The Coffee Book: Anatomy of an Industry from Crop to the Last Drop

by Gregory Dicum, Nina Luttinger

A history of coffee from the sixth century to Starbucks that’s “good to the last sentence” ( Las Cruces Sun News ).
 
One of Library Journal ’s “Best Business Books”
 
This updated edition of The Coffee Book  is jammed full of facts, figures, cartoons, and commentary covering coffee from its first use in Ethiopia in the sixth century to the rise of Starbucks and the emergence of Fair Trade coffee in the twenty-first. The book explores the process of cultivation, harvesting, and roasting from bean to cup; surveys the social history of café society from the first coffeehouses in Constantinople to beatnik havens in Berkeley and Greenwich Village; and tells the dramatic tale of high-stakes international trade and speculation for a product that can make or break entire national economies. It also examines the industry’s major players, revealing the damage that’s been done to farmers, laborers, and the environment by mass cultivation―and explores the growing “conscious coffee” market.
 
“Drawing on sources ranging from Molière and beatnik cartoonists to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the authors describe the beverage’s long and colorful rise to ubiquity.” ― The Economist
 
“Most stimulating.” ― The Baltimore Sun

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Food, Economics

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Gregory Dicum is the co-founder and president of MondoWindow. He is the author of Window Seat and The Pisco Book and has written for the New York Times, The Economist, Harper’s, Salon, Travel + Leisure, New York, and Mother Jones. He lives in San Francisco.

Reviews

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Coffee Book by Gregory Dicum is a history of the drink, from its earliest days through industrialization and modern day consumption. At just over two hundred pages, it's a relative short history but some of that shortness is due to the small typeface and crowded layouts.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comm...

[aden · Rating 3 out of 5]

the first four chapters were really interesting (essentially the history of coffee trade and consumption). chapters 5 and 6 kind of lost me, and the book fizzled out to a "meh" ending. if you like coffee, read the first four chapters. if you're passionate about sustainability and global equality, also read the last two (i'm taking a coffee class right now, so the last two chapters were also a like-for-like regurgitation of my class which probably contributes to my overall rating/opinion of these two chapters).

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part history, part explanation of the business chain of coffee, The Coffee Book is fact-filled, interesting, eye-opening, and insightful. Sure, the authors add their bias and insert their values, but it's pretty obvious when they do so so it's not offensive or excessive. Though this is the 'updated' version of the book, it really could stand another update as the data is nearly two decades old. That's part of the problem with data-heavy books - the data become dated, leaving the analysis dry. Still, this book is worth reading as it is so informative.

[Tricia F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you know that in the 1960s, the U.S. government wanted to ban coffee as a beverage in an attempt to stop Communism? Or did you know that not all coffee labeled organic is truly organic?

If you love coffee and are interested in the history of this wonderful beverage then this book is for you! You will learn about the history of the coffee bean, how the bean is roasted, made in the drink that many of us need to get us going in the morning, and how the major distribution companies (Folgers, Hills Brothers, etc.) made coffee a staple in every household in America.

[In · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly rich read about everyone's favorite cup of Joe. Ever wondered why it's got that AKA? You find out that and so much more in this anatomy of the coffee industry from time immemorial to that cup in your hand right now. One of the most powerful parts is how your afternoon pick me up supports dirt poor people in places you couldn't find on a map. I loved this book.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of bias within the book. But certain parts were helpful in understanding the process of coffee cultivation, and differences between coffee beans and roasts, etc. A lot of charts and talk about the things the author was passionate about. Does not present the other side of the argument.

[yamiyoghurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting take on the history of the coffee industry, from primary producers to intermediate processors and end consumer markets. Appreciated the author’s research into these areas, definitely an insightful book.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe not the book for the hard core coffee professionals but more for the beginner coffee enthusiasts on their road to understand the world of coffee in general through multitude of facts. Contains not only info on coffee though and is NOT specialty coffee oriented,just to accentuate.

[Dr. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very hard to tell fact / information from political and ideological blurb.

A waste of time, unless you are a debater that has to present a marxist interpretation of the coffee world.

[Ash Ponders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less useful than other books in illustrating the seed to cup movements. Meh. Both too casual and not casual enough.

[Amanda Bechtel · Rating 4 out of 5]

statistics end about 2005

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very good overview of coffee in terms of the product, its history, and where it stands now. It does read a bit like a textbook, which may make it a bit dry at times in terms of the reading experience (this is really the reason I give it three stars instead of four). Also some of the book layout could have been a bit better. The various notes on companies, so on in the margins were interesting, but distracting from the main text, and since they often went for multiple pages, it meant either retracing your steps after reading a passage, or dropping the passage you were reading to read the note, then retrace where you dropped off in the main narrative. These notes could have been placed at the end of chapters, for instance, to make the reading experience flow better.

But those details aside, this is a very well researched book. It covers a lot of ground. It is not really a "microhistory," but you get to learn a lot about coffee. You get a little bit of history. You learn about the business. And you see how the business is evolving to consider sustainability. Overall, if you want to learn more about coffee, this is a very accessible, fairly easy, yet substantial way to do so.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great read. The brief overview of the origins of coffee, is perfect. The authors instead of dwelling on a subject covered in many other books, have chosen to instead illuminate the more present day story of the little bean that shapes nations.
The authors have chosen to present the social and economic impact of the coffee bean in broad strokes. They could have gone into greater detail (something I would love to read), but this would have lead to a much drier read, and would have alienated a lot of readers. Instead we get a book that shows how coffee has shaped the finances of dozens of countries and how much it has, and is, changing the business plans of some of the worlds largest corporations.
I read the original 1997 edition and I am looking forward to perusing the 2006 reprint, so that I can see the changes that have occurred.

[Anna Chviedaruk · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book gives an overall good review of the industry, giving lots of facts about the whole supply chain. It also helps to understand how the industry works, who is important and who is overlooked.
However, I find the format very poor. The facts are presented one by one in every sentence, when they could take a group of facts, rather, and provide an analysis of them. This would make it an easier read. They also give very few solutions about what could be done on with the issues of unfair wages of farmers.

[Manahil · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Economically, coffee is the world's second most valuable traded commodity, behind only petroleum!!"

Yes, I gave the coffee book Five Stars! and I wish that I could give this book more than five stars!
hmm, The brief History of coffee was my favorite part.. a really interesting!! and I learned that, the coffee is more than a cup working to keep your mind sharp..


Overall, coffee lover? give it a start!

[Atlantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit that I didn't finish this book entirely. I picked it up from the library just out of curiosity. This book explains coffee in explicit detail-the different types, when/where/how it became popular and why. It also delves into economic influences and how coffee has evolved throughout time. Unfortunately, it was a little too much about coffee for me! ;-)

[Steffie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive history of coffee; as a beloved drink and an imperialistic crop. I was hoping for a section on tasting and growing regions impact on flavor, but the book was nevertheless a very interesting and fast read, extremely informative.

[Mikey Sklar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every coffee drinker should read this book. This history, growing process, transport, and business around our favorite bean are all covered in detail. The books leaves me with a feeling that coffee is far more unfair and less organic than I would have believed.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well-researched, but gets to be dull after the first couple of chapters.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything you want to know about coffee...I enjoyed it. Kind of like a text book

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely Informative...unlike this review hehe.
Anyway, it's a good book regarding the history of coffee and the surprising cost of raw coffee

[Newt Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Christmas gift managed to last me 12 years, and although it needs updating(hint, hint giver), it still deserves a spot under 641.3373 on my bookshelf.