Customer Reviews

Home Coffee Roasting, Revised, Updated Edition: Romance and Revival

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Update: March 1, 2006

In June, 2001, I wrote about "Home Coffee Roasting":

<quot>"This book is worth several times its purchase price for the two-page roasting chart alone. As a technically-oriented (read: geek) amateur roaster with three (3) roasters (a Hearthware Precision, an Alpenrost, and the fabulous Sonofresco fluid bed) I am constantly referring to this book to improve my art and understanding.

But, amazingly, the book -- only a few years in print -- is now dated, because the equipment options for the home coffee roaster have increased so much. My three roasters (or the types they represent) are not covered. That's the only reason that I gave this 4 stars instead of 5. But if you roast coffee at home -- regardless of your equipment -- you need this book.

What else is missing? I'd love to see a table in the appendix covering the top 50 (or so) growing regions and rating the AVERAGE bean on acidity, sweetness, body, finish, etc, so that one has a clue where to begin when making a blend. The professional coffee roaster is cupping samples all day long, and quickly learns the characteristics of the world's coffees. But we amateurs, buying 1, 2, or 5 lbs at a time could use a secret decoder ring that would tell us in advance what variety we should order that has a good chance of rounding out that blend that is "not quite there yet." Short of that, David's excellent narrative coverage in the book of different coffee characteristics will have to do."</quot>

With the release of the "Revised, Updated Edition", the book no longer merits the caveats I described. In particular, Davids has meticulously covered the wide range of available home -- as well as cafe or semi-professional -- roasting equipment, and has excellent coverage of the growing availability of equipment and green coffee sources via the Internet. After 5 years of blending and roasting many pounds per week, and as a writer, I probably could by now have almost written this, and yet I found it endlessly entertaining and informative. Someone new to the hobby will, as I said in 2001, find it indispensable.

Nice job, Ken. Here is your fifth star: "*"

Let me start off by saying that I do not like to read at all. I rarely start books and even more rarely finish them. With this book however I read it from cover to cover in three days! A very fun book for the coffee hobbyist or anyone who would like to learn more about coffee and home coffee roasting. Not only is this book packed with history (in a fun way) it is also a wealth of reference information regarding home roasting and the overall coffee process, from plant to cup!

This book is laid out in a very easy to read format. The chapters can be long but everything is broken down into small 1-4 page sections. Kenneth Davids has a real grasp on the fundamentals of coffee production and lays out a lot of information in an easy to follow entertaining way. The book reads very well from cover to cover.

The content is not too scientific and also not too general. Whether you have no idea about anything coffee or you are a coffee hobbyist (like me) you will learn a lot and come to appreciate all that goes into a truly good cup of coffee. Davids also includes a lot of reference information laid out in a fashion that is easy to search and locate specific information such as coffee origin notes, roasting and flavor terms, roasting equipment and methods to name a few. Davids does review and discuss many of todays home roasting equipment quite well however this information is already dated. Not to worry though the total of this information represents a small portion of the total book.

Included are also a lot of drawings and diagrams. This book really captures the romance of coffee and coffee roasting and delivers it in a wonderful easy to read and use fashion. I cannot put this book down and have read and reread many parts of it. I refer to the roasting notes and procedures to assist in my home roasting. This book is as much an indispensable tool as it is an entertaining easy chair read. If you even have a slight interest in coffee then this book has a lot to offer!

I found this book to be very informative and useful for a novice about to start home roasting his own coffee. However, the equipment and resource sections are woefully out of date. This book was published back in 1996 and it shows; there have been many products and resources for the home roaster released into the market since then.

If you are interested in roasting your own coffee, read this book. Even though it is slightly out of date, it is full of useful information, well-written and well-presented.

This a great how to book for those who have a passion for coffee. If you want to learn how to roast coffee at home and a bit more, this is a great one for you. This book is part of a collection of books written by Kenneth Davids in the subject of coffee preparation and appreciation. Keep it in your personal library for future reference It even has color tiles in the last page to help you identify types of roast. I like it so much that I have recommend it on my own web site.

Great book very interesting history of coffee origins and roasting techniques equipment, Good explanations of discribing roast profiles: Great discriptions of coffee flavor, taste, and aromas. Excellent presenation on coffee growing regions around the world and what coffees come from where. Good info on how coffee is grown & the various processes used to prepare green coffee beans for roasting. Good info on roast levels what look for listen to and smell to know where you are in the roasting process. Information on how different beans present different flavors. Talks about how stopping the roast at various light to dark roast profiles can changes things like coffee acidity, body, fruitiness, etc and can make the same coffee beans taste totally different it's just a matter of where you stop the roast.

Overall I thought the book was a good read for coffee geeks, and coffee snobs. That's how my wife has taken to discribing me to ours friends since started my home roasting/brewing hobby about two years ago. I love home roasting and brewing it Provides me with a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment all during the day while drain my thermos & & keep my coffee cup full @ work. Once you get past the initial equipment investment you really can save some money home rosting & brewing over buying premium coffee from your local roaster or your favorite coffe shop. However, it does take time & dedicaton each week to roast our own. Also there is a slight learning curve to overcome so it may not be for everyone. Surf the web there is tons of info about home roasting coffee so you can see if it is really something you want to get into. I roast & brew about a 1 pound per week I love it it's a fun, helps me stay awake at work, and my coffee so Ii have been told tastes great & I certainly like it or I wouldn't go through the work of roasting grinding and brewing all of the time. I even roasted about 20 pounds of coffee and gave to friends and family as
Christmas gifts. They loved it and almost everyone has asked for more. This book & several other resources available on the Internet have helped me improve my roasting techniques and broaden my pallet and tastes for varoius coffees and roasting styles. I hope this review was helpful. Now let's go home; roast, grind & brew a cup of coffee!

Kenneth Davids provides an in-depth look at the evolution of roasting methods as well as the bean itself. The recommended roasting methods and instructions are easy to understand and follow. Filled with sample charts, journals, and definitions "Home Coffee Roasting: Romance & Revival" is a how-to manual that is written to encourage and guide the way through the wonderful experience of roasting your own coffee. A must on every connoiseur's bookshelf

This book is very good and will get you started on the road to home coffee roasting, be sure to check out sweet maria's website for the best advice and latest info on coffee information.

This book gives you all the basics about coffee roasting - the history of coffee, the different varietals, geographic differences, and the different roasting techniques. What it will NOT tell you is specific roast profiles or techniques for different coffees; that's for you to figure out based on your tastes. It is well worth the money and time, though.

This book had the hidden answers I'd been searching for.
It has really helpful information on how to build a coffee blend, how to understand different processing methods and how to differentiate all of the different names a particular bean has.
I hadn't been able to find this information anywhere, and I'd been looking for some time.
Great for beginners and still very helpful for those with more experience in coffee roasting.

Although my coffee roasting apparatus (homemade) is not included in this book,
virtually all of the commercial roasters, and some homemade, are, and
in great detail. Easy to read, well articulated without being pompous, he
describes the origins of the coffee beans, processing, and shipping. Now
I know why canned coffee tastes so awful! He describes the entire roast
process, all the way from storage of the green beans to grinding and brewing,
and even some coffee flavorings to spice things up for those who enjoy that.
An engaging book for someone who really enjoys coffee, and especially for
those home roasters.