The Global Search for Education: Brewing Love: A Journey into Café Armonía's Community-Driven Coffee Culture

Posted By C. M. Rubin on Feb 17, 2024

This month, audiences can screen Café Armonía on the Planet Classroom Network. This film is curated for the Planet Classroom Network by Planet Classroom.

Directed by Aria Zapata, Café Armonía unveils a Guatemalan coffee haven initiated by two associations of small coffee farmers—Manos Campesinas and ASOBAGRI—in 2014. But Café Armonía is about much more than coffee. Zapata’s documentary illustrates how the owners have created high-quality, freshly made organic coffee, beverages, and other goods for all to enjoy and additionally delves into the café’s impact on community bonds, emphasizing ethical values and fostering a sense of togetherness through its organic, fair trade coffee.

The Global Search for Education is pleased to welcome Aria Zapata.

Aria, what inspired the portrayal of Café Armonía’s community-centric values?

The eye-catching element of Café Armonía was the way it emphasized the art of coffee-making and the love each employee puts into the process of preparing a customer’s order. As the director, I wanted to give customers a glimpse of how beautiful coffee-making can be and show the customers what they are paying for. It is a small coffee shop located in the heart of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and the smells in that coffee shop are something I’ll never forget. The hope was to help viewers get a sense of that smell by showing the beautiful process of how a customer’s coffee is prepared.

Can you share any stories from your creation process? How did you capture the essence of the café’s impact – what were some of the challenges you had to overcome?

When I directed this film, I was not a coffee person. However, after having coffee from Café Armonía, I grew to love coffee. Some of the challenges I had to overcome were the language barrier due to the rest of the crew not being able to speak Spanish and communicate effectively with the workers. It was difficult to establish rapport at first, but thankfully the workers were open and welcoming. Café Armonía is definitely a vibe. The people, the ambiance, and the workers all make you feel welcome and safe.

What feedback have you had from audiences who have seen the film?

The feedback is great! The audience is able to “smell the coffee through the screen,” so I’d say our mission was accomplished. I’ve even had some people ask if they could have coffee shipped from Guatemala to them.

How do you hope your film influences similar community-driven initiatives?

I hope my film gives people ideas of how they could market their products through the use of film. I also hope it shows people that it’s not just about the product but the people you choose to make and distribute your product. If no love is given, no love is passed on. That’s what makes Café Armonía stand out. The workers love what they do, and it shows.

Thank you, Aria!