Higher Grounds: The Little Book of Coffee Culture (Little Red Books) [Paperback]

Kevin Barefoot (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Little Red Books | Publication Date: July 1, 2002

Coffee is the soma of the nineties, and Higher Grounds is your guidebook to the zeitgeist, whether it's truck-stop "Swedish gasoline" or a "half-double decaffeinated half-caf with a twist of lemon." Includes quotations, recipes, definitions, and a lexicon of essential coffeeisms.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kevin is a freelance writer and editor who lives in Vancouver, BC.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press; Min edition (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551520184
• ISBN-13: 978-1551520186
• Product Dimensions: 3 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,733,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Humor > Cooking
  • #48 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Coffee & Tea

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Try something else., February 27, 2005

By 

L. Olmstead "cygnus399" (Clinton Twp, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Higher Grounds: The Little Book of Coffee Culture (Little Red Books) (Paperback)

I looked through the excerps in the hope that this book might be one I would like to add to the collection, and it seems to me to be a waste of money...even though it only costs $5. Invest that amount into "Uncommon Grounds" by Mark Pendergrast; if you are serious about coffee, I fear "Higher Grounds" will be misleading, or at best, quite vague.
Example: a quote in the book says that one coffee tree produces one pound of coffee. True, but it should say that one tree produces one pound of roasted coffee...operative word being "roasted". A layman might not guess at the importance of that fact. One roasted bean is only about 15% of the original weight of the fruit that the coffee seed/bean is contained in.
Another example that will rub any person with any biological training and one which I noticed immediately: "Coffea arabica" should be typed as such. This author capitalizes the "a" in arabica, and the first letter of the species name is never capitalized. I know I'm being picky here, but this is the first impression I received from the book...and I knew my opinion of it would be downhill from there.
The book seems elementary and not worth the money. Please try something else. I cannot recommend Pendergrast's "Uncommon grounds: The history of coffee and how it transformed our world" enough! You could also try "The Devil's Cup" for coffee's influence on global societies...just do not buy "Higher Grounds"! Libraries exist for a reason.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great gift that goes with that special mug!, April 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Higher Grounds: The Little Book of Coffee Culture (Little Red Books) (Paperback)

After receiving this book as a gift, I found it full of history, humor, and ideas that one would never think of when it comes to coffee. Barefoot has researched this topic to the extent where if one was to look for any facts on coffee culture, this book would have it all. The 'little' book format fits perfectly in a coffee mug, which says that this book can be the perfect add-on to a great gift. I hope Barefoot is working on a second book, as I am thirsting for more