The Coffee Addiction: A Documentary

Tomorrow is “National Coffee Day” in the US and CNBC is premiering a one-hour documentary called, The Coffee Addiction. I won’t be able to see it, but it should be interesting to watch. The previews suggest it will follow coffee from farm to cup, which is great for people to learn about, with a heavy focus on coffee as a tradable commodity.

There will be interviews with Starbucks CEO, Howard Shultz (plugging his book) and the founder of Green Mountain Coffee, who shares the moment he realized great coffee would be an upcoming market (before cutting to footage of a k-cup factory).

The producers of the show did research the more progressive quality-driven segment of coffee, including a lesson in latte art from David Schomer at Vivace and chatting with M’lissa Owens at Intelligentsia. However, that footage was relegated to “web extra” clips.

Premiers at 9PM/ET. More info on CNBC.

CNNMoney’s 17 Best Small US Coffee Companies

The growth of small roasters and independent coffee companies in the USA is a great thing. I remember a time when everyone thought Starbucks would put all the independent coffee shops out of business, and it some places they may have come close. But it also inspired a revolution among smaller companies to experiment, progress and offer something the chain coffee shops weren’t—better quality.

As these companies become more prevalent, more of the mainstream media outlets will attempt to write about them—generally using every coffee pun and nickname they can imagine. However, any press is good press and CNNMoney has recently prepared an oddly numbered list of the USA’s 17 best small coffee makers. Really, why 17? While I agree with most of the list, there are a few shockers as well as some glaring omissions.

Read more about the companies on the list at CNNMoney.