Dangerous Grounds (2012)
Would you risk your life for the perfect cup of coffee? Todd Carmichael would. As owner of La Colombe Torrefaction, a premium coffee company based in Philadelphia, he travels the globe, sleeping under his car, avoiding warlords and bodily-harm, risking it all to bring back the perfect cup o' joe. His business focuses on the best - coffee so rare it's sought by the world's top chefs and restaurants. Carmichael seeks out the most exotic, fascinating and dangerous places to find the perfect seed in the coffee plant. There's an amazing story behind every cup.
Seasons & Episode
Carmichael heads to Mexico to find a rumored wine-like coffee in order to retain one of his key clients - Jean-Georges Vongerichten, a premiere culinary talent in New York City. He must travel to Guerrero - the most dangerous region in Mexico ruled by a ruthless drug syndicate known as Los Zetas. But when his vigilante contact ends up allegedly murdered, Carmichael quickly learns he must blend in with the locals to avoid a similar fate.
An impossible promise sends Todd to Nepal, where Maoist rebels threaten his every move. An ex-Soviet pilot drops him deep in the mountains where Todd enlists locals and their animals to help get the coffee out of the country, so he can close the deal with his high-profile client.
An encounter with Mario Batali in Rome sends Todd Carmichael deep into the Amazon. While in Brazil, he dodges gunmen and enlists the help of the local resistance to find a key ingredient that will convince Mario to put his name on a killer espresso.
To expand his cafes to West Elm stores across America, Todd Carmichael must get coffee out of Thailand fast. But when the route leads him into Myanmar, he must negotiate past guns and borders in an epic race to get the coffee home.
A school that Todd Carmichael helped build is burned down by militants, so Todd heads to Uganda to fight back after securing a deal with Dean & DeLuca that could help rebuild the school. But when a series of cultural obstacles confound all efforts, he must enter a blood contract to sustain the school.
Todd Carmichael heads to Guatemala to source just the right coffee for a revolutionary brewing machine. But when he finds himself in the crosshairs of a mafia-like kingpin, he must meet the man face-to-face in order to return with the goods.
Winds of change hit the Four Seasons Hotel when the new manager asks Todd Carmichael to find a mythical Tanzanian AAA coffee. But when Todd comes face-to-face with lions and poachers, he must arm himself to get out alive.
On the brink of releasing a coffee-infused rum to the public, Todd's half-million-dollar investment hangs on finding a rare aged coffee in India. The hunt leads him to a secret society and a shadowy figure called The German.