Illy, Sao Paulo

But it is perhaps coffee that is most frequently mentioned in the same breath as this very large country, with terms such as ‘Brazilian blend’ being bandied around as if everybody were intimate with the processes that give rise to this.

With this in mind, and given that this is a nation of coffee drinkers, Italian coffee brand Illy has set up a flagship store that is somewhere between shop and showroom. Its exact status is somewhat immaterial, however, as anyone passing it in Sao Paulo’s ritzy Jardins neighbourhood will almost certainly stop to take a look at what’s been done in the window. Here a delicate silver wire spiral, a little like a see-through helter-skelter, is used as a display frame for seemingly endless white porcelain expresso cups, each of which has been customised by local and international artists.

As the cups are small and the field of vision large, you get a view of plenty, but can still see into the interior. It’s the first time that Illy has done this kind of thing outside Italy, according to the shop owner – there is something similar in the northeastern Italian town of Udine, close to the brand’s headquarters in Trieste.  

The rest of the shop is fairly minimalist and if a brightly coloured cappuccino maker is your thing, look no further – and of course tins of coffee. Clearly, displays of this type are going to be difficult to create and will involve time and money, but the outcome is a window and an interior that’s a show-stopper. Oh yes, and the other thing Brazil might be famous for is, ahem, Brazilian ‘hairstyles’.