Barista Magazine

OCT-NOV 2013

Barista Magazine is your home for the worldwide community of coffee and the people who make it.

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EDITOR LETTE R getting "a film about coffee" right TELL MOST ANYONE in this industry you're doing a movie on the subject of coffee, and they'll groan—not inwardly, but right out loud. So many have tried and failed. Why is it that moviemaking, when it comes to our favorite subject, is so damned hard? I think it's in part because our expectations are high; we're constantly arguing with our colleagues about the intricacies of brew parameters and processing methods, it stands to reason that we would contend with a filmmaker even more, since he is most likely an outsider to our industry. It's also tough because our coffee world changes so fast; it's hard enough putting out a magazine every two months, but books and movies are much more of a challenge. A mere two weeks before Liz Clayton's book, Nice Coffee Time, was released, for example, one of the coffee companies she cites in it changed its name. Therefore, the book was dated before it even came out. (Of course, it's still a fun and worthy read, and I encourage you to check it out.) I was hanging around Stumptown Coffee's headquarters here in Portland, Ore., the other day, shooting the breeze with folks I hadn't seen in a while, when I ran into Darrin Daniel, the company's head green-coffee buyer. Darrin's been around this industry a long time. What's more, he's a poet; when we happened to be on a farm visit together a few months ago, I learned he loved the arts as much as I do. So the other day, when he mentioned a coffee film in the works that he was excited about, I was surprised and also intrigued. The guy making the picture was Brandon Loper, Darrin said, and he had chops. He had a production company and a budget (already way more than most people I've met who are making coffee movies), and a sincere, humble, curious approach to specialty coffee. I had watched the trailer on YouTube for the movie a while back, so I watched it again, then typed up an e-mail to Brandon. I had all kinds of questions; I wanted to vet him. It turned out 14 barista magazine BARISTA he's not only super talented and doesn't have an agenda, but he's in this coffee project for the same reason I'm in coffee: the people. One of the first things Ken and I knew about Barista Magazine when we started it was that we'd have people on the cover every single issue. Brandon says, "Coffee is about people, and people are what I'm interested in ultimately." I could say the same. He's ambitious and he knows what he's up against: "This film will be smart enough for professionals and accessible enough for my grandmother, who drinks half-caf," he says. Titled simply A Film about Coffee, this is a movie on our subject that I'm looking forward to. Brandon loved coffee, so he got to know it from the inside out. "I've realized that no matter the quality of your cup, people that love coffee, love it," he says. He's totally right. He knows industry folks will be his toughest critics. Like a good roaster knows to stand back and let the coffee speak for itself rather than trying to roast his impression on it, Brandon let the story of coffee unfold organically on film. "The only agenda for me is to hold up a mirror to the industry and hopefully inform the public about what's so great about specialty coffee," he says. As I write this, Brandon and the crew are in a mad dash to finish editing and postproduction in order to meet the September 23 deadline for entry to the Sundance Film Festival. You can bet I'll keep you posted in the magazine and on our blog about where it is, how it's doing, and when you can see A Film about Coffee. Talking to Brandon reminded me that it can be hard when you're a newbie to coffee, when you don't know anyone or anything except your passion for the brew. We all started at zero at some point. We were all novices—George Howell and Piero Bambi and Duane Sorenson and Erna Knutson—were all beginners in coffee once. The ability to approach coffee again and again throughout one's career, with the most open of minds, is ultimately what the best in the industry all share. M AGA Z I N E Publisher Kenneth R. Olson Editor Sarah Allen Art Direction Demitri Fregosi Powers Photographer Bishop Sankey Business Manager Cheryl Lueder Copy Editor Erin Meister Advertising Sales Sarah Allen 800.296.9108 Contributors Tracy Allen Joshua Boyt Scott Conary Anna Drozd Emily McIntyre Erin Meister Jack Pollock Travis Riley Editorial Advisory Board Christopher Nicely Abel Alameda, The Hart and the Hunter Joshua Boyt, Metronome Coffee Lemuel Butler, Counter Culture Coffee Trevor Corlett, Madcap Coffee Company Roukiat Delrue, World Coffee Events Sonja Grant, World Coffee Events Gerra Harrigan, InterAmerican Coffee Heath Henley, Dose Coffee & Tea Jannicke M. Johansen, 3FE Rita Kaminsky, Linea Caffe Troels Poulsen, Kontra Coffee Daniel Streetman, Irving Farm Coffee Colin Whitcomb, Madcap Coffee Company Barista Magazine 4345 NE 72nd Ave. Portland, OR 97218 phone: 800.296.9108 fax: 971.223.3659 e-mail: info@baristamagazine.com www.baristamagazine.com Barista Magazine is published bimonthly by the Barista Magazine Company, LLP. Subscriptions are $30 in the United States, $45 USD in Canada, and $60 USD for the rest of the world. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Postmaster please send address corrections to: Barista Magazine, 4345 NE 72nd Ave., Portland, OR 97218. ISSN: 1944-3544 Copyright 2013 Barista Magazine. All rights reserved.

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