10 Books About Coffee: Pair Knowledge With Your Coffee-philia
We love coffee. Love talking about it, dreaming about it, drinking it…even reading about it. We asked our team to share their favorite books about coffee; we’ve compiled their responses so that we can share with you, here!
The World Atlas of Coffee: From Beans to Brewing – Coffee Explored, Explained, and Enjoyed | James Hoffmann
A beautiful world guide to the bean, Hoffman’s book takes the reader on a global tour of coffee-growing countries. The World Atlas of Coffee provides everything from an overview of the world’s most flourishing coffee regions to step-by-step brew tutorials. Author, Hoffman, is the 2014 World Barista Champion as well as operator of East London’s award-winning Square Mile Coffee Roasters.
Published 2014, 256 pages
The Infinite Emotions of Coffee | Alon Y. Halevy
The Infinite Emotions of Coffee provides a contemporary and holistic view of coffee and the tradition and culture that has grown around it. Over 3 years of research in more than 30 countries on 6 continents, Halevy produces this immersive read, which includes over 180 color photos and beautifully-illustrated infographics.
Published 2011, 160 pages
Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World | Mark Pendergrast
In Uncommon Grounds, Pendergrast covers the history of coffee from its discovery to the advent of Starbucks. The first decade father 21st century saw much change in the coffee industry, from the globally plummeting prices during the “Coffee Crisis” to the Fair Trade movement and the “third wave.” Consider this your comprehensive guide to the journey of coffee.
Published 2010, 480 pages
The Birth of Coffee | Daniel Lorenzetti & Linda Rice Lorenzetti
The Birth of Coffee exposes the substantive bones of the coffee industry. Lorenzetti sheds light on farms and farmers, as well as identifies that in some parts of the world, coffee is more than just a drink, it is a political, economic, and historical force.
Published 2004, 192 pages
God in a Cup: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Coffee | Michaele Weissman
In God in a Cup, Weissman takes on roles of coffee connoisseur, entrepreneur, and activist while exploring the paradoxical world of specialty coffee. Her guides include Peter Giuliano (Counter Culture), Geoff Watts (Intelligentsia), and Duane Sorenson (Stumptown). This book dives into the contemporary and rapidly-evolving third wave culture of $10 lattes and unprecedentedly high standards; it gives you an up-close look into the movers and shakers behind today’s coffee culture.
Published 2011, 268 pages
Devil’s Cup: A History of the World According to Coffee | Stewart Lee Allen
In this captivating book, Stewart Lee Allen treks three-quarters of the way around the world on a caffeinated quest to answer these questions: Did the advent of coffee give birth to an enlightened western civilization? Is coffee, indeed, the substance that drives history? From the cafés and saloons wherein the French Revolution was born to the roadside diners of classic Americana, Allen wittily proves that the world was wired long before the Internet.
Published 1999, 231 pages
Coffee – Philosophy For Everyone: Grounds For Debate | Scott F. Parker & Michael W. Austin
Curious about the ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and culture of coffee? Then this is the book for you. It covers interviews with Matt Lounsbury of Stumptown, ethics of the coffee trade, and the role of the coffee house to the public sphere.
Published 2011, 264 pages
Coffee: A Dark History | Anthony Wild
Wild dissects coffee’s identity by facets such as alchemy, anthropology, politics in an attempt to understand why coffee is one of the most valuable legally-traded commodities in the world. Bridging the gap between coffee’s dismal colonial past and its perilous corporate present, Coffee reveals the shocking exploitation that has always lurked at the heart of the industry.
Published 2005, 323 pages
Everything But Espresso: Professional Coffee Brewing Techniques | Scott Rao
Rao provides guidance and clarity around the brew process, as broken down into 3 categories of information: coffee extraction (regarding brewing parameters), achieving optimal coffee flavor (via different brew methods), and proper water chemistry and bean storage. Everything But Espresso… covers a wide variety of easy-to-follow information that is backed with quantifiable sources; please note, this might be a bit advanced for true beginners, as it doesn’t acknowledge troubleshooting for basic issues. Besides that, this is a great resource!
Published 2014, 70 pages
Coffee Talk: The Stimulating Story of the World’s Most Popular Brew | Morton Satin
Satin focuses on analyzing how coffee has become a medium around which the interchange of information and ideas takes place; coffeehouses are flocked to for discussion and development. Additionally, he covers the history of coffee as well as the best techniques for home brewing.
Published 2011, 359 pages
There you have it! 10 delicious reads about your favorite drink! Looking to drink some great coffee as you read about it? Snag a bag from the BeanGenius marketplace or begin a subscription; learn from experience as well as words!