Coffee: The Drink That Changed America

Aired on public television, this informative niche-topic travelogue, hosted (mainly) by the exuberant Dean Cycon as well as Judith Jones, takes viewers around the globe for a look at the history of coffee up through contemporary times. Exploring the roots of the Ethiopian fruit derivative that was first widely drank by Christian abbots and Muslim Sufis around the 10th century, Coffee pays tribute to the largest traded commodity in the world (after oil, of course), from Kaldi the goatherd's legendary 8th-century discovery of the plant to the rise in popularity of the burned bean drink in the Middle East, as well as the growth in trading, and proliferation of coffeehouses when coffee arrived in New Amsterdam in 1660. The Boston Tea Party (summed up in a local's Wahlberg-esque take: “All I know is da Indiahns or somefin on a bowt and they were throwing tea bags ovah”) pushed coffee into the forefront as the drink of patriots, and coffee rations became popular, not only for Civil War fighters—sugar and coffee being equivalent to “happiness and mortal courage”—but also to the frontier pioneers who were expanding West. Also covering instant coffee, the nickname “cup of Joe” (named after the G.I.s), the Gaggia first home-use espresso machine, diner coffee as an American institution, the Starbucks innovation and boom, and a nouveau “third wave” focusing on artisanal and specialty blends, this well-produced soup-to-nuts overview is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. [Note: also newly available is the four-disc series Coffee Trails, priced at $49.95.] Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood)