Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries
James Harper
Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries
James Harper
Filter Stories is a documentary podcast connecting your morning coffee to millions of hidden people.
"An entertaining and thought-provoking way to address how coffee consumption affects the wider world" - Caffeine Magazine
"Quality production and compassionate, well-researched presentation" - Daily Coffee News
"These are untold stories, the sort you won’t find in glossy Instagram posts" - European Coffee Trip
James Harper is a coffee professional and storyteller who travels the world to reveal the truth behind our morning coffees.
Each episode takes over 100 hours to make and sheds a light on the stories of people hidden in the shadows of the coffee industry.
Stories range from a stateless barista stuck on a faraway island, to an award winning coffee grower earning just $2 profit from 250 espressos, to a coffee producer who is almost murdered three times during a civil war.
See the behind-the-scenes stories on Instagram - @filterstoriespodcast
If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and review us on Apple Podcasts and Castbox!
Sunday 24 May 2020 : Sofía is a teenager living on a coffee farm and was going to school five days a week. But a year later, she’s studying only on Saturdays....
Thursday 26 March 2020 : You’ve just achieved a life goal. Now what? Dream bigger? Quit while you’re ahead?When Federico Bolaños fulfills his dream of helping a...
Tuesday 28 January 2020 : El Salvador used to grow a quarter of the world’s coffees. Today, it’s barely more than a rounding error. As coffee production fell,...
Thursday 19 December 2019 : Hector “tito” Vargas passed away in December 2019. We honor him by playing the season finale of the Duolingo Spanish Podcast....
Wednesday 04 December 2019 : You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common. Or do they?Over five episodes, we explore a...
Monday 25 November 2019 : You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common.Or do they?Over five episodes, we explore a...
Wednesday 20 November 2019 : You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common.Or do they?Over five episodes, we explore a...
Tuesday 12 November 2019 : You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common. Or do they?Over five episodes, we explore a...
Thursday 07 November 2019 : You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common. Or do they?Over five episodes, we explore...
Tuesday 17 September 2019 : We meet a man who came from humble beginnings who has achieved what Armando and Maria have only ever dreamed about....
Tuesday 20 August 2019 : Imagine you’re a coffee buyer on a mission to buy Salvadoran coffee. We visit Armando and Maria’s farms. Which farm would you choose to...
Monday 05 August 2019 : 20 years ago specialty coffee patted itself on the back for saving coffee farmers, both big and small, from the misery of low coffee prices....
Monday 01 July 2019 : Gerry's cafe failed. We investigate why by putting ourselves in Gerry's shoes and experiencing the coffee world as a blind...
Tuesday 18 June 2019 : Gerry has a disability that keeps 2 in 3 adults out of full time work. But Gerry demolishes expectations over and over again....
Tuesday 14 May 2019 : What do you do when you want to buy a cafe but your country is collapsing around you?————————————If you haven't...
Friday 12 April 2019 : Mikhail is a specialty coffee barista. But he’s stuck on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He doesn’t want to be there and...
Sunday 10 March 2019 : What were your dreams at 16? Sofía lives on a remote coffee farm in Nicaragua and hers is to be a great english translator. But Sofía...
Tuesday 12 February 2019 : In Central America, you can’t tell the story of coffee without mentioning war. This is Alfonso. He's hugged Fidel Castro and President...
Tuesday 08 January 2019 : Tito lives on a mountain in Panama, is a rebel and doesn’t listen to anyone. Which is why he makes a terrible decision: he buys a coffee...
Tuesday 02 October 2018 : Raymond's family want him to spend his life using a horse instead of a car, to live off the grid and have little contact with the outside...
Tuesday 18 September 2018 : Martin is the best barista in Kenya and has a dream to open a cafe. Except, he can't. Kenyans don't drink coffee. But he has a plan: he’s...
Tuesday 04 September 2018 : Murray is one of Ecuador's most famous coffee farmers. But there's a problem: he's only earning $2 profit from 250 espressos. How does he...
Thursday 16 August 2018 : Sarah has just landed her dream job working as a barista for the best cafe in North Carolina. Her cafe will soon be featured in the New York...
Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries
James Harper
A Girl on a Coffee Farm
Sofía is a teenager living on a coffee farm and was going to school five days a week. But a year later, she’s studying only on Saturdays....
Be careful what you dream (it may come true)
You’ve just achieved a life goal. Now what? Dream bigger? Quit while you’re ahead?When Federico Bolaños fulfills his dream of helping a...
Why El Salvador isn't bringing back coffee
El Salvador used to grow a quarter of the world’s coffees. Today, it’s barely more than a rounding error. As coffee production fell,...
A Eulogy for Tito
Hector “tito” Vargas passed away in December 2019. We honor him by playing the season finale of the Duolingo Spanish Podcast....
Is your coffee building Trump's wall? Part 5: How can we support marginalised coffee producers?
You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common. Or do they?Over five episodes, we explore a...
Is your coffee building Trump's Wall? Part 4: The Rich and the Marginalised
You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common.Or do they?Over five episodes, we explore a...
Is your coffee building Trump's wall? Part 3: Requiem for a Coffee Republic
You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common.Or do they?Over five episodes, we explore a...
Is your coffee building Trump's wall? Part 2: El Savage
You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common. Or do they?Over five episodes, we explore a...
Is your coffee building Trump’s wall? Part 1: A tale of two El Salvadors
You buying a coffee from El Salvador and Trump building a border wall have nothing in common. Or do they?Over five episodes, we explore...
Big and Small in El Salvador: Part 3
We meet a man who came from humble beginnings who has achieved what Armando and Maria have only ever dreamed about....
Big and Small in El Salvador: Part 2
Imagine you’re a coffee buyer on a mission to buy Salvadoran coffee. We visit Armando and Maria’s farms. Which farm would you choose to...
Big and Small in El Salvador: Part 1
20 years ago specialty coffee patted itself on the back for saving coffee farmers, both big and small, from the misery of low coffee prices....
Unseen Bean: Part 2
Gerry's cafe failed. We investigate why by putting ourselves in Gerry's shoes and experiencing the coffee world as a blind...
Unseen Bean: Part 1
Gerry has a disability that keeps 2 in 3 adults out of full time work. But Gerry demolishes expectations over and over again....
Venezuela
What do you do when you want to buy a cafe but your country is collapsing around you?————————————If you haven't...
Stateless
Mikhail is a specialty coffee barista. But he’s stuck on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He doesn’t want to be there and...
Sofía
What were your dreams at 16? Sofía lives on a remote coffee farm in Nicaragua and hers is to be a great english translator. But Sofía...
Aquiares
In Central America, you can’t tell the story of coffee without mentioning war. This is Alfonso. He's hugged Fidel Castro and President...
Tito
Tito lives on a mountain in Panama, is a rebel and doesn’t listen to anyone. Which is why he makes a terrible decision: he buys a coffee...
Amish
Raymond's family want him to spend his life using a horse instead of a car, to live off the grid and have little contact with the outside...
Berries and Lemon
Martin is the best barista in Kenya and has a dream to open a cafe. Except, he can't. Kenyans don't drink coffee. But he has a plan: he’s...
Firefly
Murray is one of Ecuador's most famous coffee farmers. But there's a problem: he's only earning $2 profit from 250 espressos. How does he...
Asheville
Sarah has just landed her dream job working as a barista for the best cafe in North Carolina. Her cafe will soon be featured in the New York...
