The Joy of Coffee: The Essential Guide to Buying, Brewing and Enjoying

If coffee from a can or jar is your idea of purgatory, THE JOY OF COFFEE is the book for you. Its author, Corby Kummer, originally came to the subject of coffee while writing a series of articles for the Atlantic Monthly, and he found so much to say about the bean that he decided to write a book. Kummer began with some basic questions: "What matters most in buying coffee? How can you sort through the jumble of place names and whimsical labels on beans and blends? Is a dark roast better, more sophisticated, than a light roast? Is it essential to grind coffee beans at home?" What he learned in response to these queries comprises the bulk of THE JOY OF COFFEE. Starting with a tour of a coffee plantation and ending in the reader's own kitchen, Kummer leads a lively and informative discussion of all phases of coffee production, from harvesting to roasting to brewing. He discusses different roasts and the different types of coffeemakers, and he even talks about caffeine consumption and methods of decaffeination that preserve the bean's flavor. At the end of THE JOY OF COFFEE is a chapter chock full of recipes for tasty treats that either go well with coffee or include it as an ingredient. Like a great cup of Joe, THE JOY OF COFFEE is good to the very end.

One of the country's most respected food journalists, Corby Kummer is senior editor of The Atlantic Monthly. His 1990 series on coffee, on which this book is based, was nominated for a National Magazine Award. Kummer writes regularly for Martha Stewart Living, Self, the New York Times Magazine, Travel-Holiday and Food & Wine and is restaurant critic for New York Magazine. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.