Search - Black Coffee on DVD

FASCINATING story of what we drink every day (no. not water-

Steven I. Ramm | Phila, PA USA | 07/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"FASCINATING story of what we drink every day

"Coffee is the second most valuable traded legal commodity in the world.". That statement is made at the beginning of each of the three "episodes" of this 3 hour documentary produced for Canadian TV in 2005. So the subject of "coffee" affects nearly everyone.

I'm not sure how this DVD release is being marketed, but if you found this review while searching on Amazon you probably have an interest in the subject. That said, I couldn't recommend this highly enough! I'm a coffee drinker (probably too many cups a day) and have learned the difference between Maxwell House's Robusto beans and the Arabica beans used by my local coffee shop (as well as Starbucks, and even A&P's Eight O'Clock brand.) But I didn't know where coffee started, how it got to Central and South America and lots of other pieces of coffee history. Writer-Director Irene Angelico has made that history both educational and entertaining but traveling, literally, all over the world to film this project. The experts she has chosen are, not only authorities, but great personalities as well.

The First disc tells us the history of the coffee been and features some great art. We even learn that it was the pre-cursor of Viagra in ancient civilizations!). Then we move on to Disc Two, which follows the coffee bean from Ethiopia to Brazil. (Wait until you learn how a romantic tryst was responsible for it's travel to South America). WE lean how Folgers and Maxwell House and Chase & Sanborn were created (and that they once used real high quality beans). This section includes some great TV commercials from the 1950s. The last disc takes us into the 1970s through today with Starbucks and Peets dominating the market and the rise of the Fair Trade coffee commission. The film presents a pretty balanced approach to pro-and anti- Starbucks. It certainly is not pro-Proctor and Gamble (Who now own Folgers).

I came across this set by accident, but I'm sure glad I did. It held my interest for it's nearly 3-hour length and I'm sure it will yours. I even brewed a cup of coffee to drink as I watched it.

Director Angelico's previous project was The Cola Conquest about the marketing of carbonated beverages. She made it in 1999 and the home video is already out of print. Hopefully BFS - who is released Black Coffee on DVD will get the rights to that film. Based on this DVD set, it should be great!

Steve Ramm
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