Customer Reviews

Making Your Own Gourmet Coffee Drinks: Espressos, Cappuccinos, Lattes, Mochas, and More!

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As I am French, I enjoy a good cup of cafe au lait. But if you are looking to broaden your horizons, this is the book to own! A coffee lover's heaven, there are lots of great recipes that will be sure to please. Very handy for parties, afternoon gathering or just for yourself. Absolutely wonderful!

Maybe I didn't read int the information enough prior to purchasing this book, but I found it to be very basic. More like a text book than a recipe book. Lots of history and background information, and slim on the recipes. Most of this information you can easily find on the internet. I was looking for a guide to make what you might buy and Starbucks, and though a couple might be here I think it is a far cry from how they actually do it. This book was published in 1993 maybe things have evolved since then.

After purchasing my Nespresso machine I enjoyed churning out Gingerbread lattes from an online recipe. My daughter requested a turtle latte and I decided a few fun espresso recipes would be great!

So I went in search of the perfect coffee drinks book. Sadly, this was not it. This was very disappointing. The espresso section was a few brief pages AND did not really include any speciality recipes.

Not a good choice for good coffee drinks.

Mathew Tekulsky has set forth clear information and instructions for the begiining barista. He offers decent tips for making a good cup (Use fresh water, the importance of the proper grind, don't boil the water, and clean your equipment regularly). He explains clearly the various methods for brewing (drip, French press, vacuum method, the percolator etc.) And, of course, he has info about making espresso properly.

Most of the book consists of recipes, and I appreciated knowing the difference between, for example, the Cappuccino and the Cappuccino Royale (the Royale is a Cappuccino topped with whipped cream, and often with almond, rum, brandy, mint, or vanilla extract).

If you're a beginner, it's useful to have this information all in one place, but I must say that most of this is readily available on the Internet. And, you don't need this book if you have some coffee-brewing experience.

This is a relativly simple book for those who want to impress their friends with a tasty coffee. However if you are a true espresso fan you may be dissapointed, I find the book has more of a candy appeal than true coffee expressions.

There is only one recipe for espresso drinks. There are other recipes for drinks with brewed coffee, but they have ingredients that most people do not normally keep in their house. The sections on the history of coffee and some tips on how to make a better coffee/espresso, are pretty good. If you are looking for some recipes for some different drinks, this is definately not the book you are wanting. I'm going to keep the book only because I don't want to go through the hassle of returning it, but I will not be recommending it to anyone to buy.

I just bought an espresso machine, because I was spending more money on starbucks and dunkin donuts than I do on cigarettes... So, got the machine used coarsly ground beans, and I got the weakest shot of espresso ever... I brewed with a ese cert pod and the espresso was so yummy, thought to myself i wonder why that is... so i broke open the pod and dicovered OHHHHHHHH, i'm supposed to have these beans ground as fine as beach sand... so once i got all that figured out, i was thinking whats the differance between a latte and a cappuccino? and just generally wondering what kind of recipes i could make with the espresso... went to B&N this was the only book they had, so i bought it... read the two maybe three pages of recipes that i was curious about and the book sat on my counter next to the espresso machine for a few weeks untouched...

I'm not saying that i wasted my money on the book, i wanted a book now! and bought the book, learned the three things i could've just searched online for.... now i'm going to look for a espresso book with more recipes because i'm so addicted to espresso now... it's 90-95% cheaper than going to shops and buying coffee...... MMMMM latte.....

Great book with expert tips, advice, and explanations of equipment, the different types of coffee beans, and how to make all sorts of drinks. It was a gift for a friend who is into latte making as a hobby, and he LOVED it. It has no pictures. If you are looking for a book with step-by-step pictures, or any illustrations at all, this is not your book. The content is great and it is a small, light book (very portable and gift-friendly).

I'd hoped there'd been more recipes. This book gives very basic information and shows little creativity. Explore further if you're wanting a real recipe book to make flavored coffees.

If you want to know all about the culture and art of coffee making then buy this book. If you want a bit of help to impress your friends than this is not the book.