Producers/Directors Nes and Darla Rodriguez talk about their documentary series "Coffee - The Universal Language with KC Counts. They filmed at Picacho Roasters last month. Here's a transcript of their conversation:
KC Counts:
Okay, so the first thing I have to know as a big fan of coffee myself, is about kind of the journey to deciding to do a show about it.
Darla Rodriguez:
So we have always beenfans of coffee. And as specialty coffee has grown, we have really fallen in love with the whole process and what it takes for specialty coffee to exist. It's not just as easy as everybody thinks. They're providing livelihoods for farmers. If you're going to the right specialty coffee place, right? So they're providing, they're giving them wages that they deserve. That's where it starts, is there at the farm. And then... all of the hands that touch it to get here, and then the responsibility of the roaster here, and all of that. So we fell in love with that, because it gives life purpose, and we're all about rewarding that, right?
Nes Rodriguez:
And being small and local.
Darla Rodriguez:
Yes, the local business, we truly feel that's what makes America what it is. And we support
that.
Nes Rodriguez:
The third space where the coffee's served; you know, so the whole thing about having the third space, of where that coffee's served is to have essentially these little micro community hubs throughout the city, right? Where someone can go there and feel that it's a safe space and stuff like that. And even to the point where we had in season one, the New Orleans pilot, he's a 4th generation owner, of family run Community Coffee. His name is Matt Ziraj. And Matt said, you know, what other space can you walk into by yourself and yet still not be alone? You know, and when you think about it that way, it's a pretty magical cup that brings people and unites people together.
KC Counts:
Okay, so far, what has been your favorite cup of coffee?
Nes Rodriguez:
Oh, man, there's so many different, you know, varietals and I mean, it's for us, it's not just about the actual cup of coffee. One, it's the experience of where we're having that coffee. Two, it's the story behind the coffee and its process, whether it's a natural, where it's from, and then the story behind that specific coffee in the family that grows it. So that's a loaded question. I mean, there's so many answers to that.
Darla Rodriguez:
Experience weighs out the actual fabulousness of the coffee. It's always a win-win when it's good coffee and a good experience, but a bad experience can ruin that taste really quickly.
KC Counts:
So for people who are wondering, they really want to be responsible about the coffee that they buy, do you have a certain coffee that you recommend or a few different places that we should look to be buying from?
Nes Rodriguez:
This is what I would say personally, because like at home, we have a ritual every morning. We weigh how much coffee we're dosing and then we grind at a specific grind setting. And then we have a specific extraction of how much coffee we're extracting on our espresso machine and all that. And that also has to do with the density of the coffee, of where it's grown and all that stuff, and how it's roasted. What I would say is to buy coffee that's been on the shelf for a few months, even though it's air packed, that's just not something we do. I mean, we would rather go and support local, buy coffee. We usually let it sit two to three weeks. We like our coffee about three weeks after it's been roasted. I think a big misconception is when you hear someone say, oh, we just roasted this yesterday. It's good. It's better when it sits. It's kind of like, say, wine. The longer it ages, right around that three-week time for coffee, unlike wine, where it's months and years, is when it's at its best. But there's a lot of small roasters nowadays that, you know, are selling online that you can support.
Darla Rodriguez:
Yeah, I mean, we've got, around the nation, there's a ton, and that's why it's so exciting to be here in Las Cruces. Las Cruces, not the biggest city in the world, has a fabulous roaster. Picacho is awesome. I mean, and they're doing things right.
KC Counts:
Well, that's what I was going to ask you next. So you kind of naturally went that direction. How did you decide to come to Las Cruces?
Darla Rodriguez:
So when we're traveling and we do quite a bit of that, so back to your first question, how we got started, was a trip to Kentucky, looking for local coffee that we just couldn't really find. It was around 2021 and specialty coffee is growing leaps and bounds every year. People are digging a little deeper about - Starbucks put what we like to say, they put specialty coffee on the map on a grand scale. Now, when you want to dive a little deeper and get a little bit more responsible with how you're taking your coffee, then you go to that local roaster because there's investment, there's passion, there's a much more meaning behind what they're doing. And so we found Picacho because they have a great reputation. Chad is doing phenomenal things. He's not just roasting for Picacho. He's roasting for a lot of people in El Paso, Tucson, he's in Tucson today, and nationally. So that's awesome that you can do this with a passion, with responsibility, and really share it with the world.
KC Counts:
I would imagine each place has its uniqueness. What stands out about Picacho roasters?
Nes Rodriguez:
I mean, for me, I would say, it's his, so the whole thing about, so there's kind of like, in a nutshell, I'll kind of make it general. There's really 3 aspects of what happens to that coffee, right? It's the way it's grown and within that, how it's grown, how it's processed at the farm. And then that coffee is now imported to the roaster. That roaster can significantly change how that coffee was intended to be used, right? So that roaster has put a lot of care and intention into that coffee on how they roast it in order to get the proper profiles that coffee actually has. It's just, it's just like baking, right? Like, you can bake something, there's a certain temperature where it's just amazing. If you overdo that temperature, it's now, the flavors are now gone, right? So it's the same thing with coffee. So it's the roaster handling, you know, that aspect of it. And then it's the care and attention then, you know, of when that coffee is actually being made and served to their customer base, right? So what makes them so unique is the fact that there's a lot of care and intention that's put into that coffee. Because we've always said, not everybody realizes how much goes into the effort of putting that cup of coffee into your hand. Like, no one thinks about that.
KC Counts:
So let's talk a little bit about making a show. What were some of the challenges that you met along the way and what was like really, when did you know that you had something that people would want to watch?
Nes Rodriguez:
We still don't know if that's...[laughter]
Darla Rodriguez:
So the stories behind the people in the coffee industry - they're just wonderful people. Honestly, they're not, you know, they are not getting into roasting or owning a coffee shop to be millionaires. Most of them, and I'm not going to say 100%, but the people that we're dealing with, and I truly believe it, especially after season one, they have a mission to make a difference in the world through coffee. And so, when we saw that...
Nes Rodriguez:
It's just, coffee's just a conduit.
Darla Rodriguez:
Yes, when we saw that, we were like, okay, you've got “Chef's Table”, you've got “Street Food”, we have all of these cooking shows, but coffee is the most widely...
Nes Rodriguez:
It's the second largest traded commodity in the world.
Darla Rodriguez:
So why is there no light being shed on these people that not only are serving coffee and being very responsible with the people that they deal with on a day in, day out, they're making a difference in their community. And that was a big, you know, when we saw the people that we could share and maybe inspire someone watching, we thought, okay, there's a show here, and there's a story to be told.
Nes Rodriguez:
You know, there's a lot of chef shows that highlight them and stuff like that. But the reality is, the average person doesn't have access to these places where these chefs are, right? Like, no one lives, not everybody lives that lifestyle, not everybody has the financial opportunity to be able to experience that, right? Because when you get to a chef level, not everybody's there and not everybody can appreciate it. Not everybody has the financial means to enjoy it. Whereas coffee, the average person from someone that's just a minimum wage person to someone that's a multi-millionaire can have the same experience in the same place. What other place can you get that from?
KC Counts:
Tell folks how they can find your programs.
Darla Rodriguez:
So, we are currently, season one is currently playing on PBS Passport. We're also on Prime and we're also on Tubi.
KC Counts:
Where are you headed next from here?
Darla Rodriguez:
Our last stop will be Portland. So we have been, this is our actual last stop of this tour. We left January 7th from San Diego, drove to Miami, we did an episode in Miami on Panther Coffee. Then we drove to Austin and did an episode on Barrett's Coffee there. And then we drove from Austin to Amarillo. There is a great coffee place called Palace Coffee there. And we are now in Las Cruces doing Picacho. And we also go to some local shops in the area and share what they're doing in their community. So here in Las Cruces, we went to Mija Coffee, Jovana is the owner there, and to The Bean, which has a few locations in Las Cruces, and Mickey is the owner there. So, we love what they're doing in their community there. And of course, our culture person, Patrick Nolan, he's phenomenal and shared so many wonderful things about Las Cruces. We're excited to share what he said.
KC Counts:
Okay, well, nowI have to ask you one more question before I let you go. Because it's one thing to enjoy a cup of coffee as a couple every morning, but it's another thing to work all day and then drive all day and all night together. What's it like working with each other on a project like this?
Nes Rodriguez:
I mean, it's great. I mean, we're honestly, we're best friends. We've known each other since we were 14 years old. We've been married 34 years. And we're just fortunate enough that we cut our teeth on the large networks, like NBC Sports and all of that stuff. And so you kind of learn how to do everything. So I've been fortunate enough to be able to direct and produce, and then sometimes you have to do grip and lighting and audio, and we do it all. And Darla being a producer and a director, so to have all that in your home under one roof, and then the ability that we both have to be able to work in post-production as well. We consider ourselves pretty lucky.
Darla Rodriguez:
Yeah, and truly, and I'm not just saying this, we truly get to meet wonderful people that inspire us daily that we want to share with the world.
KC Counts:
Unless there's anything else you think folks need to know, I think that was a great note to end on.
Darla Rodriguez:
Thank you so much. Yeah, no, we appreciate talking with you and
sharing and we're excited. We're excited for this next season.
