Turning brainwaves into art at Breville’s Art of the Espresso café, launching three new espresso machines

Ever wondered what happens in your brain when you take that first sip of coffee? This indulgent experience has now been brought to life.

Londoners attended to the Art of the Espresso Café, where brainwaves were transformed into live, personalised art while sipping coffee in a one-of-a-kind café experience.

Guests donned electroencephalogram (EEG) headsets, usually reserved for scientific labs, which tracked guests’ brainwave patterns as they experienced their coffee through sight, smell, touch, and taste.

Food Anthropologist and expert Caroline Hobkinson, who transformed the brainwaves into the bespoke art creations, said: “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.

“With Breville’s Barista range, the invisible was made visible – by translating brainwaves into artwork – showing how something as everyday as a morning cup of coffee, can light up the mind in extraordinary ways. Every artistic piece reflects the individual and the emotional journey of that first cup.”

Not just an art experiment, the pop-up is a celebration of UK’s morning ritual.

As visitors explored the immersive experience, it became clear just how much coffee fuels the nation, setting the stage for the launch of Breville’s new trio of coffee machines: the Barista Slimline, Barista Classic, and Barista Sense, designed to make café-quality coffee at home and elevate every cup.

New research from Breville, of 2,000 UK coffee drinkers found that nearly a quarter (23%) admit they simply cannot function without their first cup, indicating that, for several, coffee is the nation’s true alarm clock[1]. As such, 10% of those surveyed take their first sip of coffee between 5am – 6am.

What’s more, 10% won’t speak before their morning coffee, 23% put off making breakfast, 15% delay showering, 18% won’t open their emails and 13% hold off on making decisions until that first cup has been savoured.

Some even go as far as refusing to smile (5%) or kiss their partner (5%) until coffee comes calling. Yet for many, replicating a café-quality cup at home remains a challenge. Six in ten UK coffee drinkers admit they lack confidence in their barista skills, with the biggest stumbling blocks being not having the right equipment (25%), lacking the necessary know-how (12%) or simply the confidence (6%).

As a result, nearly half of those surveyed (45%) spend on average £11.22 a week on takeaway coffee, which equates to approximately £583 a year – just to get their coffee fix.

Breville’s new Barista range wants to change that, making it simple for anyone to enjoy café-quality results at home. And when a cup is made well, it’s more than just a drink – a third (33%) of people say the perfect coffee is a work of art.

A Breville spokesperson 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.”

“Our new Barista range puts the power of the café in your kitchen; whether you’re a newbie or a latte pro, you can brew a coffee that’s delicious, fun and your very own work of art.”

For one day only, visitors could sip free barista coffee, test the new Breville machines and walk away with a piece of artwork generated directly from their very own brainwaves – a visual celebration of the nation’s favourite morning ritual.

The new range is available now at Amazon and Currys: the Barista Slimline Espresso Machine (RRP £239.99); the Barista Classic Espresso Machine (RRP £499.99), exclusively at Currys, and the Barista Sense Espresso Machine (RRP £599.99)[2]. Find out more about this new range at Breville.co.uk.

The top 10 go to types of coffee Brits love to drink:
Cappuccino (29%)
Latte (27%)
Americano (23%)
Flat White (20%)
Espresso (15%)
Filter with milk (11%)
Iced Coffee (8%)
Mocha (6%)
Iced Latte (5%)
Macchiato (3%)