The World Encyclopedia of Coffee

Great information - very useful and interesting. A wonderful read! For the coffee gourmet... a must!

The book is quite informative. I really have been looking for a reference that provides the scales for describing coffee: aroma, acidity, body, flavor and aftertaste are some of the standard descriptive categories and the descriptor for the extremes and midpoints of each category. I also wanted to see several coffees rated on these scales so I could calibrate myself to what muddy, complex, etc. really means. This was missing. My search continues.

This book is absolutely amazing. It's so thorough. It takes you from the history of coffee to the way it is used today. The way the history is written will hold your interest as they highlight and write in an entertaining way. The book describes the process of getting the coffee beans, roasting them, and the way they are ground up. It uses great description in how the flavors are different. Also, throughout the back of the book, there are TONS of different recipes from coffee drinks (hot and cold) to cakes, crepes, ice cream, and pies, along with many other recipes. There are resources at the end of the book. This is perfect for the kitchen, the coffee table, and especially a gift for the die hard coffee lover in your life. You'll learn more than you ever thought you could.

It is a very interesting book about the history of coffee, coffee around the world, the art of coffee drinking, and many recipes of cakes, pastries, in which coffee is one of the ingredients. There are many nice pictures in the book. The only thing I dislike is that there are some spelling mistakes.