Brazil promoting benefits of coffee 

Never mind the caffeine. Brazil wants to convince health-conscious Americans in its biggest market that coffee can be good for you.

The government is examining a proposal to hire a Hollywood producer to make a TV documentary explaining the benefits of the drink, whose reputation has suffered in the United States among those worried about caffeine and its side effects.

A TV film tracing coffee's trail from the rolling hills of Minas Gerais to coffee shops in the United States would help dispel unhealthy myths, said the movie project's Brazilian scientific adviser, Darcy Lima.

"In the US and Brazil people think of coffee as just caffeine - a film could change everything," he said in an interview.

Caffeine, which is widely seen as contributing to anxiety, hypertension and sleeplessness, actually makes up less than 2% of coffee, said Lima, professor of Medicine at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Scientific data showing that coffee can reduce heart disease and colon cancer and curb alcohol consumption and smoking would be included in a book to accompany a documentary, said Lima.

Coffee is big source of revenue and jobs in Brazil, the world's biggest producer and exporter of the bean, providing a living for 8 million people.

The United States already is the world's biggest coffee market but Brazil thinks Americans can drink more.

Government spending on coffee marketing is set to rise by 68% to 8.4 million reais ($NZ4,187,823) to maintain growth in domestic demand, which rose 8.5% last year.

Previous government-backed coffee promotions include a 10-year survey to make the country's 240,000 doctors aware of coffee's benefits.

"We want to give greater support to coffee marketing and are discussing specific measures," said Vilmondes Olegario da Silva, director of coffee at the agriculture ministry.

A decision on whether to support the documentary project could be taken early next year, he added.

US publishing company Wilson Devereux LLC has drafted the multimedia coffee project in which film producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, whose blockbusters include The Matrix and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, will shoot the documentary.