Coffee Basics: A Quick and Easy Guide (Paperback)

~ (Author), Julie Sheldon Huffaker (Author) "To develop a knowledgeable relationship with coffee-and particularly to learn to distinguish and appreciate its flavors-one must first understand what coffee is..." (more)
Key Phrases: vacuum pot, washed coffees, roast style, Costa Rica, Latin American, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A coffee lover's guide to the best brews—written by two industry insiders

Coffee Basics is a brief, no-nonsense guide to coffee products, appreciation, and brewing. It demystifies coffee's origins and history, explores the overwhelming amount of different varieties and explains exactly how to brew the best cup. The authors describe the regional character of coffee beans from around the world and discuss a variety of roasting equipment and brewing methods for both home and restaurant.

• Lists mail-order sources for the best beans, plus great coffee drink recipes, tasting tips, and a complete coffee taster's glossary

KEVIN KNOX (Boulder, Colorado) is a Vice President and coffee buyer for Allegro. As a beverage specialist for Starbucks he was responsible for appraisals, quality standards, recipes, training procedures, and brewing equipment. JULIE SHELDON HUFFAKER (Portland, Oregon) writes for Cafe Ole and Coffee Matters magazines.

From the Publisher

Coffee industry insiders present a succinct, straightforward guide which explains just as much as readers need to know to make sense of the specialty coffee trend and increase their drinking enjoyment, buying confidence, and brewing performance. Includes mail-order sources for great coffees, recipes, and a coffee taster's glossary.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471136174
• ISBN-13: 978-0471136170
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #248,152 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE coffee bible!, October 21, 1999

By	T. Consing (Manila, Philippines) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have read a number of books on coffee, but Knox and Huffaker's book is simply the all-around reference on coffee. While other book publishers include snazzy photo plates and recipes to sell their expensive books, this book gives tons of useful information on what goes into a wonderful cup of coffee. The experience and the passion that the authors (who are industry experts) have for the bean shows throughout. Because of this book, I was able to significantly enhance my family and friends' coffee drinking experience. Whether you're a novice coffee drinker or a seasoned espresso barista, this is one book that should be in your reference shelf.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great coffee book, May 11, 2003

By A Customer

This book gives a good basic understanding of what coffee is all about. I especially like the specificity of information about coffees from different areas in the Regional Character chapter. For example, discussing Costa Rica's two best growing areas and how the coffees differ. I also found the opinions of which coffees are worthy of their price helpful. I read the Perfect Cup first and am glad I did because it was a good coffee overview for me. Coffee Basics was a great second book for me because I was looking for more specific information about coffees of each area. If I hadn't read Perfect Cup first I think the break down of info. on each type of coffee/regional character would have been information overload for me. If you are new or relatively new to the coffee world and are excited about learning more and more about the subtlties and nuiances present in that cup, I highly recommend you read this book.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Covers a lot in very few words..., February 20, 2003

By	Van H. Dai "Bookie the Worm" (Richardson, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is not exactly a great book, but then again, not exactly a bad book. It covers much about the industry of coffee and goes over the different regions that produce coffee. It describes what is and how to brew a perfect cup of coffee.

But I get a feeling of being rushed from one tidbit of information to the next. Just while I am almost within grasp of a certain concept or am about to form a picture of what it is trying to say it ends there without further detail. But it does repeat key information more than once throughout the book so you do walk away with greater knowledge than before.

If learning about coffee was compared to eating out, this book is best suited as either an appetizer or a desert. Appetizer to whet and get your brain ready to learn more about coffee, or as a desert, to catch up on and review over learned knowledge.

I guess that's why it is called "Coffee Basics" after all.

"A Perfect Cup" is a better selection in that it contains more information and better elaboration although that book is slightly dated being published in 1994. But coffee has been around way before 1994 so does it really matter?