Coffee

A Comprehensive Guide to the Bean, the Beverage, and the Industry

Edited by Robert W. Thurston, Jonathan Morris and Shawn Steiman

Winner, Gourmand Awards 2013, Best Coffee Book (2013); Winner, Library Journal Best Reference of 2013

Narrated by Dan Kassis

Available from Audible

Book published by Rowman & Littlefield

Coffee: A Comprehensive Guide to the Bean, the Beverage, and the Industry offers a definitive guide to the many rich dimensions of the bean and the beverage around the world. Leading experts from business and academia consider coffee’s history, global spread, cultivation, preparation, marketing, and the environmental and social issues surrounding it today. They discuss, for example, the impact of globalization; the many definitions of organic, direct trade, and fair trade; the health of female farmers; the relationships among shade, birds, and coffee; roasting as an art and a science; and where profits are made in the commodity chain. Drawing on interviews and the lives of people working in the business—from pickers and roasters to coffee bar owners and consumers—this book brings a compelling human side to the story.

The authors avoid romanticizing or demonizing any group in the business. They consider basic but widely misunderstood issues such as who adds value to the bean, the constraints of peasant life, and the impact of climate change. Moving beyond simple answers, they represent various participants in the supply chain and a range of opinions about problems and suggested solutions in the industry. Coffee offers a multidimensional examination of a deceptively everyday but extremely complex commodity that remains at the center of many millions of lives. Tracing coffee’s journey from field to cup, this handbook to one of the world’s favorite beverages is an essential guide for professionals, coffee lovers, and students alike.

REVIEWS:

“In light of today's caffeine-obsessed culture, this new work focusing on coffee production and consumption is highly interesting and informative. The book is composed of 63 relatively short chapters gathered into five overall sections, beginning with 'The Coffee Business' and 'The State of Trade.' The trade section includes chapters on each of the world's seven major coffee-growing areas and nine of the biggest coffee-consuming countries. The third section focuses on coffee's history and coffee (and coffeehouse) culture, followed by a section on coffee qualities, including health aspects. The book concludes with an exploration of coffee's future. This is not a compendium of academic papers, as are so many edited collections these days. Chapters, contributed by experts in their respective fields, are written in an engaging, accessible style. Summing Up: Highly recommended. ”

—CHOICE

“This massive volume is truly comprehensive, examining coffee from soil to cup. [The authors] have pulled together 63 essays that address agriculture, economics, gender, culture and history, assessment of quality, effects on health, and future research and development of the coffee bean and coffee production. The authors include coffee farmers, scientists, industry leaders, journalists, historians, and even a mechanical engineer. In addition, there are country profiles providing detailed information about both coffee-producing and coffee-consuming countries (e.g., Vietnam, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Colombia, the United States) that cover subjects such as the history of coffee in the region, climate, business costs, companies in the marketplace, and trends in consumption. The pieces vary in length, depth, and quality: some are familiar and casual, while others have a more scholarly bent.... For those who have a serious coffee addiction, the book offers a wealth of content.”

—Library Journal

“One of the very best coffee books to be released in a very long time. ”

— Barista Magazine Blog

“A must read for all coffee people.... Not only does this book include an amazing and global perspective of the bean that became one of the world’s most popular beverages, but also discusses all of the major coffee growing counties in detail from Guatemala to Ethiopia. ”

—Portland Book Review

“This comprehensive guide to the coffee bean and the beverage itself includes contributions from leading experts in business and academia. They consider the history, global spread, preparation, marketing, and social issues that surround coffee today. The book also includes interviews with people who work in the business, from pickers to roasters, to bring a human side to the story. By tracing coffee's journey from field to cup, the editors work to create a guide for professionals, coffee lovers, and students to help them better understand their favorite beverage.”

—Specialty Coffee Retailer