Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries
A podcast revealing the extraordinary stories hidden in your cup of coffee
3) Plant Genetics
How can you make better coffee at home? Well, an easy way is to buy higher quality beans.
But, I’m concerned this is going to get harder and harder for you in the future.
Climate change is …
2) Coffee Extraction
How you brew your coffee dramatically affects what you taste. And I do mean dramatic! Brewing up the same bag of coffee beans can taste like a slice of heaven, or a slap in the face.
So, …
1) Water For Brewing Coffee
Water really matters when you’re brewing coffee. Different waters can dramatically change how a single coffee will taste.
But what is the right water for the best coffee?
In this episode I …
Introducing: The Science of Coffee
The Science of Coffee is a journey into coffee's hidden microscopic secrets to help you make even better coffee at home.
Across six episodes, documentary maker and coffee professional James …
Coffee's Ticking Time Bomb
Sri Lankan coffee has delicious notes of chocolate and caramel. But it’s basically impossible to find, and we’re going to bet you’ve never drank it.
…
Is really expensive coffee really worth it?
Would you ever pay £75 for 100g of coffee beans?
Today I'm sharing the most popular episode from Adventures in Coffee, a sister podcast to Filter …
Coffee Cycle Saturdays
Today I'm sharing the story of a coffee drinker, Jools Walker, and how coffee helped her complete an inner journey.
Listen to more episodes from …
6) The Future of Coffee?
Do you grind your beans fresh before brewing your coffee? If so, you are helping overturn a race-to–the-bottom with deep roots in colonial extraction …
5) Desperately Seeking Sustainability
When was the last time you bought a coffee that was Fairtrade certified?
Certifications make it easy for consumers to put their ethics into practice. But, hidden beneath the glossy sticker …
4) A Dark Bitter Powder
How do you drink your instant coffee? If you’re like most of the world, you fill your mug with milk and sugar to sweeten the taste.
By adding milk and sugar to your instant, you helped …
3) Coffee Catches Fire
A hundred years ago one Brazilian man owned so many coffee trees he could fill every inch of a European country with them.
But why does Brazil grow so …
2) Slavery, Suffering and Affordable Luxury
Why do we get upset when we’re charged €36 for an ordinary cappuccino?
The answer flies us to the Caribbean where white Europeans make black Africans suffer.
In this second episode of A …
1) A Five Gun Salute to the Origins of Coffee
Here’s a surprising fact: coffee was only invented around the time Michelangelo was chiselling his statue of David.
Why did it take so long for humans to invent the cup of coffee?
In this …
Introducing: A History of Coffee
A History of Coffee is the story of how a tiny psychoactive seed changed the world and shapes our lives today.
Across six episodes, documentary maker James Harper and professional historian …
A Girl on a Coffee Farm
Sofía is a teenager living on a coffee farm and was going to school five days a week. But a year later, she’s studying only on Saturdays.
This might …
Be careful what you dream (it may come true)
You’ve just achieved a life goal. Now what? Dream bigger? Quit while you’re ahead?
When Federico Bolaños fulfills his dream of helping a young …
Why El Salvador isn't bringing back coffee
El Salvador used to grow a quarter of the world’s coffees. Today, it’s barely more than a rounding error. As coffee production fell, illegal migration to America grew.
But there are many …
A Eulogy for Tito
Hector “tito” Vargas passed away in December 2019.
We honor him by playing the season finale of the Duolingo Spanish Podcast.
Correction: Tito …
Is your coffee building Trump's wall? Part 5: How can we support marginalised coffee producers?
You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common.
Or do they?
Over five episodes, we explore a story of El Salvador. We confront massacres, wide …
Is your coffee building Trump's Wall? Part 4: The Rich and the Marginalised
You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common.
Or do they?
Over five episodes, we explore a story of El Salvador. We confront massacres, wide …
Is your coffee building Trump's wall? Part 3: Requiem for a Coffee Republic
You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common.
Or do they?
Over five episodes, we explore a story of El Salvador. We confront massacres, wide …
Is your coffee building Trump's wall? Part 2: El Savage
You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common.
Or do they?
Over five episodes, we explore a story of El Salvador. We confront massacres, wide …
Is your coffee building Trump’s wall? Part 1: A tale of two El Salvadors
You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common.
Or do they?
Over five episodes, we explore stories of El Salvador. We confront massacres, wide …
Big and Small in El Salvador: Part 3
We meet a man who came from humble beginnings who has achieved what Armando and Maria have only ever dreamed about.
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Shape the future of Filter Stories by taking this 10 minute …
Big and Small in El Salvador: Part 2
Imagine you’re a coffee buyer on a mission to buy Salvadoran coffee. We visit Armando and Maria’s farms. Which farm would you choose to buy from?
…
Big and Small in El Salvador: Part 1
20 years ago specialty coffee patted itself on the back for saving coffee farmers, both big and small, from the misery of low coffee prices.
But what's it like for a small coffee farmer …
Unseen Bean: Part 2
Gerry's cafe failed.
We investigate why by putting ourselves in Gerry's shoes and experiencing the coffee world as a blind man.
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Gerry’s roastery: http://www.theunseenbean.com/
More …
Unseen Bean: Part 1
Gerry has a disability that keeps 2 in 3 adults out of full time work.
But Gerry demolishes expectations over and over again.
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Gerry’s …
Venezuela
What do you do when you want to buy a cafe but your country is collapsing around you?
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If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show …
Stateless
Mikhail is a specialty coffee barista. But he’s stuck on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
He doesn’t want to be there and he’s trying to get off. But he can’t. There are boats …
Sofía
What were your dreams at 16? Sofía lives on a remote coffee farm in Nicaragua and hers is to be a great english translator.
But Sofía needs school …
Aquiares
In Central America, you can’t tell the story of coffee without mentioning war.
This is Alfonso. He's hugged Fidel Castro and President Reagan …
Tito
Tito lives on a mountain in Panama, is a rebel and doesn’t listen to anyone.
Which is why he makes a terrible decision: he buys a coffee farm instead of getting an education. Tito is now …
Amish
Raymond's family want him to spend his life using a horse instead of a car, to live off the grid and have little contact with the outside world.
But young Raymond is curious and explores the …
Berries and Lemon
Martin is the best barista in Kenya and has a dream to open a cafe. Except, he can't. Kenyans don't drink coffee.
But he has a plan: he’s going to win the World Barista Championships to …
Firefly
Murray is one of Ecuador's most famous coffee farmers. But there's a problem: he's only earning $2 profit from 250 espressos. How does he survive?
While he struggles, his farm is splashed …
Asheville
Sarah has just landed her dream job working as a barista for the best cafe in North Carolina.
Her cafe will soon be featured in the New York Times …
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