The Curious Barista's Guide to Coffee

I recently fell in love with Coffee. It started with buying an Aeropress, evolved into trying some speciality coffee, and resulted in me realizing that there's truly more to coffee than running hot water over some crushed up beans for a solid hit of caffeine. While some would say that Coffee and I are still in the youthful infatuation stage, since we've only known each other for about 9 months now, I say that I'm fully committed to this relationship and want to take the next step of understanding where Coffee comes from, why it tastes the way that it does, and how can I continue to make it better. This book encompasses all of these aspects - and more - in brilliantly illustrated and detailed chapters that cover everything from how the coffee is grown to why and how it yields a cup of golden coffee. Stephenson provides a deep yet understandable level of detail when it comes to things like describing the phase changes a coffee bean goes through when it is roasted. The level of detail is not too scientific, but not too cursory either. Just the right amount for a layman-turn-barista like myself. To top it all off, roughly the final quarter of the book is dedicated to all sorts of different recipes with coffee, a few of which I've tried, but all of which sound amazing. Combining understandable education with gorgeously printed pages make this book one of the best options for the coffee lover who wants to take his relationship (with Coffee) to the next level.

I agree with the 5 star ratings of the other two reviewers. I would also like to add that the book itself was impressive. It wasn't inexpensive, but the thick, sepia-colored pages were easy on the eye and the whole thing is made to a high standard. Included are many pictures and attractive copies of works of art that involve coffee culture. It's a very nice book that is well worth the price. As for content, I learned a lot about coffee, which was the goal. The book even includes a section on coffee history, which was enjoyable to learn about. I'm about to embark on a new journey. I'll be making my own espresso at home with a manual lever machine I haven't even taken delivery of yet, and have much to learn. Having this book in my corner should prove extremely helpful.

We got this book and a bag of beans for a white elephant gift. The whole family wanted it!! It's been the sisterhood of the traveling pants of books the way we pass it around. I think it makes a great decoration piece on a coffee table or at a coffee bar. There's a lot of good, interesting information. It's also nice to use as a reference guide.

i am a bartender and i really like 'the curious bartender.' (another book by stephenson---his first, i think.) i am only an occasional coffee drinker myself but i got this book because i'm friends with the guy who does the coffee and espresso things at my restaurant and i thought it could be fun for us to look at together---you know, something nice for team alcohol and team caffeine to share. :) i also thought it would probably have good ideas for coffee concoctions and cocktails and lots of pretty pictures. ('the curious bartender' has a ton of content and i've learned a lot from it, don't get me wrong, but for me the pictures are what really make it fabulous. it's like cocktail porn.) (ha, i also thought it would have ideas for cute things to draw in coffee foam, etc. little did i know that serious baristas condemn such frivolous latte art!) now this book is SERIOUS. especially if you are a very casual coffee drinker like i am. it's much meatier than i expected it to be---i mean, there's charts, science, detailed histories of all different machines involved in coffee-manufacturing, discussions of ethics and public policy, and of course instructions for how to prepare coffee using all kinds of different methods and accoutrements. (many of which, let me just say, will cost you real money, and i am never going to try them, but it's vaguely nice to know about them....but yes the emphasis is definitely on pricey gadgety ways to enjoy this beverage...and also there is surprisingly little about more-traditional and/or less-first-world ways to drink it.) in any case i learned a lot about coffee. it's a good rigorous book. definitely get it if you are serious about coffee. and you probably shouldn't get it if you aren't.

This book is very interesting and informative. I was hoping it covered a few more variations on coffee drinks, but the technical knowledge about the entire coffee process more than makes up for it. The book itself is gorgeous, with thick paper and beautiful color photos and artwork. The cover and binding are really impressive and make this a very attractive coffee table book. I've enjoyed reading it.

Fun Read

Very pleased to have chosen this book as a new novice in coffee brewing. It has everything from history, methods in brewing, and recipes with photos to enhance the imagination. It’s a keeper.

Interesting book, but not the simple recipes I was hoping for. There were ingredients in many of the recipes that I am not familiar with. It did answer my question about pour over coffee filtering, & how to do it. I'm not sure that it was worth the price of the book, though.

Great addition to a coffee bar! Hard cover, well made. Thank you!

Un buen libro, con varios datos interesantes. Además la cubierta está súper bonita, excelente para un regalo

Even though it is small it fit in perfectly with the other books I stacked it with. Very happy with this cute little book.

I want to go into the coffee shop business without any prior work experience in this field. I needed something which would give a clear and simple explanation about the coffee world. This book was it. It is very well made and written. It feels and looks luxurious. The covers are thick and velvety as a good milk coffee should be! The pages are parchment quality. The photos are rich and vibrant. Unlike other books purporting to be about the world of coffee, this book is not padded out with cookery instructions involving coffee. It has all the information I needed. It is well written and kept my attention which is why it only took me a weekend to finish reading most of it. However, this book does not deal with the financial and marketing aspects of running a coffee shop. That is another subject matter which is why I bought a separate book for that.

great book, nice pictures and stories about how to do, coffee choice and stories, recipess. as offee lover you need it.