Espresso Coffee: The Chemistry of Quality [Hardcover]

Andrea Illy (Editor), Rinantonio Viani (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 012370670X | ISBN-13: 978-0123706706 | Publication Date: November 21, 1995

This unique book is a must for food researchers, food technologists, and managers working in, or entering into, the coffee industry. Written by leading coffee technology specialists in consultation with some of the world's biggest coffee manufacturers, the book comprehensively covers the current status of the chemistry and technology of expresso coffee. Aspects covered include agronomy, green coffee processing, roasting / grinding, packaging, percolating and decaffination techniques. The research and development / technology community will find the appendix of analytical chemical methods an invaluable guide. With no comparable book on the market, this work updates all areas covered by the more general texts, adding new technologies, techniques and research, as well as focusing on the quality aspects of expresso.

Key Features
* All aspects of expresso coffee are covered including
* agronomy
* green coffee processing
* roasting/grinding
* packaging
* percolating techniques
* decaffeination techniques

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I have learned many things from this book. But above all I have learned thy it is scientifically wrong to order a 'long' expresso as I have always done - you cannot play around with physics and chemisty: if you interfere with important parameters like time and volume you will jeopardize the quality aspects of expresso."
--Roberto Satolli, Director of Occhio Clinico
"In my 30 years working in the food service industry, I have rarely come accross a text that so thoroughly and yet so manageably treat its topic . . . Anyone who wants to truly understand the chemistry behind the process if brewung expresso should read this book."
--Thomas J Kelly, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
"Trust the Illy family, with its decades of the vanguard of scientific research on coffee, to give us the reference book essential for anyone serious about expresso. The wealth of information seems doubly rich for being available in one source. it will guide anyone, amateur and especially professional, to the potent bliss of great expresso.
--Corby Kummer, Senior Editor, The Atlantic Monthly, and author, The Joy of Coffee
"I feel as though I have known and worked with the Illy family for years, having used their coffee and their machines in my restaurant. I also had the opportunity to visit the factory in Italy and to see the care take over quality in the whole process os transforming coffee into expresso. Their knowledge not only of espresso, but also of all culinary and gastronomic arts, is an excellant indication of the quality of this book.
--Sirio Maccioni, owner of Le Cirque, New York

From the Back Cover

This is a must for food researchers, food technologists and managers working in or entering the coffee industry. Written by leading coffee technology specialists in consultation with some of the world's biggest coffee manufacturers, the book comprehensively covers the current status of the chemistry and technolgy of expresso coffee.

All aspects of expresso coffee are covered including: agronomy, green coffee processing, roasting/grinding, packaging, percolating techniques, decaffeination techniques.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 253 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press (November 21, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 012370670X
• ISBN-13: 978-0123706706
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #756,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than any single human would ever need to know, April 5, 2000

By 

joe tomkowitz (Ashburnham, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Espresso Coffee: The Chemistry of Quality (Hardcover)

Not a casual read in any sense of the word. This book is written for chemists and physicists. However, if you have a burning need for an answer about some technical aspect of what it takes to make espresso and enough time, energy, and/or education to figure out the necessarily scientific explanations, this is the place to find it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent coffee science book, June 9, 2009

By 

Joseph A. Rivera "javajoe" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Espresso Coffee: The Chemistry of Quality (Hardcover)

For those interested in learning more about coffee science, this is perhaps one of the best books out there. Covers everything from basic cultivation to roasting chemistry.

javajoe
[...]

5.0 out of 5 stars Espresso Bible, January 19, 2012

By 

James "JDI" (Palm Beach) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Espresso Coffee: The Chemistry of Quality (Hardcover)

No matter how much you are into Espresso this book has more information than you could possibly care to know. The writing, research and presentation are impeccable. There are some fascinating facts and descriptions that are sure to make your ability to understand and make better espresso possible. There is however page after page of very heavily technical or scientific data that separate each one of these fascinating facts.
Whether you are a roaster or just looking to further your understanding to make better espresso, you will learn from this book. But this book is really written for the " coffee scientist"