What would you think is more shocking: a one-dollar cup of coffee or a six-dollar cup of coffee? All operators of the coffee industry agree on the answer: a one-dollar cup of coffee shouldn’t even be a reality. Unfortunately, as the film demonstrates, this is the only thing they can agree on.

When a coffee co-op founded by Indigenous producers in Chiapas, Mexico decides to sell processed coffee, instead of selling green coffee, a Japanese company buys most of their product. Everything seems great. But after a fungus destroys 70% of the production, and the Japanese sell their chain restaurants, the co-op has to start all over again. From the mountains of Mexico to a fancy coffee shop in Seattle, the narrative takes us through the entire process of coffee-making and trading. Through a wide range of interviewees, all coffee aficionados, the two directors reveal how complex this highly globalized market has become. Despite a facade of good intentions, fair solutions are not easy to come by. A Six Dollar Cup of Coffee doesn’t try to provide answers or solutions to the current situation. Rather, co-directors Andres Ibañez and Alejandro Diaz, themselves coffee lovers, aim to remind people what is behind the scenes. And the real price of the coffee that we all so enjoy. -ML