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4.5
This fascinating book is an excellent companion to the author’s edited volume, Coffee, a Comprehensive Guide to the Bean, the Beverage, and the Industry. For anyone interested in coffee beyond the morning gulp before work☕️, these two books are indispensable. The earlier book is an encyclopedic work gathering together articles by many experts; this one is an general work by one expert, both a scholar and the owner/operator of a specialty coffee business. This new book, Coffee from Bean to Barista, is a fun read full of lots of interesting details about the botany and business, the brewing and drinking, the economics, history and sociology of coffee. No surprise, perhaps, that there is so much to know about coffee; after all, coffee is one of the world’s most widely enjoyed commodities. But Thurston’s book is a well written and enjoyable read, bringing together more interesting stuff that I would have thought possible in a single book. An accessible book that will interest even connoisseurs. Incidentally Thurston takes the story well beyond the bean and barista of the title (as the table of contents reveals) to discuss the health effects of coffee on the consumer and the social and economic impact of coffee drinking on modern society. Well written and full of good stories. A lovely book jacket as well!
