For the project at Tate Exchange we had the possibility to visit the roaster that supplies coffee at all the Tate in Uk and is behind the Tate Britain.
It was really exhaustive about the aspect of preparation of the coffee, from the plantation to the beverage and distribution, types, production, but also really important part of the relationship with the farmers. He's got a direct contacts with them in fact he travels periodically to the country that supply coffee beans and make sure the transaction is fair, with women's farmer too who usually got paid less.
He showed us the machineries they use and how they work. Moreover, he offered us his help in teaching to some of us how to brew, so that we can do it at the event and have a testing point for the visitors with two type of their coffee and really helpful material we could use for setting up, such as bags where the coffee beans had been shipped there. He let us keep also the book where he took most of the information. We explain him that we have the intention to reuse the coffee ground used from coffee stores of Tate Modern and make the installation with it, because one of our theme is a more awareness of consumption so that could express it too to the visitors.
From the ideas to the possibility of the realization of them there is a gap. This visit not only filled us with important and essential information explained from a specialist of the sector, but we had the possibility to ask the questions we prepare about consumption, fair trade and waste of coffee. In addition, we got offered the material such as the bags so we could use as support for the information stands we thought to set at the entrance and check if that was doable.
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