Book Review - The Curious Barista's Guide To Coffee by Tristan Stephenson

Do you want to know about coffee? Then this book is for you.

Released in March this year, The Curious Barista's Guide to Coffee does a very good job of informing the reader about the coffee making process.

Every stage from farm-to-cup is covered in copious detail. The reader is lead through how coffee is grown, processed, roasted and ground in such a way that Stephenson's expertise shines through.

The book fully explores the diverse, often confusing world of coffee drinks. Different brewing methods are demonstrated with step-by-step, illustrated tutorials and the pros and cons of each are discussed.

Milk-based espresso drinks, from latte to flat white, are also discussed and there is a really fun introduction to producing latte art which I wish I had had when I was a barista!

Coffee's history receives solid attention. The book starts with a general history of coffee and more specific information, such as the development of grinders, is included in the appropriate chapters.

Where the book is not so strong is the end chapters, focussing on coffee-based recipes, coffee varieties and coffee growing countries.

While the recipes are generally fun and it is an enjoyable addition to the book, some do make use of additive ingredients such as xanthan gum and carrageenan (lambda class). Scary titles aside, these chemicals admittedly seem fairly harmless.

However, I am personally against hurling unnecessary chemicals into things and there seems little need to include them in home cooking. For instance, I cannot see how espresso would be so destructive to the structure of a basic ice cream recipe as to require the inclusion of extra chemicals.

The chapters on coffee varieties and growing regions suffer due to brevity. Only the briefest of introductions can be given which, given the complexity of coffee, is of limited use. In fairness, these topics have huge scope and really are beyond the focus of this book, requiring one of their own to discuss properly. This being so, the chapters are a fun introduction to promote further study.

The tone and layout of the book are highly enjoyable. The tone of the prose is informal yet informed. It feels as though Stephenson is speaking directly to the reader and pertinent reminiscences from his life in coffee add to the enjoyment of the read.

Some might find annoying his insistence on the highest standards of coffee, including singing the praises of home grinders, and mildly snobbish disregard for lesser forms of the drink.

However, he goes into such details about coffee flavour and how it achieved that it is easy to understand his perspective and he is never shy of discussing the coffee he would clearly consider bilge-water, even detailing the various processes of producing instant coffee.

The layout of the book is great fun. It is exceedingly well illustrated and a blocky, cafe-style typeface printed on pages made to look like coffee bean sacking really puts one in the mood to read on.

The Curious Barista's Guide to Coffee is thorough, highly readable guide to how coffee is produced and brewed and anyone who reads it will come away with a deep respect for this most complex of drinks.

However, for those looking for a guide to coffee varieties and the character of the different growing regions, they might do better to look elsewhere - always bearing in mind that the processes described in this book will have a huge impact on the final flavour of any raw bean.

Overall * * * * * - An extremely thorough, farm-to-cup guide to producing coffee, let down slightly by average chapters on coffee varieties and growing regions.

Presentation * * * * *  - Perfectly pitched design puts one in the mood for coffee while the prose style makes one feel as though one is having an informal chat with a coffee shop barista during a quiet period.

Quality of Information * * * * * - Extremely thorough, coming from a highly knowledgeable and enquiring source.

Range of Information * * * * - Other than a thorough examination of coffee varieties and growing regions, every conceivable aspect of coffee is covered.

Price * * * * * - For £16.99, this is an excellently priced book for such expertise.

Will I Take This Off The Shelf For Reference? - Yes.

I have been reviewing The Curious Barista's Guide To Coffee by Tristan Stephenson, published by Ryland Peters & Small (2015), ISBN-13: 978-1849755634