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Coffee is the world’s most lucrative commodity, second only to oil in global trade. From coffee farmers in Brazil struggling to make a living, to young coffee shop owners in Berlin selling espresso, fluctuations in the market create ripples in thousands of lives. From bean to cup, this lovingly crafted documentary traces coffee's tantalising path across the globe. In Berlin, Claudio explains his decision to open a coffee shop, “My wife and I share a love of coffee. When we first met she already had a little coffee machine and a mill. We never disagree in matters of coffee.”
For Barista Biagio Passalacqua too, coffee is more than just a drink; he is head of Passalacqua coffee in Naples, and explains ‘it is an art…everyone roasts differently’. But as well as the art of coffee, he also believes the trade endows social responsibilities. He takes care of his baristas, many of whom have been working at Passalacqua for decades.
But the coffee trade has its downsides too. 'A drought or frost can damage the harvest’ Olavo explains. He is a coffee farmer in Brazil, and suffers from the intense global competition. ‘A price crisis can be very dangerous. Worst of all is having to sell when prices are at a low’. As coffee merchant Wolfgang Heinricy explains, “Coffee is extremely complex, it is second only to oil in global trade. Often the farmer’s best efforts cannot compensate for what a country is losing against the dollar.”
But this too has to be weighed against the potential benefits, “in the counties where coffee grows it is a crucial vehicle for education and all kinds of benefits.” Martin Jabs
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