Coffee has never been better, ormore interesting, than it is today. Coffee producers have access tomore varieties and techniques than ever before and we, asconsumers, can share in that expertise to make sure the coffee wedrink is the best we can find. Where coffee comes from, how it washarvested, the roasting process and the water used to make the breware just a few of the factors that influence the taste of what wedrink. Champion barista and coffee roaster James Hoffmann examinesthese key factors, looking at varieties of coffee, the influence ofterroir, how it is harvested and processed, the roasting methodsused, through to the way in which the beans are brewed. Country bycountry - from Bolivia to Zambia - he then identifies keycharacteristics and the methods that determine the quality of thatcountry''s output. Along the way we learn about everything from thedevelopment of the espresso machine, to why strength guides onsupermarket coffee are really not good news. This is the first bookto chart the coffee production of over 35 countries, encompassingknowledge never previously published outside the coffee industry.For everyone who wants to understand more about coffee and itswonderful nuances and possibilities, this is the book tohave.