Gallery Different.
Guests are encouraged to don an electroencephalogram (EEG) headset, typically found in scientific laboratories, which monitors visitors’ brainwave activity as they experience their coffee through all the senses. The brainwaves captured by the EEG are then converted into a bespoke artwork for guests to keep.
Food anthropologist Caroline Hobkinson has been converting these brainwaves into personalised artistic creations to celebrate the debut of Breville’s Barista Series – the Slimline, Classic, and Sense.
Discussing the exhibition, she explained: “Coffee is a deeply personal ritual. The sheer anticipation, the smell and the final much longed-for sip create mesmerising brain signatures that are completely personal.
“I’ve transformed these into visualisations, depicting glowing streams of liquid energy, capturing the sensation of stimulation as it spreads through the brain.”
The temporary gallery comes after Breville’s study of 2,000 coffee drinkers revealed 23% cannot operate without their morning caffeine fix.
One in ten confessed they refuse to communicate with anyone before having their initial taste. Meanwhile, some people won’t even consider making breakfast, taking a shower, opening their emails, or making decisions until they’ve had their morning brew.
Other activities that coffee lovers avoid until they’ve had their first cup include using public transport, walking the dog, and tackling the school run. Some even refuse to smile or kiss their partner before they’ve had their caffeine fix.
Interestingly, two thirds of people are not confident in making the drink at home, with the biggest obstacles being lack of the right equipment, not having good quality beans, and the time it takes to make.
For 53% of people, they opt to buy a takeaway coffee instead, purchasing three cups a week on average and spending an average of £11.22 in the process. Over the course of the year, this adds up to around £583.
The study, conducted through OnePoll, found that for 33% of people, when a cup of coffee is made right, ‘it’s like art’.
A spokesperson for Breville, whose new range of machines designed to produce café-quality coffee at home is now available, said: “Coffee isn’t just a drink – it’s the spark that powers the nation’s mornings.
“Today’s unique café experience shows the hidden magic behind that first sip, and how the right machine can bring that joy into kitchens every day.”
Here are the top 10 favourite types of coffee:
- Cappuccino
- Latte
- Americano
- Flat White
- Espresso
- Filter with milk
- Iced Coffee
- Mocha
- Iced Latte
- Macchiato