CFRR- “A Film about Coffee” finding the definition of “specialty coffee’’
For thinking of your first time in life, try to remember how was your feeling about the taste of coffee.
In the mind of each individual, coffee is a separate experience that cannot mix, isn’t it?
For some, coffee is an experience of gratitude towards a holy moment,
but with others, it is the curious and strange sense of the contrast between the intense aroma and the bitter taste.
No matter what your coffee is, A Film about Coffee promises to bring you at least a few minutes of empathy if you are a true coffee lover.
What is the specialty coffee?
A film about coffee was begun with two premises: the difficulties of the coffee beans producer and the difference between specialty coffee and mass coffee.
Throughout the film, besides the detailed descriptions of the coffee production process in many different places, its content is always trying to respond to the question: What is the specialty coffee?
In order to define, the simplest analogy is to compare the opposite concept.
Coffee experts believe that the nature of goods is exchange if we turn something into goods that need mass-produced. As coffee becomes a commodity, of course, the standard will be lower. Thus, is specialty coffee the more difficult one to produce?
The seed-to-cup journey of coffee beans from planting and harvesting to roasting and brewing is just the answer.
Coffee farmers rarely enjoy a cup of coffee made by themselves.
Photo: Scene in A Film about Coffee, IMDb
Espresso impression
The coffee journey began at Lake Kivu (Rwanda), went to Portland (Oregon, USA), Honduras and ended at a unique coffee shop in Tokyo (Japan) called Daibo Coffee. In each place, coffee had its own distinct characteristics. However, the most impressive thing is probably the story about espresso told by Katsu, the founder of Bear Pond Espresso.
Katsu said that coffee is not a drink but an “addiction”, which takes us to another world. With Katsu, inquiring about coffee is like finding the universe’s secrets. And the story of espresso with Katsu, like anything in the world, can lift to a philosophical level that almost turned into a beautiful “religion” in the Japanese mind.
With him, coffee should only focus on the glamour of sexy, and espresso is the expression of the special attraction. Katsu’s coffee shop only specializes in selling espresso; it seems to be simple, but the way each person, with different cultural background, drinks and feels each drop of coffee can bring out different flavors and emotions
Cupping in A film about coffee. Photo: Scene of film
Connecting community to coffee
When mentioned in connection, we often think about sitting, talking and sharing. Coffee can bring a connection in this way, but not just like that. Coffee producing market has faced many difficulties and fluctuations. Good coffee is often harvested manually, so to harvest enough coffee for a year requires a lot of labor.
Meanwhile, the production cycles must be strictly ensured by any factors affecting product quality. According to a survey of the film crew, a cup of luxury coffee costs an average of 7 USD and is still not worth the effort people create. In addition, in some areas, coffee cultivation is also limited to water as the crop sources are planted and produced, or elsewhere is the issue of ensuring output for products with a corresponding price.
The connection we refer to is the solution to these intractable problems. Coffee institutions, experts, and coffee processors have embarked on their hands to build supporting projects that bring water to the people, production, and processing of the best-selling coffee to bring them to both the producers and consumers of the best, making the best of coffee.
A coffee growing area in Lake Kivu (Rwanda) Photo: Scene of the film
Like Darrin Daniel shares at the end of the film, “it’s not an epic story but just a small one with a unique plot about helping others in their villages or communities. That’s how we got together.” It is considered that if we want something related to beauty, rare, special, coffee will be our perfect choice. The way that the real characters in the film connect with coffee and with each other is very clear. And you – coffee “believers” who enjoy coffee every day, how do you connect with coffee?
When the last comment of the movie sounded like “Mass coffee is not the real coffee”, I wonder if you agree with that?
THE JOURNEY NAMED FROM SEED TO CUP
A film has three parts, like the journey from coffee beans to coffee cups. First, the coffee on the farm was picked, treated, and dried to become coffee beans. Next is the roasting, when the green coffee bean is roasted to develop internal flavors by the heating process of natural compositions that make every flexible flavor like tropical fruit, floral scent, ripe fruit flavors
The last part is when the coffee is made into a drink and taken everyone’s applause.
At that time, coffee was not just a flavor but also had a visual impact; with a cappuccino, coffee became a sign of romance. (Katie Carguiilo_ Counterculture Coffee owner in Brooklyn, New York Barista coffee contest winner)
