Coffee: From Bean to Barista

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.

Table of Contents:
1 INTRODUCTION 2 IN PRODUCING COUNTRIES: COFFEE FROM FARM TO PORT Where and How Coffee Grows Organic vs. Synthetic: Yes, Coffee Is Full of Chemicals Coffee Cultivation Women in Coffee Gathering and Processing the Harvest The Cost of Coffee through the Supply Chain Certification Programs: Benefits and Drawbacks Cupping (Rating and Purchasing Decisions) Climate Change 3 ROASTING COFFEE, MAKING COFFEE DRINKS Coffee Consumption around the World What Is “Sophistication”? How Coffee Spread around the Globe Roasting Making Coffee to Drink 4 COFFEE AND HEALTH, SOCIAL AND PERSONAL How Coffee Brought Social and Political Disruption to the World Coffee and Personal Health Caffeine Recent Research on Coffee and Health 5 CONCLUSION GLOSSARY NOTES INDEX ABOUT THE AUTHOR

About the Author :
Robert W. Thurston is professor emeritus of history at Miami University, and he is the senior editor of Coffee: A Comprehensive Guide to the Bean, the Beverage, and the Industry. He is managing partner at Oxford Coffee Company, a roastery and coffee bar in Oxford, Ohio.

Review :
[An] engaging guide to the history, cultivation, and culture of coffee. The book is written in a very engaging style, with a feel like the author is talking to the reader, sometimes with details about the author’s experiences, or tips for the reader to help them enjoy their coffee. There’s a helpful glossary at the end too for some of the key terms and acronyms used throughout the book. A welcome addition to my ‘coffee library’. [Thurston] pours out a rich history of the coffee industry . . . . [His] sophisticated guide to coffee’s history, cultivation, and enjoyment will more than satisfy coffee aficionados. Conversational and comprehensive, Robert Thurston’s blend of entertaining anecdotes, home experiments, and reliable statistics answers with precision the questions asked by coffee enthusiasts. Going beyond thoughtful explanations about ‘how’ the global coffee industry works, Thurston provides satisfying answers on ‘why’ it works and what can be done to make it work better. Coffee is an inspiration that goes beyond our knowledge, our boundaries, and our limits. Robert Thurston has felt this inspiration since his first visits to coffee-producing countries, and he has put that experience into transformative and knowledgeable words. Now we can taste more than just a cup of coffee; we can envision a coffee farm and, more important, a coffee-farming family. This superb book closes our knowledge gap and makes all of us more sensitive, emotional, and informed about coffee.