Coffee culture has long been part of the social scene here, and among the most popular of the coffee chops are a series of five called Café Ebel whose owner, Malgorzata Ebelova, opened an homage to her city's passion for coffee with the Muzeum Kávy, or coffee museum, in July, the first such museum dedicated to things coffee in the country.

Both a glimpse at the general history of coffee and a view of her own country's participation in the growth of this beverage, the museum showcases 255 objects collected from around the world by Ms. Ebelova over the past decade during her world travels, which also included other coffee museums in the world. She had previously displayed many of these objects throughout her different coffee houses.

The exhibits, the oldest of which is a roaster machine from 1820, include coffee machines and coffee sets from a wide variety of coffee cultures, roaster machines, coffee grinders and antique equipment for preparing and serving coffee, plus an elaborate map of the world highlighting the regions where coffee is grown. Visitors can learn how coffee is roasted, how to grind the beans, and interact with one amusing item in the museum which is a "mascot," that is a wooden cat "civet" luwak into which coffee beans are poured. Visitors can pull its "tail" making the beans "leave" the animal. This is a rather simple demonstration of how the kopi luwak, what some consider the most exotic coffee of all, is made in the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. There, the beans are picked and eaten at night in wild areas of the island by civets who excrete them by morning. Natives gather these luwak scats (droppings) and pursue a rather elaborate process to turn them into one of the world's most expensive coffees: kopi luwak. To some coffee aficionados this is considered such a luxurious cup that they're willing to pay 600 Czech crowns per cup (US$40.56) at fine Prague hotels and restaurants. Visitors to the museum can taste from the café's menus of coffees following their tour.

The museum is in the Herbertova cihlena area in two separate rooms in the Café Ebel Cihelná, Cihelná 2B, Praha 1, (+420-77-260-304) open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in addition to "kávy" all day. Museum admission is 100czk (crowns) or US$13.52.