As if coffee was not already overpriced when compared to other beverages, this film wants to make the argument that consumers should be paying more for that special cuppa. Will anyone buy the spiel that good coffee should be priced like fine wine? It would have been more interesting if the film delved into the reasons why coffee is a commodity whereas wine is usually individually priced. Instead the viewer is taken on a trip to see how labor intensive coffee production is and how much care must be taken from harvest to roasting to brewing in order to get a great cup of coffee. There was simply no insight into the dynamics of the coffee market. They did not even bother to explain why the coffee market crashed in 2000. In other words, you will learn nothing about coffee as an important commodity because the film maker did not intend to teach but only really wanted to indoctrinate the belief that people should pay more for gourmet coffee.This whole movie feels like something funded by specialty coffee trade interest groups. Other than the people who want to revel in how snobby the world of specialty coffee can be, you should probably skip this one and spend your time on something else that offers actual substance.

Finally managed to watch this at a local event (Chilean coffee culture is just sprouting) and after having read up a bit about the new world of coffee, I was ready to enjoy another immersion, this time in visual format. Spent a good hour marveling at the process from the plants to the cup. A lengthier piece might have provided more depth, but there was plenty to enjoy, particularly in the great interviews with the true coffee lunatics. Coffee should be sexy, and this is good coffee porn.Main turnoff for me was the use of the classic cliché of the "poor simple peasant" whose life is made possible by those willing to pay the 7 dollar cup at the other end of the production chain. Only when one of the importers speaks of "direct trade" does the condescending verticality of the process fade out, marginally.

I'm a coffee devotee, for sure, with more knowledge about coffee than average, but I expected to learn something new. (After all, who but coffee nuts are going to go see a film about nothing but?) I learned nothing. The film is truly beautiful, and some of the images they captured of the producers and retailers were stunning. Unfortunately, that is all the movie is. I was hoping for some beauty, as coffee is produced in some of the prettiest areas on earth, but I also expected guidance through the coffee process. You could make an argument that the images are there, but the way the visuals were presented reminded me of a collage. Think of how a collage compares to a well-researched magazine article, and you will understand where I feel the movie fell down. If you are looking to increase your knowledge of coffee, coffee production or even the structure/politics of the coffee world, you will be disappointed. I would have been happy with this as a summer TV filler piece, but I paid full price at my local indie movie theatre. It wasn't worth it.