Two coffee books worth checking out – one recently released by Scott Rao, called ‘The Coffee Roaster’s Companion,’ and another coming soon by James Hoffmann, called ‘The World Atlas of Coffee: From Beans to Brewing — Coffees Explored, Explained and Enjoyed
The Coffee Roaster’s Companion
A co-owner of Montreal’s Cafe Myriade, Scott Rao has published a number of books over the years like “The Professional Barista’s Handbook” and “Everything But Espresso.” They do a great job of summarizing the state of the art, often with a lot of personal anecdotes that help contextualize the evolution of coffee practice, as well as footnotes for further reading.
Rao has written a new book that dives into coffee roasting, providing advice and insight that will guide those looking to begin roasting and inform those coffee geeks curious to know more about ins-and-outs of roasting. You can check out a sample PDF and table of contents here and order online ($45 plus shipping).
The World Atlas of Coffee
From Beans to Brewing – Coffees Explored, Explained and Enjoyed
James Hoffmann, of Square Mile and ’07 World Barista Championship fame, has written a book that looks like an interesting must-read that may address a knowledge gap that has most frequently been addressed only poorly by bad writing on coffee bags.
It’s only available for pre-order at the moment, but some details are available on the product page, copied below:
Taking the reader on a global tour of coffee-growing countries,The World Atlas of Coffee presents the bean in full-color photographs and concise, informative text. It shows the origins of coffee — where it is grown, the people who grow it; and the cultures in which coffee is a way of life — and the world of consumption — processing, grades, the consumer and the modern culture of coffee.
…and Hoffmann’s blog:
The book isn’t about me, or about Square Mile Coffee, but just about coffee. The book is divided into three sections: an introduction to coffee in general, a section on brewing techniques (aimed at making professional standards accessible and worthwhile to home users) and then the atlas section, with individual countries divided by continent.
This third section was the killer. Finding accurate, credible information and facts that can be double checked felt nigh on impossible sometimes. I’m aware that the moment we publish the book some facts will be wrong, or be disputable. […]
What I have tried to do for each country, in writing a summary of its history of coffee production is to try to explain why its past makes it the way it is.
I’ve pre-ordered a copy, and you can do so too over on Amazon
3 comments
Brian says:
Sep 12, 2014
Hello. I had a question. I am new to drinking espresso and the different types of coffee or espresso drinks. I have learned some stuff from looking online. Today I went to a well known coffee place here in southern California and tried a Machiatto (not sure if that’s the right spelling). It tasted bitter and that’s pretty much it. Is that how a Machiatto should taste? Should an espresso shot taste bitter? Or does the taste all depend on the type of bean? Thanks.
John Bird says:
Oct 13, 2014
Hi Brian It always depends on the type of bean used. For acidic coffee I would recommend Kenya AA or any coffee roasted continental style (Black and shiny) For mild coffee it’s Jamaican Blue Mountain and for a fully rounded smoother flavour, Hawaiian, Costa Rica, Mexican or Kenya Peaberry.
There are many blends available today that use Brazilian, Mocha and Kenya beans for a nice mix. With the availability of my-cap reusable disc for Tassimo T-Disc Brewers like the Bosch T47 you can brew your perfect choice of beans at home and save money too.
Coffee Lover’s Holiday Gift Guide 2014 | FRSHGRND – Coffee Reviews, Travel, Photography says:
Dec 7, 2014
[…] and James Hoffmann’s encyclopedic “World Atlas of Coffee” ($26). You can see my original post […]