Coffee: A Connoisseur's Companion Book

Don't let the cover of Claudia Roden's little book Coffee: A Connoisseur's Companion put you off. Inside is a veritable treasure of interesting stories, anecdotes and facts about coffee--all beautifully illustrated with lovely ink and colour drawings by Murray Zanoni. First published in the early 1980s, Roden offers a scholarly yet entertaining look at the history of coffee. From its exotic beginnings in Africa and Arabia, coffee swept through Europe and the Americas in he 17th century, profoundly changing patterns of life as it went. Although it suffered religious persecution, social prejudice and fierce political opposition, coffee reigned supreme and was soon being grown in prodigious quantities around the world. Roden explains the labour-intensive processes of growing coffee and preparing the beans, provides an invaluable guide to the quality beans of the world and dispenses expert advice on all the steps of coffee preparation, from buying to brewing. The final section is devoted to recipes: heart-warming coffee punches, refreshing iced coffee and frothy frappés, as well as delicious coffee cakes and desserts.Read More