Subscribe to our newsletter by emailLibraries New Exhibit: From Bean to Brew: Coffee and Culture
The opening of the Libraries' fall exhibit, From Bean to Brew: Coffee and Culture, will take place on Wednesday, November 12th at 5:30 PM in Langson Library. Steven Topik, UCI Professor of History, and Martin Diedrich, Founder and Master Roaster of Kéan Coffee, are our opening night event speakers.
From Bean to Brew highlights the adoption of coffee as a widely consumed beverage and spans areas covering coffee production, the marketing of coffee, and the modern economics of coffee. The exhibit also showcases coffee culture in Orange County, and how heavily it is dependent upon both coffee and the ways coffee is consumed.
The exhibit shares some of the truths and legends surrounding the discovery of the coffee plant, how it was first ingested by humans, and its relationship with medicine and religion. It will go on to discuss the spread of coffee and its cultivation in Arabia, Europe, the Dutch colonies in Java, the French colonies in the West Indies, and onward to South America and Asia. The exhibit also explores coffeehouse culture in Orange County with local past and current coffeehouses like Diedrich’s and Kéan Coffee, and examines barista culture and the influence of the fair trade coffee movement. Finally, the exhibit brings to light the journey of the coffee berry from cultivation to your cup.
Opening night speakers Steven Topik, UCI Professor of History, and Martin Diedrich, Founder and Master Roaster of Kéan Coffee, will lead a fascinating conversation on coffee history and culture. Professor Steven Topik specializes in world history through the study of commodities, especially coffee. He has authored, co-authored, or edited several books including The Global Coffee Economy in Africa, Asia and Latin America, 1500-1989, and is currently working on a world history of coffee since 1500. Martin Diedrich founded Diedrich Coffee in Costa Mesa in 1984 and Kéan Coffee in 2005. He is considered one of the pioneers of the coffeehouse phenomenon and is an internationally recognized coffee expert.
The program will be followed by a light reception and exhibit viewing. The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited; reservations are first come, first served. Please go to https://partners.lib.uci.edu/coffee to make an online reservation.
For further information please contact the Library External Relations Office at 949.824.4651 or partners@uci.edu.