For most, coffee is a beloved beverage. However, for some it is also an object of scientifically study, and for others it is approached as a craft, both building on skills and experience. By combining the research and insights of the scientific community and expertise of the crafts people, this unique book brings readers into a sustained and inclusive conversation, one where academic and industrial thought leaders, coffee farmers, and baristas are quoted, each informing and enriching each other.
This unusual approach guides the reader on a journey from coffee farmer to roaster, market analyst to barista, in a style that is both rigorous and experience based, universally relevant and personally engaging. From on-farming processes to consumer benefits, the reader is given a deeper appreciation and understanding of coffee's complexity and is invited to form their own educated opinions on the ever changing situation, including potential routes to further shape the coffee future in a responsible manner.
Key Features
- Presents a novel synthesis of coffee research and real-world experience that aids understanding, appreciation, and potential action
- Includes contributions from a multitude of experts who address complex subjects with a conversational approach
- Provides expert discourse on the coffee calue chain, from agricultural and production practices, sustainability, post-harvest processing, and quality aspects to the economic analysis of the consumer value proposition
- Engages with the key challenges of future coffee production and potential solutions
1. The Coffee Tree—Genetic Diversity and Origin
2. Cultivating Coffee Quality—Terroir and Agro-Ecosystem
3. Postharvest Processing—Revealing the Green Bean
4. Environmental Sustainability—Farming in the Anthropocene
5. Social Sustainability—Community, Livelihood, and Tradition
6. Economic Sustainability—Price, Cost, and Value
7. Experience and Experimentation: From Survive to Thrive
8. Cupping and Grading—Discovering Character and Quality
9. Trading and Transaction—Market and Finance Dynamics
10. Decaffeination—Process and Quality
11. The Roast—Creating the Beans' Signature
12. The Chemistry of Roasting—Decoding Flavor Formation
13. The Grind—Particles and Particularities
14. Protecting the Flavors—Freshness as a Key to Quality
15. The Brew—Extracting for Excellence
16. Water for Extraction—Composition, Recommendations, and Treatment
17. Crema—Formation, Stabilization, and Sensation
18. Sensory Evaluation—Profiling and Preferences
19. We Consumers—Tastes, Rituals, and Waves
20. Human Wellbeing—Sociability, Performance, and Health
