Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying

by Kenneth Davids

Now in its latest revised edition, Kenneth Davids's comprehensive and entertaining Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing and Enjoying, remains an invaluable resource for anyone who truly enjoys a good cup of coffee. It features updated information and definitions, a history of coffee culture, tips on storing and brewing, and other essential advice designed to improve the coffee experience. Coffee lovers everywhere will welcome this lively, complete guide to the fascinating world of America's national beverage.

Genres: Food, Reference, Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Edward Mcauley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. Details regional coffee characteristics and cultivation, types of soils, elevations, tree types, and more. Discusses various farms in coffee growing regions around the globe. Then it covers those processing influences that affect taste before the beans are ever roasted or brewed, how to ensure freshness at each stage of coffee's development (green, once its been roasted, once its been ground, once its been brewed). Then Mr. Davids covers roast methods and roast signatures and their importance to varieties, as well as the roast's importance to the respective types of brewing. And finally he identifies the delivery of the coffee in the various brewing processes and brewing methods such as various espresso methods (vacuum, pressure, etc.), various drip methods (automatic, pour over), and more. This is pretty much the one book you'll ever need for coffee. Because the book is so precise and has such good information, once you've read it and followed the path to good coffee, you may not be able to tolerate the common coffee experience ever again. While at first glance this may seem negative, I assure you, it's indeed very positive.

[Shubrashankh Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about my favourite beverage which covers the history, geopolitical significance and suggestions on best ways to enjoy a cuppa is something that I wanted to spend a weekend on, and this book just did not disappoint. What has amazed me in the recent past is how a simple exercise as brewing a cup of coffee can be so detailed and nuanced if you dare and care to look beyond the cursory facade. This again fortifies my belief in Bushnell's Law that "All the best games are easy to learn but difficult to master" this is true for almost all dimensions of life whether it is starting long-distance running vs finishing a Marathon is Sub-4 or whether it is starting to code vs developing a popular web-app. Every great pursuit is easy to start but its perfection needs mastery of details. Developing a fantastic cup of coffee is no different.
If you are after a stimulating shot of coffee without any consideration of taste or spirit of exploration it can be as easy as getting instant coffee from the supermarket and brewing it on a stovetop while you mindlessly pursue other endeavors. This is nothing to frown upon, coffee as a simple stimulant has its own usage, but if you are one of those who likes to brew that perfect cup with your own preference of beans and brew methods this is the book for you. You can learn about coffee origins, coffee history, coffee processing, coffee roasting to brewing methods from this easy to read and small reference book.,so if you are a coffee lover and geek like me pick up your favourite cup and delve into this stimulating world of Java.

[Gopalkrishna Phadke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to know about this book on the box of the Aeropress I purchased. I was very impressed by the Aeropress and when I read about the author’s positive comment on Aeropress, I searched for him and then this book. If you want to know good deal about coffee this is a must read book. Very nicely written, covers everything one must know.

[Gerald Kinro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well-written and clear. All one has to know to enjoy this most fabulous drink.

[Christine Guerrero · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite coffee book.

[thioacetone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although slightly out-dated it still offers great and fundamental information about coffee's trip from the three to the cup.