Higher Grounds

Directed by: Stuart Svenson Released: 2021 (educational) Year of Production: 2020 Running Time: 65 min Language: English Subtitle Options: English Closed Captions Subjects: Environmental Studies, Food Studies, Latin America        Panama is a very small country and seemingly insignificant player in global coffee, exporting less than one percent of the world’s beans. Up until the 1990s no one even knew that Panama grew coffee. Yet in the past two decades, Panamanian coffee has broken every public auction price record, starred consistently in international competition wins, and is now the most sought-after bean in the world. Panama has accomplished this against a decades-long backdrop of international coffee prices hovering around $1 a pound, a price that forces many producing families into lives of extreme hardship. Higher Grounds tells the story of how Panama is reimagining coffee, and driving new standards for both quality and economics.     The film explores variety, fa