The ties that bind us bring us together at a proverbial table; these are the bonds that make life worth living, gentle reader. Among the items that you could list that would bring people together is coffee. That lustrous black fluid is the wake-up juice for nearly all of humanity. In Coffee: The Universal Language, writer/director Darla Rodriguez and her team have produced a seminal docuseries that captures the rich and diverse cultural tapestry of coffee drinking. This review will consider the first episode, “New Orleans.”
The format is simple: the docuseries seeks to profile the coffee roasters and owners of coffee shops in each locale visited all over the world. In the case of New Orleans, this includes Trey Malone of Origin Coffee, Lauren Fink of Cherry Coffee Roasters, and Alonzo Knox of Backatown Coffee Parlour. With Malone, we learn all about his life, including personal and spiritual challenges, and the fact that he moved to 26 places in 11 years to try his hand at the coffee business before returning to his roots in New Orleans.
“…seeks to profile the coffee roasters and owners of coffee shops in each locale visited all over the world.”
We then see how Fink worked her way up the ranks of Cherry Coffee Roasters until she became the embodiment of that coffee business. Knox waxes poetic about how coffee is fundamental to understanding the cultural roots of jazz in New Orleans. It was in coffee parlours that musicians met to exchange ideas and create music. In that spirit, he runs Backatown coffee parlour. Backatown is an establishment that seeks to both nourish your soul and your body.
Coffee: The Universal Language is a warm hug of a docuseries. The first season, which consists of six episodes to date, focuses on the Southern and Western parts of the United States. I look forward to season 2. I would very much like Rodriguez and her team to fulfill the promise of the series and travel to all parts of the world that enjoy distinct coffee cultures.
In short, Coffee: The Universal Language is a must-watch television. The series was commissioned for PBS and can be found on YouTube among other streaming platforms, as well as your local PBS member station. Seek this out. It’s such a wonderful, uniting series.
"…a warm hug..."
