Arabica

Arabica tells the intriguing story of the history, production and trading of coffee, through the eyes of Arabica, “queen of the coffee beans” and a number of other characters, from goatherd and plantation worker to exporter and banker. Across a wide variety of musical styles, Arabica looks at the international coffee market, and shows how developing countries are often simply pawns in the money games of major industrial powers. Although we are encouraged to be more conscientious consumers, we still buy commodities at the supermarket with little thought for the fact that the people growing and picking coffee are paid virtually nothing. How can it be that just about everyone else - coffee merchants, companies and speculators - profits from the enterprise?