Chasing Coffee

Coffee expert Joey Chase goes on a pilgrimage along an ancient Ethiopian trading route that starts with the modern latte art cafes in Addis Ababa, then through the coffee kingdom of Jimma to the 10,000+-year-old wild coffee Yayu Forest. Village elders share the age-old secrets of hand processing, fire-pit roasting, and brewing of beans followed by a traditional feast.

After sharing a first-ever taste of coffee in a remote Maasai village, followed by an exploration of the terrain with some new-found friends, Joey explores a grandiose coffee estate in Mt. Kenya. He then jousts with coffee buyers in Nairbobi's auction house and experiences the hand sorting and elaborate tasting of over 100 distinctive coffees in a British Tudor-style plantation cottage.

Touting the practicality of gondola travel, Joey explores the canals of Venice and discovers the oldest coffee shop in Europe. The trail to classic Italian espresso leads from Illy Coffee near the high-fashion metropolis of Trieste to the medieval town of Scarperia where espresso machines are manufactured. Florence boasts a famous barista who prepares a masterful farewell espresso.

An exploration of Paris's distinctive cafe culture reveals a renaissance of coffee-inspired cuisine, pastries, and spirits. World-renowned "Noses" in the south of France reveal the complex contribution that fragrance and aroma make toward the perfect cup as Joey pursues the development of a coffee perfume.

Bob Marley's son Rohan takes Joey on a journey from the streets of Kingston to the peaks of the Blue Mountains. From waterfall plunges and grazing tropical fruits on Rohan's farm to roasting the smoothest coffee on earth and enjoying a Jamaican feast that ends with a Marley-hosted jam session, Joey discovers the pulse of Jamaica through the lens of Marley Coffee.

From four-star cuisine to cappuccino on horseback, Joey explores the historic cobblestone streets and coffee estates of Antigua. A puddle jumper flight along the rims of active volcanoes leads to the age-old Mayan towns around Lake Atitlan where coffee-harvesting communities offer a glimpse of ancient traditions.

The pursuit of the sweetest "honey" coffees on earth unleashes an adventure that includes "coffee monkeys", crocodiles, toucans, an exploration of the active crater of Volcan Poas, and surfing on the coast with a coffee farmer. The Costa Rican paradise reveals a uniquely artistic approach toward colorful honey coffees stored like wine and served just in time for a classic "coffee sock" brew.

Joey hits the streets of Bogota to check out the controversial trade in emeralds, the famous Juan Valdez Cafe, and some classic Colombian cuisine at an elevation of 10,000 feet. A flight to Armenia and subsequent Willy's Jeep trek uncover a remote and hidden world of quaint coffee towns and boutique farms where Joey hosts a group of international coffee buyers.

Joey is welcomed to Sao Paulo with a freshly brewed cup of excellence at The Coffee Lab in the trendy Madalena district. Joey checks out big coffee exporting in the Port of Santos with shipping containers stacked like legos, Jaco bird coffee (foraged from bird poop), and the world's largest savannah grassland, where Daterra Coffee Farms researches small-lot coffees on a massive scale.

Following an excursion to the extremely remote Gnobe Bugle Village, Joey Jeep-treks the terrain from the top of Volcan Baru. The search for coffee known to cost one thousand per pound leads Joey to the eclectic town of Boquete, a plunge-worthy volcanic river-filled-crevasse, and awe-inspiring Gesha coffee farms with more rainbows and hummingbirds than one could possibly imagine.

Joey embarks on a journey through streets that have a 500+-year coffee history of scandal, triumph, and tragedy, from Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace to coffee-infused nargile (hookah) and the trendy Karakoy District. Joey discovers and prepares the ultimate Turkish brew at Cup of Joy in time to catch the 13th-century coffee-inspired Whirling Dervish dancers.

All roads in the pursuit of excellence lead to Japan. Joey discovers that specialty canned coffee from a vending machine pairs well with street food. Bullet train travel leads to a tea farm trek and tasting, coffee in a rickshaw, and Yemen mocha brewed Arab style. Joey makes coffee history in Kyoto preparing and brewing "Geisha" coffee with an authentic Japanese Geisha.

In the wake of an expedition along the slopes of active volcanic calderas, Joey heads to Big Island Coffee where coffee, cacao, and papaya abound, sheep maintain the landscaping, and the coffee tastes like pop rocks. A Jurassic-inspired detour leads through Akaka Falls, the green turtle pools, and a vanilla bean farm. A salt-massaged coffee is celebrated with Rusty's Hawaiian Coffee Farms.