Book - Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying (5th Edition)
BK205
St. Martin's Press
288 pages
Size: 8 x 8
80 b&w photos and illustrations throughout
Trade Paperback
Fifth Edition
Now in its latest revised edition, Kenneth Davids's comprehensive and entertaining Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing and Enjoying, remains an invaluable resource for anyone who truly enjoys a good cup of coffee. It features updated information and definitions, a history of coffee culture, tips on storing and brewing, and other essential advice designed to improve the coffee experience. Coffee lovers everywhere will welcome this lively, complete guide to the fascinating world of America's national beverage.
About the Author:
Kenneth Davids is the author of two other books about coffee, Espresso: Ultimate Coffee and Home Coffee Roasting: Romance and Revival. He teaches writing and history at the California College of Arts and Crafts and writes for a number of coffe industry publications and Websites. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Notes from Casey "The Coffee Guy"
This has probably been my favorite general coffee book, of all the books I've read. It's authoritative, informative, thorough, and dosed with a good balance of research and opinion. Kenneth Davids, the author, is well known in the coffee industry and has written quite a few books on the subject of coffee and home coffee roasting. He doesn't disappoint in this book and covers an amazing range of topics in a relatively short book (well, 250 pages..). He talks about the history of coffee, tasting and roasting it, grinding and brewing and then covers two sections on commercial espresso and espresso at home. He talks a bit about the more romantic and historically ceremonial aspect of coffee and then gives you a good overview of the growing and processing elements of the coffee bean. Finally he talks a bit about health aspects of coffee - which is a very informative section of the book, indeed. Davids has a way of talking about his topic without going over the reader's head even though he easily could. It's a great down to earth read.
Below is the table of contents.
Chapter 1: Introducing It
- More than a wake-up pill
- Filling the knowledge gap
- Specialty vs. commercial coffees
Chapter 2: How It Started
- Dancing (and non-dancing) goats
- Coffee's economic paradox
- Coffee snobs to the rescue
Chapter 3: Buying It
- Coffee stores, real and virtual
- What all the names mean
- Roast names and roast taste
Chapter 4: Tasting It
- What to taste for
- The cupping ritual demystified
- Grace notes and ambiguities
Chapter 5: Tasting Place In It
- Choosing coffee by origin
- Blending and blends
- Flavored Coffees
Chapter 6: How It Can Make the World Better
- Coffee, people, and environment
- Organic, shade-grown, fair-trade, and sustainable coffees
Chapter 7: Roasting It
- How coffee is roasted
- Formula vs. eye, ear, and nose
- How to roast your own
Chapter 8: Grinding It
- Keeping it fresh
- Choosing the right grinder and grind
Chapter 9: Brewing It
- Choosing a method and a machine
- Brewing it right
Chapter 10: The Espresso Side of It
- What makes espresso espresso
- Espresso history
- Classic, beatnik, and mall espresso
Chapter 11: Espresso at Home
- How to brew the coffee, froth the milk, assemble the drinks and find the right equipment
Chapter 12: Serving It
- The social sacrament
- From coffee ceremony to travel mug
Chapter 13: Growing It
- How coffee is grown, processed and graded
- Growing your own
Chapter 14: Celebrating It
- Public ceremonies and ritual conviviality
- Coffee places
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Chapter 15: Staying Healthy Drinking It
- Poison vs. panacea
- Science weighs in
- Decaffeinated coffees
Words for It: A Glossary
Sending for It: A List of Resources
Those Who Know About It: Acknowledgments
Index
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