The Birth of Coffee
Encyclopedia
The Birth of Coffee is a transmedia
project which includes a book of words and images, a photographic exhibit, and a web site. It focuses on the people worldwide who grow and produce coffee
. The project illustrates how coffee – combined with the volatile locations where it grows and labor-intensive growing processes – often shapes those peoples' lives.
The Birth of Coffee is a project created by The Image Expedition, a not-for-profit organization "designed to photographically document and preserve ancient places and indigenous ways of life that, with the passage of time, might otherwise be lost forever...it is global visual artifact gathering."
, has two components: The first component is 100 black and white photographs by Daniel Lorenzetti
, which were toned by using coffee. The second component is narrative text by Linda Rice Lorenzetti. She addresses the social and historical impact of the coffee trade on producing nations, as well as on the people who grow it.
s, selected from the book, complemented by the author's narrative text. To date, it has exhibited in 14+ U.S. cities, with audiences estimated at 500,000. Exhibition venues have included botanical gardens, art museums, public libraries, and an array of private galleries. Notable venues are as follows:
Transmedia storytelling
Transmedia storytelling, also known as multi-platform storytelling, cross-platform storytelling, or transmedia narrative, is the technique of telling stories across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies...
project which includes a book of words and images, a photographic exhibit, and a web site. It focuses on the people worldwide who grow and produce coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
. The project illustrates how coffee – combined with the volatile locations where it grows and labor-intensive growing processes – often shapes those peoples' lives.
Project
The Lorenzettis, a husband and wife team, created this project by documenting their visits to eight major coffee-producing countries. The countries included in the book are Ethiopia, Yemen, Indonesia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Kenya. The author and photographer recorded multiple aspects of coffee bean production, from the agricultural stage, through the refinement process, to selling at market and traditional local coffee rituals. In an effort to aid the coffee laborers who opened their lives to the Lorenzettis, a portion of the proceeds from the project is donated to Habitat For Humanity.The Birth of Coffee is a project created by The Image Expedition, a not-for-profit organization "designed to photographically document and preserve ancient places and indigenous ways of life that, with the passage of time, might otherwise be lost forever...it is global visual artifact gathering."
Book
The book, published by Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, has two components: The first component is 100 black and white photographs by Daniel Lorenzetti
Daniel Lorenzetti
Daniel Lorenzetti, born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is an American writer, documentary photographer and explorer. He is also a frequent speaker on the subject of entertainment innovation specifically in the area of Transmedia and Collaborative Storytelling....
, which were toned by using coffee. The second component is narrative text by Linda Rice Lorenzetti. She addresses the social and historical impact of the coffee trade on producing nations, as well as on the people who grow it.
Exhibition
The Birth of Coffee exhibition is composed of 40 original gelatin silver printGelatin silver print
Gelatin silver prints were the dominant photographic process nearly from the period of their introduction in the 1880s until the 1960s when they were eclipsed by consumer color photography. As such, the gelatin silver or black-and-white print represents a primary form of visual documentation in the...
s, selected from the book, complemented by the author's narrative text. To date, it has exhibited in 14+ U.S. cities, with audiences estimated at 500,000. Exhibition venues have included botanical gardens, art museums, public libraries, and an array of private galleries. Notable venues are as follows:
- COPIACOPIACOPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts was a cultural museum and education center dedicated to the discovery, understanding, and celebration of wine, food and the arts in American culture. COPIA was located in the Napa Valley in the town of Napa, California...
, the American Center for Wine, Food, and the Arts (Napa, CA) - The Armory Arts Center (West Palm Beach, FL)
- United States Botanic GardenUnited States Botanic GardenThe United States Botanic Garden is a botanic garden on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., near Garfield Circle....
(Washington D.C.) - Morton ArboretumMorton ArboretumThe Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, covers 1,700 acres and is made up of gardens of various plant types and collections of trees from specific taxonomical and geographical areas. It includes native woodlands and a restored Illinois prairie. The Arboretum has over 4,100 different species of...
(Chicago, IL) - Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park and Zoo (St. Paul, MN)
- Missouri Botanical GardenMissouri Botanical GardenThe Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder Henry Shaw, a botanist and philanthropist.-History:...
(St. Louis, MO) - Broome Street Gallery (New York, NY)
- Teton County Library Jackson Hole, Wyoming
- Kansas City Public LibraryKansas City Public LibraryThe Kansas City Public Library is a public system headquartered in the Central Library in Kansas City, Missouri.The system operates its Central Branch and neighborhood branches located in Kansas City, Independence, and Sugar Creek...
(Kansas City, MO) - The Public Library of CincinnatiPublic Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton CountyThe Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is among the largest and busiest public library systems in the world. In addition to its Main Library location in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, PLCH operates 41 regional and branch locations throughout Hamilton County., the PLCH's collection holds...
(Cincinnati, OH) - The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge (Baton Rouge, LA)
- The Southern Food and Beverage Museum (New Orleans, LA)
- The Chicago Academy of Sciences Notabeart Nature Museum (Chicago Downtown)
- The Craft and Folk Art Museum (Los Angeles, CA)
- Miami Dade College - Centre Gallery (Miami, FL)
Project Sponsors
The Birth of Coffee project has been sponsored by the following companies, whose contributions have been funding for exhibitions and purchasing books:- Community Coffee, Folgers Coffee Company, Millstone Coffee Company, Sara Lee Coffee and Tea, Maxwell House, Gevalia, Rothfos Corporation, Ronnoco Coffee Company, Caribou Coffee, and F.Gavina and Sons.