Coffee: From Bean to Barista

by Robert W. Thurston

This engaging guide traces the history, cultivation, and culture of coffee, as well as the major factors influencing the industry today. Robert Thurston provides a readable, concise overview of coffee from the time the seeds of the coffee fruit are planted to the latest ideas in roasting and making beverages. He considers cultivation and its challenges, especially climate change; new research on hybridization; the history of coffee and cultural change surrounding it around the world; devices, new and old, for making coffee drinks; the issue of organic versus conventional agriculture; and the health benefits of the brew. The first book that coffee lovers naturally will turn to, it will also appeal to anyone interested in globalization, climate change, and social justice.

Genres: Food

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 8, 2018

Reviews

[Kebechet Moxen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, has good info but the author inserts his opinion a lot where it is unnecessary and often in a judgmental way.

[Lea Biste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This book really made me appreciate coffee more, and convinced me to buy whole beans and pay attention to where they are from.

There is so much great information here about where coffee comes from, working conditions in the industry, coffee's history, and politics around coffee. I wish it had further covered more about how coffee is made by barista, and different types of coffee drinks. Maybe that is covered in his other book, which I plan on also reading.

I also want to learn more about health impacts of coffee, but I feel like Thurston gives us the best summary of this from the information currently available. I suppose more research needs to be done about this to learn more.

The entire book is written in a way that makes sense to casual readers, while also remaining interesting to readers more used to information-heavy books. (This book does not "feel" info-heavy, but it does make you feel you've learned a lot at the same time.)

[Mario Martínez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does really dwell on coffee and it goes miles to show you how things are I know this for a fact cause my family has been producing coffee for over 120 years

[Matthew Noe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a frustrating book for me. On the one hand, I rather enjoy learning as much as I can about coffee, both past and present. On the other, it is full of pithy personal statements that illustrate the worst kind of "market" beliefs.

For example, when discussing the reality that farmers are grossly underpaid, he states: "How, in this matrix of price, productivity, value added, and costs at each stage, can anyone determine what social justice is?" Then goes on to give an anecdote of his own roasting business experience - ultimately never really addressing the reality of the problem.

I'll be looking for more coffee histories, perhaps there are some less interested in maintaining the ills of capitalism.

[Elysa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thi book is a short but informative read. I learned a lot about coffee farming and production as well as what coffee has meant in society and what organic means.

At less than 200 pages, it's a quick read. I'd recommend it for non-fiction readers and coffee lovers.