The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee: Growing, Roasting, and Drinking, with Recipes

This is the third book I've read on the topic of Coffee, recently. It's also the one which has given me the most insight into the people who grow, roast, and serve this wonderful beverage. I feel a bit transformed, actually. I thought the coffee revolution of the late '60's helped me to appreciate coffee more. I started buying Peet's, ground my own, and experimented with pour over, French Press, and home espresso methods. I was very happy with my morning cup. Then, a new generation of coffee aficionados came along to upset my apple cart. I'm simply blown away by the available information on the global coffee experience; who knew? James Freeman is an artist with an active and clever mind. He can't seem to contain his fascination with producing the most amazing coffee experience on the planet. Kudos, James! Within his book he shares his informed insights thus helping us to better understand coffee growers, roasters, and baristas. In just over a decade (during a severe economic recession, no less...) he also managed to somehow create a world class business with a unique spin on the most traditional of consumer commodities. Color me impressed! Thanks for sharing! Recently, I started roasting my own coffee. I thought this would be the sole improvement required to update my coffee game. Now, however, I'm aware that there's so much more to explore and understand. Who knew the Japanese had it all going on in terms of pouring coffee? Ever heard of the Nel Drip? Siphon coffee? Swan-necked pouring kettles? Not me, for sure. But I'm totally open to these new coffee experiences. Clearly, the Internet has allowed us to think more globally; even if you don't travel you can expand your awareness. This book, however, has given me exposure to information I somehow missed in my Google searches. I guess there's still some merit in having good non-fiction writers! The abstract descriptions in this book have been exceptionally useful to me, as well. The author goes beyond consideration of times, temps, and the color of beans in order to describe his experiences while roasting, grinding, and making beverages. Some of it's presented a bit tongue-in-cheek, for sure, which I also appreciate; humor helps when you're a learner. If you've ever taken the plunge at writing you'll appreciate how hard it is to convey a sense or feeling via prose. It's often worth the effort, however. If your descriptions do click there can be an AHA! moment for the reader and they'll truly get your point. I can't wait for some of these epiphanies to occur for me. My roasts have clearly not been what you'd call exemplary, at least so far. But it's early days for me and I do feel encouraged to continue. Clearly, we do not all have the requisite time or talent to achieve the excellence of a coffee professional. Then, again, why not see how far you can go on your own? This book is an excellent coaching tool no matter how big you dream. It can also help you define your limits, another useful parameter. Some equipment is simply too specialized or expensive for the average consumer, however; I get it. But there's a lot we can explore, even on a budget, and Mr. Freeman covers it all. Once informed, you are free to make your purchases, settle for less-than-the-best, or leave it up to the professionals. The choice is entirely yours, of course. But why not be informed? Then you can choose wisely. Mr. Freeman also shares stories, his own as well as those of others. Personally, I remember stories far more easily than isolated facts. Stories personalize and humanize our experience. They're fascinating and memorable. They also make for excellent reading. The balance between narrative and factual information in this book is quite exemplary. I found it hard to put down. That's saying a lot, considering I'd already saturated my brain on this topic of late. Overall, I'd say this is a compelling read no matter how much content you care to pursue. You can always come back for repeat visits should you decide to aim higher. There are also those wonderful recipes in the second half of the book, contributions by his wife. I'm sure they will be of interest to many. What's not to like?

I bought this for the Kindle and read the whole book shortly after receiving it (minus the recipes, I'm sure they're swell but I don't much enjoy baking). The section on roasting is very good and the section on espresso is particularly brutal and to-the-point. In so many words, the former seems like it should be difficult while the latter seems like it should be easier, but reality is the other way round. That said, you can't have good coffee from bad tasting beans, so knowing how beans ought to be roasted, rested, and ground is quite useful. You can find these things elsewhere, of course, but the reason I plowed through the entire thing in the first day is that the Freemans can write, really well, in an engaging and concise style. This is not a huge book, but it is crammed with a great deal of very specific advice and information that I found most helpful. (For example, the advice to either go to a good cafe with a skilled barista, or be prepared to pay a lot of money for a heavy, balky Italian machine and then spend many hours learning to use it, is delivered unvarnished; the undeterred will then find very specific advice on grinding, tamping, pulling, and judging espressi, along with notes from the Blue Bottle locations regarding their strategy for blends of beans and single-origin coffees). Considering that I was looking at another book that cost $45 until I flipped through the preview (and immediately bought the Kindle edition), it strikes me as a very good value. Look through the preview and see if you don't agree. Worst case, you lost a few minutes of your day, but if you are interested in what makes for a good cup of coffee (and what makes for an obsessive coffee purveyor!), I suspect you won't stop at that.

This book is a great deal of fun to flip through, with an extremely thorough investigation of the best way to brew your cup of joe. I consider myself to be a fairly proficient amateur barista, but some of the tips (actually, they are often delivered like COMMANDS) will likely not be implemented into most people's daily coffee routine. That being said, there's a lot of great food for thought in it. It would make a great gift for the caffeine junkie in your life.

I almost bought this book a couple of months ago, but I decided on something else because of reviews. Now, I wish I had purchased it when I first saw it. Although it may not cover every variety (varietal) of coffee, this is an excellent introduction into the topic for those who want to know more about their daily grind. The information is presented in a concise and informed manner. In addition, the book comes with several recipes that look delicious. I can't wait to whip up a few (though I will say that they appear to be directed at those with advanced baking skills). This is a coffee table book that you will keep on your nightstand, and without a doubt read over and over. It is the perfect gift for the coffee lover in your life - at least, it was for the coffee lover in mine.

This book has a lot of information about coffee how it is grown different processing and roasting techniques, but what makes it interesting to read is how the author adds stories about his own life and his experience with tasting and working with them. Also the author answers a lot of questions about why things are done particular ways. The book gives a lot of insight into different ways you can make better coffee at home. The second section of the book about a third of the book actually is written by the authors wife. She includes recipes you may want to make with coffee. The Waffle recipes are great but for me most of the others are too simple and well known like how to make yogurt and other are crazy complicated like french macrons. I downloaded the sample of the book based on a recommendation thinking I would not like it but I was hooked. As much as I hate the idea I may become they guy who packs his own coffee and grinder when traveling by plane.

Good book

Fundierter Hintergrund Informationen und ein ansprechend gestaltetes Layout machen dieses Buch zu einem must-have für Kaffeeliebhaber. Zusätzlich ist das Buch gespickt mit kleinen Anekdoten. Wie immer reicht dieses Buch zwar nicht um direkt der home-barista zu werden, dennoch werden realistische Einschätzung zur Anschaffung von Espressomaschine, -mühle und Co.

Super histoire de la création de Blue Bottle, m’a appris également à bien faire un café !

debería existir una versión en español, aunque se lee muy fácil si sabes algo de inglés. me encanta de todos modos

代表的なコーヒー抽出方法を紹介している本です。生豆〜焙煎は割愛しています。おそらくコーヒー好きの一般購読者に向けて執筆されたのでしょう。 しかし、フード関連はかなり重点をおいて紹介されており、参考になりました。 サードウェイブが日本の喫茶店の逆輸入であることは改めて理解できました。 良書です。