Coffee Gives Me Superpowers: An Illustrated Book about the Most Awesome Beverage on Earth

by Ryoko Iwata

For coffee lovers and those who love them, Coffee Gives Me Superpowers is a fun, graphic design-centered book focused on one of the world's most addictive and beloved substances—coffee.

If coffee is the foundation of your food pyramid, then this is your book. Inspired by Ryoko Iwata's popular website, I Love Coffee (en.ilovecoffee.jp), Coffee Gives Me Superpowers is overflowing with infographics and fun, interesting facts about the most awesome beverage on earth written by Ryoko, a Japanese coffee-lover living in Seattle.

The book includes the most popular pieces on the site, such as: Your Brain on Beer vs. Coffee, 10 Coffee Myths, The 15 Most Caffeinated Cities in the U.S., The Best Time of Day to Drink Coffee (According to Science), 10 Things You Probably Didn't Know about Caffeine, plus 25 percent new, original material that is available only in this book.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Graphic Novels, Comics, Food, Adult, Reference

96 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2015

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delight for any coffee lover! This nonfiction book contains a great deal of information on this popular beverage, and the snarky tone provides just the right amount of humor. The illustrations also add depth, as well as a whole new level of enjoyment. The book is divided into different sections, so there is, for example, a chapter on coffee consumption statistics, a chapter on bees and their connection to the coffee plants, a chapter on the “Joe” who inspired the slang term “Cup of Joe,” and so on. The illustrations, too, vary from infographics to a graphic-novel style, depending on the need. This is a very short read, but it sure packs a lot of information into a very few pages. Good caffeinated fun.

[huzeyfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sahaflarin guzel yani da boyle guzelliklere en beklemediginiz anda rast gelmenizdir. Bir pazar gunu elime gecen bu kitabi ozellikle kahve arasi verdigim zamanlardan 3-5 sayfa okuyarak, seyrederek bir iki ay icerisinde bitirmis oldum. Her daim kitapligimda duracak ara ara tozlanmasina musaade etmeden yeniden acacagim kitaplardan.

[Yodamom · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Sip it slowly. This Book is highly caffeinated.”
A simple richly colored graphic book on the scene of coffee and more. Clear easy to rad graphs fill the pages, cute characters and true science.
Beer is good for coming up with ideas, coffee is good for get productive with those ideas, too much of either one is not good. Who would have expected this comparison ? How about when is the best time to drink coffee ? Yes, there is a science behind that and I went with it. It was right. Drinking coffee at the wrong time build up a tolerance to it. Small adjustments will keep me rushing all day.
There is fun, funny LOL fun. The worst drinkers is perfect, the author nailed it. I might be part stress junkie. If you get between me and my coffee there is a very good chance you are squirrel food. Additives, flavorings and sweetness, may kill you some day. LOL ! Oh the poem of love at the end. Hilarious.
Facts, facts facts, there are a lot of interesting facts to make you sound like the perfect coffee snob at any coffee house. How much America drinks, how much is traded, most expensive, most coffee houses, and more. Did you know coffee is actually a fruit ? Yes, it is, I’m counting it. Did you know caffeine is a pest control ? Luckily we aren’t pests. Wait till you read about the bees. Mistakes you might be making, covered. Why is coffee called a cup of joe ?

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because of three reasons: the catchy title, the 4+ Goodreads rating, and the short length (just 96 illustrated pages).

Ryoko Iwata brings together an eclectic collection of facts and trivia about coffee. A one-time read, it is quite appealing to coffeecionados. It hardly takes any time to go through, so coffee lovers, feel free to give it a shot.

On a sidenote, it contains a teeny snippet about Black Ivory Coffee that is just yuck! Enough to make one give up coffee for life! 🤢🤢



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[Tammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free digital copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I'm a sucker for book covers and as soon as I saw this, I knew I had to read it! This is a fun, quirky book that contains cute illustrations and various fun facts/trivia about coffee. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves coffee and wants a short but cute and hilarious read. I'm definitely buying this book for all my coffee loving friends.

[Siqahiqa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sip it slowly. This book is highly caffeinated." ☕️☕️☕️

Coffee is my favorite beverage; thus, I think this book is dedicated to me 🙈😂 This book is super cute and hilarious. There are many interesting facts about coffee and presented in colored illustrated fun graphics that please my eyes.

💭 Why is coffee called a cup of joe?
💭 What is the best time to drink coffee according to science?
💭 What are the six worst types of coffee drinkers?
💭 What does your favorite coffee say about your personality?
💭 What are ten coffee myths and facts?

You’ll find the answers in this book. I shared some excerpts from this book in this post. Swipe next to read ☕️ Furthermore, the last content is a coffee cutest comic, "If Coffee were My Boyfriend" and perfectly fits this book's ending.

It was a short and fascinating read. Highly recommend this book to anyone who is a coffee lover. A delightful book to read over a cup of coffee. You'll finish this book first before the coffee 😁☕️

instagram.com/siriusiqa

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today with allongé in hand, I saw this on the table as I settled in. Fun facts and opinions abound! Apparently, scientists drink more coffee than any other profession? Can confirm ☕️.

Dear Dark Elixir,

I love you.

Gros Bisous,
Peter

[Kristina Coop-a-Loop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coffee Gives Me Superpowers by Ryoko Iwata is a fun, informative read. It's illustrated by The Oatmeal, which also makes it extra funny with somewhat rude jokes. Iwata shares interesting facts about coffee, particularly that the cup and saucer came about because in the 19th century (and earlier), coffee was poured from the cup into the saucer, and slurped from the saucer. I love that image.

I have only a medium amount of enthusiasm for coffee and not a very sophisticated palate. I think my Country Fair gas station/convenience stores have great house blend coffee, and I'm partial to McDonald's house blend as well. I have a friend who raves over special Hawaiian coffee that has beans that can only grow in a certain area--kahona? kahuna?--whatever. So I bought some and was like...meh. Doesn't taste any different to me. The author would probably be disappointed in my lack of enthusiasm (I'm more of a tea drinker and also, I put a bit of sugar & cream in to soften the bitterness) but I will say that coffee has absolutely the best smell in the world. Well, that and freshly baked bread. And chocolate chip cookies. Oh, and Lush stores. I wouldn't eat anything there, but I love that smell.

Anyway, even if you are not a raving lunatic fan of coffee, this is a very funny and lighthearted book to read. The illustrations by The Oatmeal are an added delight (especially "The 6 Worst Types of Coffee Drinkers"--The Dark Lord of Black Coffee--tee hee).

I suggest you enjoy reading it with a cup of coffee.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little read, with some neat facts to share with others! Perfect for the coffee lover in your life!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

**I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.**

I read this adorable book today and fell in love with it. I will be putting this under everyone's tree for Christmas next year. This is chock full of insanely cute illustrations and lots of info. Nothing heavy or boring. You are not going to read this and be an expert. Its just a little book to bring a smile to a coffee lovers day.

[PuPilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hát ez egy szuper kis nézegetős könyv, tele képpel, folyamatábrával, kávéval és kávéfogyasztással kapcsolatos okosságokkal. :) Haszontalan, de szórakoztató ;)

[Mayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a quick read, but it packs a lot information as well as humor in its pages. For instance, I learned that about 100 cups of coffee will kill you, that honeybees like the nectar from coffee flowers, and, because I drink my cup of joe black, I identify with the Dark Lord of Black Coffee. Also, you can thank Josephus Daniels, the 41st Secretary of the Navy, for giving coffee its nickname when he banned booze on ships and substituted coffee as the drink of choice. Many more fun facts and descriptions of the various types of coffee drinks make this book a must-read for coffee lovers.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished the book in a matter of a few minutes and dare I say I may want a black coffee in the morning? Learned a lot more than I expected from an illustrated quick read. I'll definitely be purchasing this for my quick read bookshelf. Big ups to Ryoko Iwata for actually mentioning how coffee can worsen anxiety. I think some authors forget to mention that.

[Megan Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrated book of fun facts about my favorite beverage. All of my regulars are gonna love hearing my new and improved coffee knowledge...

[روان يوسف · Rating 5 out of 5]

An illustrated book about my best friend "COFFEE", of course I'll give it 5 stars...

[Lokum Çocuk Kutuphanesi]

Çok eğlenceliydi.

[MJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorbs

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

For some reason, I read the whole thing aloud to myself, using different voices. So now I'm thinking this will probably end up as a bedtime story for my future kids.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous, informational little tome with great artwork and fun factoids about coffee. A great gift book for java addicts!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful little book to read over a cup of coffee. Funny and aesthetically pleasing - why not read a flowchart for "should you put coffee in your face right now?" or take a coffee drinkers personality test? Loved the honeybee coffee addicts and global coffee consumption facts too (hurray for the west coast and Scandinavia!) Read it now if you heart coffee

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute table book with great fun facts debunking myths about my favorite caffeinated beverage.

[Apatricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

super intersting

[Lexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an unrepentant caffeine addict (or as I now know to call it - a caffeine aficionado, because coffee isn't addictive), I was prepared to love this book even if it turned out to be little more than lists upon lists of statistical data about my favorite beverage.

But the author of Coffee Gives Me Superpowers has made this experience into so much more. Mark this down as the first time in a long time I've laughed so hard I cried while reading a book. Mark this down as the first time I've ever laughed as hard reading non-fiction of this sort. Every single finding, data or fact represented is followed by a comment given in such an offhand manner and so hilarious at the same time that it made me want to buy several editions of the book so I could frame different pages. They'd look good on my wall. Next to all the coffee shelves.

The addition of actual references in the end was an unexpected treat for the research-freak in us all (or maybe that's just me).

The only reason this isn't a 5-star read is that in ebook format on my Kindle, some pages (and some entire chapters) were jumbled up and virtually unreadable, so there were parts of the book which still escape me. Would I still buy this in physical format? Absolutely. In fact, I just might. It would certainly solve the formatting issue.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with lots of neat coffee trivia, statistics and even a few recipes and quizzes in a beautiful collection of info graphics. Generally speaking, I love info graphics! I actually had some pretty interesting conversations stem from the contents of this book. The following topics were the most interesting to me (although the book covers a lot more): beer vs. coffee, honeybees and caffeine, where does the phrase "cup of joe" come from, what different professions prefer to drink and what's the point of the plate under the cup?

The only thing I wished this book did better was included the recipe portion amounts for some of the drinks (some of the info graphics were self explanatory like 50/50 or just add whipped cream on top but others not so much); however, the recipes were a small portion of the book. If you're reading this book... it's not for the recipes. It's for the interesting information about it.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book any coffee drinker will absolutely LOVE!! It teaches in an informative and creative manner while making you laugh out loud repeatedly in public....I did this repeatedly while reading this book.

I was orignially drawn to the title but am VERY impressed with the book as a whole. I am going to buy a copy for myself and one to lend out to my coffee addicted friends.

5/5 stars!!

Note: I recieved this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Jen Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definetly the book for those that love coffee and want to have a good laugh. With plenty of things you didn't know about your favourite beverage. Very easy to read, I'd say you could finish it within 10 minutes, but still satisfying. The best of all, the comic you'd find at the end of it "If coffee were my boyfriend", I was literally crying. So recommended. Plus, you can annoy your friends for days with what you've learnt from it.

[Tabby Shiflett · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars
Hilarious! This book is a great gift idea for coffee lovers and perfect as a coffee table book. There's lots of fun and interesting info and even some picture guides on coffee beverages for beginners. The illustrations are pretty cool too. It ended too soon! Also, you should drink a cup while reading this...

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[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, albeit scant little comic book, featuring Matthew Inman of the Oatmeal. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it - part of that is that most of it was published online already, so I was familiar with it.

[Morgan Wagner · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are expecting a ridiculously funny comic, this is not the book for you.
It is an illustrated book of coffee facts for the coffee lover. But It is still wonderful and worth the read for any coffee drinker

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.

This book was cute, informative, and fun to read! I learned so much about coffee. I usually don't like picture books because they're too short but this one is perfect because there are texts accompanying all the graphs and illustrations. It's a perfect coffee table book. *wink*