Disclaimer: I only like dark-roasted coffee. For that reason, I was entirely unseduced by this film, produced by boutique coffee distributors most of whom insist that to appreciate the nuances of coffee one must not dark roast it. Nearly every cup of brewed coffee depicted in this production looked very dilute, the kind of brew which induces in me a gag reflex. Some of it looked to me like coffee produced through running water through a filter basket of used grounds a second time. In attempting to relay the layered nuances perceivable in coffee, one fellow suggested that coffee should be consumed at 130F. Lukewarm, dilute, light-roasted coffee? No, thank you.
Yes, I like coffee dripped through a Melitta filter. But it has to be dark. Given the choice between light-roasted coffee and tea, I´ll take the tea. In fact, for all x, given the choice between light-roasted coffee and x, I´ll take the x. Needless to say, I was not in any way persuaded to believe that I should spend what one producer insists ought be more than $7 per cup for specialty coffee. Furthermore, I actually don´t care if people who want me to pay more than $7 for a small cup of dilute light-roasted coffee think that I am a philistine. I know what I like. The syrupy expresso produced by a scrappy-looking Japanese fellow in a very dirty cap looked okay to me, but that was about it. I am not entirely sure why that segment was included, given that he was essentially contradicting all of the other producers. He correctly pointed out that expresso is a drug. Yes, a potent dose of caffeine it does indeed provide.
The sociopolitical and economic story of coffee is a fascinating one, but it is barely touched upon here. I recommend Black Gold (2006) for an insightful documentary on the twentieth-century history of java. There is also a film entirely devoted to Baristas, Barista (2015), which tells the sad tale of the people who have attempted (and failed) to elevate coffee-making to a profession similar to that of the sommelier. A Film About Coffee is just some sort of marketing piece which attempts (vainly, see above) to persuade people that they should think of coffee more along the lines of wine, while offering up touching images of struggling coffee growers, as though by paying $7 a cup we are helping them, not the companies who underwrote this production.