Coffee Museum

Meyer is introducing coffee machines made in Austria in the 1930s.

Among Vienna's many museums, the Coffee Museum, founded only in 2003, is perhaps the youngest. When you enter this museum, you are greeted by a very rich Viennese coffee culture. Edmund Meyer, director of the museum, warmly welcomed us into a familiar and unfamiliar "coffee world".

Coffee is the first human drink. Meier said that at present, the global coffee production is about 150 million bags (60 kilograms per bag), consumption is more than 130 million bags, taking into account factors such as reserves, basically in a state of balance between supply and demand. Finland consumes 12 kilograms of coffee per person per year and drinks 4.6 cups per person per day, making it the "world champion." Austria consumes 6.1 kg of coffee per capita per year, ranking 16th in the world. Although coffee is not produced in Europe, 13 of the top 20 countries per capita are European.

The origin of coffee is controversial, and some legends are shrouded in mystery. There are more than 16,000 kinds of books about coffee in the world, but only 2000 kinds of books about potatoes and only 10,000 kinds of books about wine. It can be seen that people have a special liking for coffee. It is generally believed that coffee originated in Ethiopia, where there are many wild "berry" trees, and nomads went there to buy "berries" for soup in the 9th century or earlier. The famous Persian doctor Avicenna recognized the stimulant effect of coffee in 1015 and used coffee as medicine. In the 11th century, Arabs began to grow coffee on the slopes of the Red Sea coast, and Yemenis began to roast the harvested beans on stone flakes.

Coffee beans are commonly found in two main groups: Arabica, discovered in Ethiopia in 1542, and Robusta, discovered in Uganda in 1860. The biggest difference between the two types of coffee is the taste, the former is characterized by soft aroma, the latter is characterized by strong; the latter caffeine content is twice as much as the former.

Meier said the museum's 3000 exhibits cover all aspects of Vienna's coffee culture and are the fruit of half a century of hard work. In addition to coffee beans, coffee machines, coffee utensils and cafe equipment, he also collected many posters and books about coffee. He grew up in his parents 'cafe, and in 1950 his father bought a high-pressure steam coffee machine, which excited him and interested him more than running a cafe. In 1960 he started selling coffee machines. From then on, he began collecting everything related to coffee. Although he has retired for five years, he still gives lectures and lectures on coffee culture and coffee making methods. he said that he trained the baristas at mcdonald's fast food restaurants in austria. Perhaps to give us a taste of his craft, he walked over to a coffee machine with a "Do not touch exhibits" sign and turned it on. He was a man of the same rank, and he was a man of the same rank. And all of this happened in seconds. He said that it takes 7 grams of coffee powder to make a cup of coffee. More will be bitter, less will be weak. Of course, water quality is very important, water hardness 7 is the best. Water too hard will taste bitter; water too soft will taste sour. In addition, caffeine dissolves easily in water and not easily in milk.

Coffee first appeared in Vienna in 1665, brought by two Armenian spice merchants, later than Holland and Italy. Meier said that some people would like to postpone the history of coffee in Vienna to 1683, when Vienna defeated the siege of 200,000 Turkish troops, leaving nearly 500 bags of coffee beans when the Turkish army fled, which became an important material basis for the history of coffee in Vienna.

Viennese drink coffee is not the most, but it has formed a unique coffee culture, its main features are: First, there must be dance music. Strauss and his son and many other music masters created a large number of dance music is played in the cafe, two to be able to play cards, chess. Today, Vienna still has cafes for guests to play chess and cards; third, there must be newspapers. The coffee shop with the most subscriptions offers 230 titles, while the one with the least subscriptions has 20 titles. The newspaper folder that people use today was invented by the proprietress of a Vienna cafe. "Reading folder" not only prevents "shoplifting" to take away the newspaper, but also facilitates reading. The fourth is the diversity of coffee. There are hundreds of varieties of Viennese coffee, and dozens of varieties of coffee served in ordinary cafes.

In addition, Vienna's old cafes have specific consumer groups, such as the Central Cafe, whose main customers are writers, and the Speer Cafe, which is a gathering point for painters and artists. Coffee shop also has a silent language, such as put a cup of water in front of the newspaper straight, said do not want others to disturb; such as put 2 cups of water, newspaper oblique take, said you can ask, can with its table; such as put 3 cups of water, newspaper flat, said welcome others to chat. Viennese coffee culture has also spawned related industries. Meyer pulled out a chair with a round back and a round seat, saying that this is a classic coffee chair produced by an Austrian company. Since the chair was invented in 1880, it has sold 50 million to the world.

Viennese coffee has long been a cultural card of Austria. About 90% of the more than 10 million visitors to Vienna each year want to experience its coffee culture.