The Various Flavors of Coffee

This was a great novel - it was hard to put it down, and was one of the few I've read front to back so quickly. Several interesting story lines that interwove themselves and kept me engaged through the whole read.

A turn-of-the-century English novel, THE VARIOUS FLAVORS OF COFFEE captures the full aroma of life in 1896. Its hero is Robert Wallis, a rakish 22-year-old whose dream is to become a poet. Failing his preliminary examinations at Oxford, he frequents the Regent Street Café Royal near Piccadilly. Putting on the airs of a well-to-do dandy, he dresses in impeccable style --- complete with a carnation on his lapel --- and carries a cane. His favorite velvet waistcoat denotes him among the gentry of his day. However, he is nearly broke, having exhausted his father's generosity, and a real job is the farthest thought from his mind. Nevertheless, Wallis complains at the café when served coffee he considers "rusty." Declared pernickety by the waiter, he expounds, "...a well-made cup of coffee is the proper beginning to an idle day. Its aroma beguiling, its taste is sweet.... it resembles, surely, the pleasures of love." Comparing the present brew to the taste of mud, with a faint aftertaste of rotten apricots, Wallis adds the unpleasant libation to his ongoing tab. A gnome-like gentleman joins him at the table, a middle-aged guy who is to change his life. Samuel Pinker, a coffee importer and distributor, is a man with a vision. He wishes to hire a writer, leaving Wallis with an invitation to meet at Pinker's business address. Curiosity drives Wallis to keep the appointment. Often pompous, Wallis is a character both to dislike and admire. His sexual appetites are voracious, often inviting complications to achieving his goals. However, his poet's soul enables him to overcome adversity, change perspective and compel the reader to like him better. His taste for flavor is exquisite. Together with Pinker's daughter, Emily, he writes the ledger for a catalog system for the coffees that Pinker's company buys. In the process, Wallis falls in love with Emily but yields to baser temptations when tested. He finds himself banished to Africa, founding a coffee plantation. There, Wallis surrenders to temptation when he befriends a slave girl, owned by Ibrahim Bey, a coffee broker. From that time forward, a downward swirl engulfs Wallis's fortunes, both financially and personally. Confused, he finds that he can love two women at once, but practically speaking, it is an impossibility. Wallis's transformation, from a do-nothing young dolt to a mature man whose eyes have opened to the world's realities, is accomplished in THE VARIOUS FLAVORS OF COFFEE. The most mundane coffee drinker should develop an appreciation for the beverage's multifaceted blends of color, taste, aroma, robust or mild content, and varied types of beans. A subplot develops Emily's aspirations, quite the opposite from Wallis's. The two tug and converge until a twig snaps. Emily's feminist activities drag her down a path of politics, while Wallis deplores public servitude. He seeks to please the elder Pinker but is torn between his own romantic desires and the demands of a businessman. Coffee, its

I remember my first taste of coffee very well. I was five years old and reaching for another cup (probably filled with something with an unnatural color and amount of sugar) and got my moms coffee filled mug by mistake. I also remember spitting the coffee out. But in this age where a Starbuck's is literally found on every street corner it simply wasn't possible that this be my last encounter with the drink. Even before I liked to drink it I loved the smell of coffee. On shopping trips I would routinely (along with lying down in the beer cooler) sneak into the coffee aisle and just stand there and smell. It was that, the incredible smell of coffee that drew me to drink it. And because I love coffee, and history, why wouldn't I read a historical novel about coffee? "The Various Flavors of Coffee" is a wonderful, yet very odd book. I say odd because it wasn't until the very last pages of the book that I realized that there was a plot. Normally that would be an indication of a terrible novel (because what story doesn't have a plot? Some kind of crisis that our characters are straining towards?) but in this case the amount of description and incredible detail between the beginning and the end made up for it. As it turned out that the plot was the oldest story in the world, taking place at the end of the 19th century. Boy (Robert Wallis) meets girl (Emily Pinker) and this is the story of their lives from when they first met until they stopped meeting. Individually and together the novel tells how the two characters evolved and faced the challenges of their lives. Of course there's a back story. Emily's father sells coffee and after a chance meeting with Robert (who fancies himself a poet of the starving artist variety) hires him to describe the way different coffee's taste-all of the subtle little nuances and aromas and flavors that come out of a single cup of pure coffee (think wine tasting.) Emily works with Robert and they are both opened up to a new world of detail and sensation. Naturally one thing leads to another and somehow Robert finds himself in a strange situation-he's engaged to Emily and forced to go to Africa to set up a coffee plantation for his future father in law. But Robert is a poet, not a planter, a lover, not a farmer and the venture seems doomed from the start. Meanwhile Emily is discovering the suffragette movement and taking on the British government by demanding votes for women. There is a lot that goes on in this book: exotic locals and characters, laugh out loud funny moments, stock market maneuverings, horrific but true to history description of how the suffragettes were treated in England, a kind of spiritualism and of course, everything you never knew you didn't know about coffee. The novel is told by Robert in a kind of memoir that shifts from first person (stuff about him) to third person (stuff about everyone else) so his point of view is more prevalent, and his story is more descriptive then Emily's but over

If not for the coffee trade, there would be no Starbucks. And, reading this novel, it's very interesting to see the idea of "Temperance Taverns", where people go to drink coffee instead of alcohol. It's also a fascinating study in time and place, spanning from England to Africa in the 1800's. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the fine details of the places, times and characters - all set with the political backdrop of the time. (Women's Right to Vote). I also love the section in Africa, where we see the villagers who have had coffee for years and are puzzled by the men who want to make their fortunes with them. It also has elements of class distinction, morality and self discovery, all set over delicious coffee! You'll want to be sipping a cup while reading it!

"A well made cup of coffee is the proper beginning to an idle day. Its aroma is beguiling, its taste is sweet; yet it leaves behind only bitterness and regret. In that it resembles, surely, the pleasures of love.....Although in this case, it seems to taste of nothing much except mud. With, perhaps, a faint aftertaste of rotten apricots." With these words Robert Wallis seals his fate. Not that it didn't need to be sealed. After having been expelled from Oxford (too much partying, no studying) and cut off by his father, Robert is living in London on credit from various tradesmen. He is the very picture of a dandy, dressing in the most fashionable manner, writing marginal poetry by day and visiting local brothels by night. A dissolute young man who is nevertheless endearing from the very first page. While sitting in a cafe one morning his remark is overheard by coffee merchant Samuel Pinker. Mr. Pinker wants to develop a reference manual to describe the tastes & smells in the various coffee beans that he imports. He needs someone with a discerning palate and the vocabulary necessary to complete the task. He offers Robert the very last thing that he wants, employment. But even Robert realizes that he will not be able to maintain his lifestyle with no income, so he reluctantly accepts. The dreadful dullness of employment is greatly reduced when Robert meets his assistant. Mr. Pinker's lovely daughter, Emily, serves as secretary and partner in the task. Robert, of course, is attracted to her (and her father's wealth). He feels that he is a wonderful catch, a view not shared by Mr. Pinker. In order to win her hand he is given a mission. A five year trek to Africa, to plant and grow a crop of the best kind of coffee available. Obviously this kind of job is not to Robert's taste but again, he sees that his life has left him few options and he agrees to go. Africa will profoundly change Robert in ways that he cannot begin to imagine. The man who returns to London has learned hard lessons and survived harrowing experiences. The years have changed London and its inhabitants, as well. When he returns he will have to rebuild his life and try create a future for himself. Mr. Capella has written a fantastic historical novel. He brilliantly describes London at the end of the nineteenth century with all of its wonderful depth, from the glamorous upper class drawing rooms to the seedy, poverty stricken streets. Then he takes us to the dusty plains and steamy jungles of Africa and introduces us to the native people, showing us their struggle to maintain their way of life in the face of outsiders in search of wealth and land. It is a rich, evocative, compelling story and I loved it.