Sitting in Bradenton coffee shop Latte Luna off Manatee Avenue, one can see an ancient ritual played out over and over.
Groups of people sit together over a cup of coffee. This ritual has been going on for 1,000 years.
Tiffany Birakis is the Assistant Curator of Exhibition at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton.
"Coffee has a very rich history," said Birakis.
The museum’s latest exhibition “Coffee: The World in Your Cup,” on display through August 29, follows the history of this widely-enjoyed drink.
"It kind of puts a magnifying glass on something we consume every day but may not think a lot about,” said Birakis. “And we see that it tells a real global story."
It’s a story that started in Ethiopia, where wild coffee plants were discovered. Then onto Turkey, where growers were so protective of the coffee making process, they would not allow fertile beans to leave the country.
Of course, the plants and the drink eventually spread throughout the world.
"In almost every tropical country coffee is grown," explained Birakis.
The exhibition traces the story of the coffee-making process, of the people that grow it and of the land on which it is grown.
The story of coffee continues from the wilds of Ethiopia to the coffee shops of Tampa Bay.
“It's kind of an excuse to get together, but what people want is the camaraderie," said Birakis.