Time for Coffee (1954)

[Music] we Americans know what we like and we really do like coffee did I say like well we use more than 3 billion lounds of coffee every year where does it all come from Mostly from South America so let's fly down and get the story firsthand there's a typical plantation now many of the remote Villages depend upon the plantations for their existence life is pretty much the same as it has been for Generations today of course each Village has its own Schoolhouse and the standard of living is immeasurably higher with increased knowledge naturally the education of its youngsters includes learning all about coffee at an early age they learn that coffee begins with a little plant or tree these trees Thrive best in Rich red soil when transplanted from the nursery they're about 2 years old set in Shallow holes 8 to 14 ft apart the tree must grow for another 2 or 3 years before bearing its first crop [Music] Brazil alone has more than a million square miles of coffee country an area larger than all the United States east of the Mississippi this is a coffee Blossom 8 to 9 months after this blooming the coffee fruit ripens and looks very much like a [Music] Cherry Picked by skilled workers who know just when the ripe Berry should be plucked the average tree Bears enough coffee beans to make about one pound of roasted coffee a year [Music] each Plantation has its assembly points where the day's pick is brought in to be weighed and bagged this is just one step in more than 24 major operations required in bringing your cup of coffee to the table [Music] the berries must go through a crushing and washing process which takes place on the plantation crushing removes the protective red covering with which Nature has enclosed each Coffee Bean then they are [Music] washed the beans float while skin or pulp sinks to the bottom providing adequate water facilities on a tropical Plantation is a necessary and costly requisite in producing high quality coffee now encased only in its final Hull or parchment the coffee beans are spread out to dry in the sun this takes from 8 to 10 days men must rake and turn the beans so that they all will dry evenly then packed in bags the dried green coffee is ready to be sent into the city [Music] here it is unloaded at a warehouse where it will be inspected sorted and graded for [Applause] Quality this initial grading is one of the most important operations in the selection of coffee today mechanical methods are so perfected that coffee is sorted by machines with great Precision each bag after it is stamped with its country of origin name grade and destination is ready to go to the sea port where final tests are made before shipment to the United States [Music] States using an instrument like an apple corer a checker stabs each bag and withdraws a sample for testing the A&P has its own coffee experts right on the spot to test and grade the contents of each bag to see that it meets the company's quality standards samples are flown to the United States together with the experts appraisals of grade and value [Music] test also includes roasting samples of the green coffee and actually taste testing it for strength and flavor today many of the Great cities of Latin America have been built largely upon the business of exporting coffee which is one of their most valuable [Music] commodities the people are modern upto-date and eager to trade with their good neighbors to the north when the coffee crop is good business is good for coffee means the same to these people and their ability to buy the things they need as wheat to a farmer in Nebraska or corn to Iowa and Kansas [Music] I [Music] while its miles of beautiful beaches and modern cities lure thousands of people to Latin America nothing intrigues the tourist more than a visit to the Waterfront to watch the ships loading coffee for shipment to the United States now a cargo of coffee is loaded aboard ship with the same care You' use in storing food in your home you know some foods must be kept dry a sudden drop in temperature upon leaving the tropics could cause dampness in in the ship's hold this moisture could injure the coffee unless the beans are carefully stowed so loading a cargo of coffee is also an important operation in getting this beverage on its way to you New York New Orleans and San Francisco are the principal ports through which coffee arrives in the United States here licensed graders spear each bag for fresh samples and taste test the shipment to make certain the coffee they've bought Compares with the reports and samples from South America based upon the find findings of these experts one coffee is mixed in the blending machine with another to produce the bouquet the aroma the flavor [Music] desired from blending machines the green coffee is introduced next to huge automatically controlled roasting ovens hundreds of pounds at a [Music] time done to a turn Cascades of precisely roasted beans are released at just the right moment ready to be freshly sealed into packages the very same day in this way you know the coffee you buy is fresh and ready to be custom ground just right for the way you make coffee yes we North Americans really do like coffee we drink around 120 billion cups a year after all drinking coffee is one of life's Pleasures a pleasure that cannot be duplicated by any other beverage