The coffee book : anatomy of an industry from crop to the last drop / Gregory Dicum and Nina Luttinger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dicum, Gregory.

Contributor:

Luttinger, Nina.

Series:

Bazaar book ; 2.

The bazaar books series ; 2

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Coffee industry.

Coffee.

Coffee--History.

Coffee industry--History.

Local Subjects:

Coffee--History.

Coffee industry--History.

Physical Description:

xi, 196 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : New Press : Distributed by W.W. Norton, [1999]

Summary:

The Coffee Book is an engaging, informative look at one of the most popular products in the world. Jammed full of facts, figures, cartoons, and commentary, it covers coffee from its first use in Ethiopia in the sixth century A.D. to the dramatic rise of Starbucks and other specialty retailers in the 199os. Written with verve and filled with revealing anecdotes and little-known facts, the book surveys the social history of cafe society from the first coffeehouses in to Constantinople Renaissance French cafes to beatnik havens in Berkeley and Greenwich Village; explores the process of cultivation, harvesting and roasting from bean to cup; and tells the dramatic story of international trade and speculation for a product that can make or break entire national economies.

The book also examines the industry's major players, revealshow the quest for higher profits has often come at the expense of quality, and shows how a much-loved product has been turned into a lifestyle. Finally, The Coffee Book considers the exploitation of labor and damage to the environment that mass cultivation causes, and explores the growing "conscious coffee" market and "fair trade" movement.

Contents:

1. Planting the Seed: A Brief History of Coffee 1

The Social Drink

Backlash to the "Enfeebling Liquor"

Colonialism and the Spread of the Bean

The Drink of the Modern Age

2. Coffee's Odyssey: From Bean to Cup 37

Bean Botanica

Life on the Farm

Technifying Tradition

The International Travels of the Humble Coffee Bean

3. Green Beans to Greenbacks: International Trade 72

The Rise of the Coffee Trade

A New World Order

The Corporations and the Communist Threat

Today's Traded Bean

The Bottom Line

4. The Scoop: Marketing and Consumption 115

What's that Funny Feeling?

Branding the Brew

Specialty Coffee to the Rescue...of Consumers

"I'll Have a Double Tall Low-Fat Soy Orange Decaf Latte"

5. Conscious Coffee: The Green Bean Scene 164

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Consuming Conscience

Coffee Futures.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-190) and index.

ISBN:

1565844521

1565845080

OCLC:

39838468