Coffee Lover's Library: Coffee by Kenneth Davids

About the author, Kenneth Davids: from the cover, "Kenneth Davids is the author of two other books about coffee, Espresso: Ultimate Coffee and Home Coffee Roasting: Romance and Revival. He teaches writing and history at the California College of Arts and Crafts and writes for a number of coffee industry publications and Web sites. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area."

Summary: Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying is probably the book most widely recognized as a classic in the specialty coffee world. It is has been published in five editions since its original publication in 1976--making it one of the most longstanding exhaustive coffee reference. Davids, who still heavily participates in the furthering of public coffee knowledge with his own website, offers in his first masterpiece a primarily historical perspective on all things coffee. He gives valuable background information on the origins, industry, roasting, brewing, rituals, and movements involving coffee. Many who have written on coffee since the 1970s have used Davids and this book specifically as a primary reference for their work. No self-respecting coffee enthusiast can go long without reading this classic.

Copyright: 2001 by St. Martin's Press, Paperback 5th edition
Pages: 279
Cover Price: $16.95 in the U.S., $19.75 in Canada

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis:
Introducing It: A brief overview of the perceptions of coffee today, including those of the commercial market and those of the specialty market.
How It Started: A discussion on the legend of how coffee was discovered, the history of how it became a marketed commodity throughout the world, and the social impact of coffee over time.
Buying It: An introduction in to the market names for coffee and their roast and origin terminologies.
Tasting It: A discussion on the facts and fallacies of 'coffee tasting,' the basics of 'professional cupping,' the terminology associated with tasting coffees, and the aspects of 'bad coffee' that make it bad.
Tasting Place in It: An extensive introduction to the historical landscape, processing methods, market names, and traditional flavors of coffee origins as well as a brief discussion on blending and flavoring coffees.
How It Can Make the World Better: An introduction to 'cause coffees' such as 'Organic,' 'Shade Grown,' and 'Fair Trade,' and how they strengthen incentives for coffee farmers and broaden the horizons of the specialty coffee market.
Roasting It: A discussion on the equipment involved in roasting, the science and art of the roasting process, and advice for roasting green coffee beans at home.
Grinding It: Advice on storing coffee, grinding coffee freshly, different types of grinders, and fineness of grind for different brewing methods.
Brewing It: A plain review of how coffee is brewed (hot water, combination with coffee, separation from coffee), advice on how to brew coffee optimally, and a detailed discussion on the different methods of brewing coffee.
The Espresso Side of It: A discussion on the meaning and history of espresso as well as descriptions of the classic espresso cuisine (cappuccino, caffe mocha, caffe latte, chai latte, etc.) throughout the decades.
Espresso at Home: A detailed discussion (he has an entire book on this subject) on home brewing techniques, common contemporary espresso-based beverages, advantages/disadvantages of the major espresso machines currently on the market, and a glossary of espresso terminology.
Serving It: A discussion on the ancient rituals and ceremonies of serving coffee and the accessories involved in serving coffee.
Growing It: A detailed discussion on how coffee is grown, harvested, processed, cleaned and sorted, graded, and brought to market.
Celebrating It: A history and commentary on coffeehouse culture.
Staying Healthy Drinking It: A review of the historical health debates on caffeine in coffee as well as a discussion on decaffeinated coffees and the processes of decaffeination, pesticides used in coffee production, and the health elements of artificial flavorings.
Words for It: A glossary of coffee terms
Sending for It: A list of resources for purchasing equipment, flavor syrups, and--most importantly--quality whole bean coffee.
Those Who Know About It: A list of acknowledgments (the who's who of the coffee world, including some of the names behind the big names in the coffee business).