All About Coffee

by William Harrison Ukers

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Reference, Historical, Cookbooks, Cooking

818 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1922

About the author

William Harrison Ukers (1873–1945) was the founding editor of the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

In 1901, 27-year-old Ukers worked as an editor for The Spice Mill, the in-house magazine of the Jabez Burns coffee company. Taking note of a growing trend, he suggested to his boss that the magazine expand to become a trade journal. His boss dismissed the idea, Ukers summarily quit, and the rest is coffee and tea history—literally.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book, All About Coffee, is not inaccurate—at least if one is referring to the state of coffee knowledge in 1922, when the book was published. It is a lengthy and thorough compendium of coffee, covering coffee biology and chemistry; coffee cultivation, roasting, grinding, and brewing techniques; the history of coffee throughout the world; coffee in literature and the arts; and far, far more.

Ukers is an unabashed coffee aficionado and coffee promoter. But although he touts coffee’s beneficial role in countries and cultures around the world, he doesn’t shy away from sharing an occasional negative insight about his beloved beverage: “Coffee has promoted clear thinking and right living wherever introduced. It has gone hand in hand with the world's onward march toward democracy... It is interesting also to note that, while the consumption of coffee has been attended by these agitations for greater liberty for three centuries, its production for three centuries ... was very largely in the hands of slaves or forced labor."

On the whole, when discussing the history and literature of coffee, Ukers treats Arab and other non-Western cultures with the great respect they deserve. But it is also sometimes apparent that he shares the typical prejudices of white westerners in 1922, casually contrasting, for example, the way coffee is prepared by “civilized” people with the way it is prepared by “savages” in Africa.

As the publisher of a website devoted to coffee (Coffee Crossroads) I thought it would be important for me to read Ukers’s book. And I’m glad I read it. I appreciated the author’s encyclopedic knowledge of coffee and learned a lot from the book. It did take me over a year to get through it, though (and I skimmed some obviously outdated sections like coffee export and import statistics). I can’t recommend it as a cover-to-cover read for anyone other than a total coffee nerd, but I do recommend it as a useful resource, especially for the history of coffee.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Required several gallons of coffee to get through it, and this was the abridged version. Filled with trite little nuggets of facts. Beh. Maybe the un-abridged is more satisfying.

Sorry, did you fall asleep?

[Lailatun Nadhirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dah lama habis bacaan. Lupa nak update.
Sejarah kopi yang amat menarik. Paling menarik apabila kopi pernah sempat diharamkan seketika kerana kesan minumnya dianggap seperti kesan minum arak.

[Navneeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an abridged version, and perhaps I might want to look up specific portions in the original;

Not as satisfying as a real cup :)

[Steve]

"Coffee is universal in its appeal. All nations do it homage. It has become recognized as a human necessity. It is no longer a luxury or an indulgence; it is a corollary of human energy and human efficiency. People love coffee because of its two-fold effect—the pleasurable sensation and the increased efficiency it produces.

Coffee has an important place in the rational dietary of all the civilized peoples of earth. It is a democratic beverage. Not only is it the drink of fashionable society, but it is also a favorite beverage of the men and women who do the world's work, whether they toil with brain or brawn. It has been acclaimed "the most grateful lubricant known to the human machine," and "the most delightful taste in all nature."

[Harold Kinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic end table book and in-depth resource for pretty much everything one would want to know about the origins of the coffee industry. It reads like a text book or encyclopedia, so is best used for casual reference. Since it was written back in the 20's, much of the info is no longer relevant, but is still interesting if you're a total coffee nerd. Google or Wiki would likely yield the same info for those who don't want to shell out $50 for it.

[Joe Wroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

To all intents and purposes, it's an encyclopaedia, to read it as a book was my mistake.

Full of great knowledge though.

[Prince Charming · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book to read for anyone in the coffee industry or anybody interested in the history of Coffee. It is a history of the coffee world and it gives facts and information over a long period of time and across the world. You do not read this like a novel, but I have it electronically to look at as I am traveling, to find out information about coffee in whatever area I am traveling.

It was written in the 1920's and is still relevant today.

I have been re-reading this book for years, because of its content.

I would recommend this book.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

🖍️ This is a very interesting trade journal filled with all kinds of information on coffee. It is over 700 pages.

📙Published in 1922.

*•̩̩͙ *I came across this book as I was looking for old cookbooks:

જ⁀➴🟢The illustrated e-book version of All About Coffee can be found at Project Gutenberg.
✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎⋆✴︎

[Jo-Ann Carson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read that this book is the classic to read on coffee, and I'm sure from a historical perspective this is true. The man took seventeen years to write this tome and published it in 1922. From my wee perspective, however, I found it dated, written in circuitous prose and lacking in detail. I don't usually write negative reviews, but I think the reader looking for information on coffee should be forewarned.

[yamiyoghurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the abridged version and can see how this book is a strong influence on subsequent books on this topic. I’m sure the original version is a treasure trove of information and details which might not make an insightful read, but I also appreciate that contemporary books on coffee probably draw from and build on this work of passion.

[Vestealva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read the abridged version, and I have found it easy to read, with very short chapters and hardly any technical information. The book, as any such book will necessarily do, shows its age quite heavily, so it is a difficult recommendation for anyone looking for a modern history of coffee, but it has much historical interest for anyone interested in the amber beverage.

[Hikari Syuu · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, I guess. I happen to read on the abridged version. To be honest, I did learn quite few new things about coffee yet I feel like there are still bit more important details can be added in this book about coffee. The history part was fun, though. Very enlightening.

[Peter Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terribly produced book. It appears to be badly photocopied.

[Stephen Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

some good some bad some useful some outdated very long listened to librivox edition

[Art · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tedious and pedantic book. It was well researched to be sure. There are long quotes from other books, articles, journals, and phamtlets.

[Carson hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

May be good as a reference for college students. I just don't think this would be something that most people would find a good leisurely read.

[BeyondDL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ukers has created what is perhaps the longest book about coffee ever. With excellent information on historical, anecdotal, cultural and more aspects, "All About Coffee" is nothing close to light reading and should only be recommend when one has time and purpose. 1922 maybe a little early for our Starbucks era but still it is a fascinating body of work.

[Rachael]

I'm still plodding through this book. It's interesting, but it's also very dry. I have to read it in short bursts because I get bored quickly when reading about the different variations of the 'coffea arabica' plant. Not the book to pick if you want a broad narrative on the history of coffee.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic book from 1922 (2nd ed 1935). 817 pages in my hardcover. I love coffee, and I love nostalgia about coffee. This book satisfies both of those!

At least one of the Kindle editions is from the older 1922 edition. Not good!

[Sougeitu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ukers再版著作系列第一本。
如果你喜歡讀飲食史尤其是咖啡史，亦或者愛看咖啡相關書籍——無論是介紹品種、裝置、配方，如果講得較為詳細就一定會從盤古開天闢地開始講，也就是那個我們最熟悉的牧羊人的故事……而本書就是那個所有從開天闢地跟你講咖啡中講得最詳細的祖師爺，考慮到這是1873年開始寫的著作，作者的傾心傾力可見一斑。
不過再換句話說，也因為太過於事無巨細，這本的歷史內容如果不感興趣的話會真的很枯燥……就像我這種沒耐心的人，在2/3開始講解咖啡製作器材更迭的時候就忍不住加快翻頁了。更別提最後的編年史附錄，真的就是匆匆掃過。我懺悔。

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought I would try it on my kindle because it was free. Just too long and too factual and out of date.

[Halldór Thorgeirsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collection of interesting trivia about coffee. It also gives insights into daily life early in the twentieth century.

[Trent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads like an undergrad essay. Wish it told more history and less opinion. Gives a brief overview of coffee however leaves out major corporations (Starbucks, Tullys, Dunkin, etc.).

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually read this book while researching an anachronism I found in a fictional book. I found it online, for free.

[Sougeitu · Rating 3 out of 5]

上本書的後續，不過本書集中在以文學、廣告、特色咖啡館等多個角度講述咖啡文化在近代的傳播。
作者事無巨細地列出了許多相關資料以及珍貴圖片，不過也因為太詳細了並不是每個地方都很有趣味性。
我個人的話對於廣告和名人軼事的部分還蠻感興趣的，不過除此之外本書沒有實質性地講什麼內容。此外它的前言和附錄跟上一本是一樣的。