Coffee Portraits: reimagining coffee at designboom’s Room for Dreams, Milan Design Week 2026

During Milan Design Week 2026, Accademia del Caffè Espresso brings coffee beyond the cup, taking part in Room for Dreams, a project conceived and curated by designboom, a leading international platform for contemporary design.

At ME Milan Il Duca, designboom creates an immersive environment of installations, talks, and encounters where dreaming becomes a tool for cultural and design exploration.

Monday, April 20 marks the opening with a talk that expands the dialogue between design, perception, and experimentation. At 4PM the talk Temporary Dreamscapes: Immersive Realities as Prototypes for Alternate Futures investigates how during Milan Design Week, entire worlds are constructed only to disappear days later. What if these temporary environments are not just exhibitions, but rehearsals? With contributions from Samir Bantal (AMO/OMA), David Mahyari (SolidNature), Christopher Dessus (Paf atelier), Paul Kelly (La Marzocco), and Sofia Lekka Angelopoulou (designboom), the conversation reframes design events as experimental theaters—spaces where emotional, symbolic, and sensory futures are tested before taking permanent form.

Within this framework, Accademia presents Coffee Portraits, a format combining tasting, research, and technology. At the heart of the activation is a dynamic coffee cart, where each day a different guest roaster presents a coffee linked to a specific aromatic family.

From April 21, Room for Dreams is open to everyone and participating roasters that will serve their coffees throughout the week include La Sosta Specialty Coffee, Cafezal, Il Manovale, Oltre, Garage Coffee Bros and Accademia itself.

The tasting experience is enriched by Facets of Aromas and Flavors, where coffee aromas are translated into AI-generated visuals. Each day, a corresponding image will be displayed alongside the tasting, creating a dialogue between perception and representation.

Infos:

Coffee PortrAIts @ Room for Dreams

20–26 April

ME Milan Il Duca

Register here: https://www.lamarzocco.com/it/en/events-registration/?srsltid=AfmBOooSKke_ewLnZEH654B90dNQsdKoMNYf0VSx4c3myFeqV_gcq6w5