Coffee is known to attract extraordinary people, create an unforgettable company, promote resounding adventures, and foster everlasting friendship.
Coffee lovers are smart and adventurous, and their love for company is unparalleled. But we must also acknowledge that fine people with high standards are devoted to quality coffee. To meet the quality and desires of coffee lovers, several authors have published good coffee books with a plethora of information ranging from coffee roasting to coffee mixing cocktails.
To help you meet your quest for the best coffee, this article recommends the top 7 coffee books to make you a professional coffee barista or inspire you on your coffee journey.
The Craft and Science of Coffee by Folmer Britta (Published 16 December 2016)
Dr. Britta Folmer integrates research, insights from the science community, and her skills in the coffee industry to write this book. As a coffee science manager at Nestle’s Nespresso, the author is able to comprehensively articulate a range of coffee topics in the book that will forever change how you look at that simple cup of coffee.
The book covers coffee farmers to consumers, baristas to academia, making it a novel synthesis of coffee research and a world of experience to make you understand and appreciate coffee. The author presents readers with a unique and inclusive conversation where all relevant stakeholders in the coffee industry, farmers, roasters, baristas, and consumers, are quoted, creating an enriching account.
Furthermore, it also gives the reader a preview of the rigorous journey of preparing the best coffee that would make you appreciate every cup of coffee you take. The educated opinions from people whose lives revolve around coffee invite you to shape the coffee future but in a responsible way. If you want to delve into it, you can find this book on Amazon.
The Professional Barista’s Handbook by Scott Rao (Published 2008)
Scott Rao is a professional barista dedicated to making people prepare the best coffee possible. It is imperative to recognize that baristas have become a pillar of knowledge on coffee-related matters, and the perception they can only serve coffee is obsolete. Scott Rao is a perfect example of what professional baristas can do to help prepare the perfect coffee.
Although the book is fairly short, the author presents an exclusive expert’s guide on how to prepare espresso. Scott Rao’s book is a top recommendation for anyone who wants to become a barista and a brilliant choice for those who want to learn how to prepare espresso at home.
The book uses simple and typical language, purposively avoiding glorified and complicated terms and pretentious coffee industry jargon. Scott Rao ingeniously uses selective industry jargon and methods used by coffee professionals to help you sound and become a coffee pro.
It will help you with coffee cupping, roasting, and, most importantly, learn various factors affecting coffee flavor and development. This handbook is also available on Amazon.
The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee by James Freeman, Caitlin, Freeman, and Tara Duggan (Originally Published 2012)
Blue Bottle Coffee is a globally recognized name in the coffee industry. Blue Bottle has become synonymous and an excellent movement. James Freeman started Blue Bottle Coffee as a small roaster and coffee cart in the early 2000sand, progressively making it a new wave coffee movement.
The book is strategically divided into three independent sections, grow, roast, eat, and drink. Unlike many coffee books, the book presents you with information on how coffee is grown, the best brewing practices, and how to drink coffee as a professional coffee lover.
The book is thrilling, and you will enjoy every reading every bit. For example, the book details the best practice for French Press, Siphon, espresso, and other popular brewing practices in the brewing section. What makes this book unique from others is the part that presents a synopsis of the best foods to eat with coffee, and the authors continue to provide recipes for the recommended foods. If you want to get a hard cover, here’s a link to Amazon.
The World Atlas of Coffee by James Hoffman – Latest edition (Published 2018)
This book is a must-read for coffee lovers. As its name depicts, it’s your definitive guide to making you a coffee-making professional. It takes you through from coffee growing to the roasting process.
Hoffman further presents a detailed history of coffee producing nations, including their coffee tasting profiles. Understanding the taste profiles of each coffee producing country and the ability to distinguish them helps you identify the best coffee. This alone sets you apart from the typical coffee lovers.
The book is available in different editions, and it’s regularly updated to ensure it presents the most recent coffee-related information to coffee lovers. It is also an essential collection for professional baristas and coffee tasting instructors and is appropriate for coffee enthusiast drinkers.
Uncommon Grounds by Mark Pendergrast (First Published 1999)
The book gives you a detailed summary from the discovery of coffee in Abyssinian Highlands to your favorite Starbuck in just 551 pages. The author provides us with the history of coffee and how it has changed the world.
Mark Pendergrast poetically narrates the history of coffee, including how it supported some of the worst regimes on earth, such as the Idi Amin’s in Uganda. The book ensures coffee lovers know the history of their favorite drink and educates you on the business side of the coffee industry. The author touches on some interesting topics, such as the role of advertising and the economic impact of the coffee industry.
It gives you basic and real information about the coffee industry, its history, and the current trend as it is. Learn this book with kindle, audiobook, or hardcover on Amazon.
The Coffee Recipe Book by Daniel Lancaster (Published 2019)
This book is for coffee lovers who want to make Starbucks coffee at home. It not only focuses on how to make the best beverage by giving you the recipes. The author provides useful resources to help prepare the coffee of your lifetime. The author includes various types of roasts, filters, coffee grinders, and brewing equipment appropriate for the coffee you want to make.
The author combines his barista’s experience with a good sense of humor in writing, making the book fun to read. The fun makes the book interesting to read, and while at it, you learn how to make over 50 varieties of coffee drinks at home. The author’s brilliant writing technique makes it a good choice to learn a few coffee recipes at anytime, anywhere. You can buy this book on Amazon and some bookstores out there.
I Love Coffee by Susan Zimmer (Published 2007)
Susan Zimmer is a coffee connoisseur and passionate coffee author and lover. Her creation is a masterpiece filled with advice and technique than can turn you from a learner to a professional coffee barista.
The book provides tips accompanied by photographs to prevent you from ruining your coffee cup. The techniques are satisfying and elaborate to ensure the reader is well informed. The author includes over 100 hot and cold variants for almost all coffee recipes you need. The variants are but are not limited to the black forest and iced orange mochaccino.
Coffee lover, this should be a must-read piece given that the author adds holiday and seasonal drinks to keep you covered for all occasions. This book of recipes is available on Amazon. Be sure to check it and learn to brew better coffee.
There you have it! It’s nice to have this great resources about coffee. This will definitely help coffee lovers to learn and appreciate the things that goes beyond the cup of coffee you drink everyday.
I know there are a lot of coffee books out there that are worth reading, and I’m sure I missed some of the good ones. But with the mentioned books above, you can start learning and developing you coffee skills any time you want.
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