Black Coffee - great documentary

I've just watched parts two and three of a wonderful documentary "Black Coffee" broadcast on SBS on Friday nights.

Written and directed by Irene Angelico, the three one hour episodes titled "The Irresistible Bean", "Gold in your cup", and "The Perfect Cup" present an enlightening history of coffee, background on how it's grown and traded, and the politics of economics of the business.

After it's boom in popularity in the US, coffee became the second biggest traded commodity (after oil), and went on a spiral to the bottom in cost and therefore quality. Thankfully a new culture is emerging where consumers are prepared to pay a bit more to get a quality cup.

The coffee tasters shown suggest that coffee should be savoured the way that wine is.

"Baristas are the bartenders of the speciality coffee industry", so perhaps we are getting to that state.