Tulsa Photography Exhibit Focuses On Art Of Coffee

By Rick Wells, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- Before the pot, and the bag of beans, where did your morning cup of coffee come from?

That is what a local photographer Jeremy Charles wondered, and he got a rare chance to find out – and take his camera along.

"His father may have done the same thing," said photographer Jeremy Charles said of coffee field workers he shot.

Charles has an exhibit in a gallery at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, highlighting photos taken at the Topeca coffee farms in El Salvador.

"I thought the most interesting part of this company was the people," he said.

He said a former employer used Topeca coffee in the company coffee pot, and he fell in love with the brew. So when he was invited to go to El Salvador and take his camera, he was thrilled.

"One way or another almost everyone is connected to the coffee," said photographer Jeremy Charles.

If you like interesting faces of hardworking people this exhibit will give you lots to look at.

One shot is of the patio manager who over sees the entire process. Once the beans are harvested, he's responsible for sorting and grading the beans for quality. He's regarded as an artist to a lot of people.

About 10 years ago when the coffee business was struggling because of too much of a good thing, the Topeca folks developed a new business model and effectively saved a 150-year-old family business.

"They carved out a special niche for themselves by creating a unique business model of seed to cup -from seed all the way to the store," Charles said.

For Jeremy Charles - and the rest of us through his photographs - there's special relationship to that morning cup of coffee.

"They've actually touched the coffee I'm drinking," the photographer said.

The Topeca Coffee exhibit is open through April 27th in the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Gallery. The Topeca Coffee Bar is located at Fifth and Boulder in the Mayo Hotel.