Craft Coffee: A Manual: Brewing a Better Cup at Home

Having always relied on store-bought coffee, this book introduced me to the art and science of brewing. The step-by-step guides are easy to follow, and the tips on various brewing methods have helped me experiment with flavors I never knew existed. The engaging writing style and stunning visuals make it a joy to read, but it’s the practical advice that truly shines. I've upgraded my brewing skills and now enjoy café-quality coffee right from my kitchen. If you’re looking to elevate your coffee game, I highly recommend this manual—your taste buds will thank you!

Don’t let the compact package fool you as this is a world-class book that efficiently outlines all that is important to produce a superb cup of brewed coffee. It is NOT about anything ESPRESSO just so you know but just might be the single best resource to learn how to bring out the best in the coffee you have. The author is a superb writer. If you have a very low tolerance for wonky or diffuse writing styles, you will be relieved to not find that here. She strikes an ideal balance between technical education, logical organization, story telling and a bit of entertainment. It will not be over anyone’s head, yet even an experienced barista will find little gems of know-how for enhancing to their craft. The author rightly categorizes the current local/specialty coffee culture as “craft” which focuses on respect and support of origin/grower, fair distribution of profit throughout the supply chain and really understanding how to bring out the best in each origin through the various preparation processes. But it is mainly a book on how to optimize various immersion methods from Melitta, Chemex, Hario V60, Kalita Wave, etc.. For the classic French Press, the authors promote a unique, 8-minute method (its great). They wisely don’t disqualify the alluring French Press which is a favorite ritual for countless Europeans who knew a lot more about good coffee before we did over here. The sections about country of origin, coffee sourcing, storing methods, tasting tips are not dragged down by blah blah but gives most people the key points. For example, the reader will learn the key aspects of a coffee that affect its taste profile: origin (Africa, So Am, Pacific, etc), growing elevation (>1500m is coveted), washing methods (wet, dry, natural, honey), types of beans (arabica, robusta, pacamara), etc. So, is all this focus on making a simple cup of coffee the mere indulgent obsession of hipster culture? Sure, there is part of this, perhaps such as in the way “flavor notes” can be ridiculously bantered about like describing a work at an art show vs. simply enjoying what you like without analyzing it to death. (In fairness, such obsession is necessary F&B-industry language to standardize what is being experienced and later described). This book will help you appreciate the terroir influence on flavor (high altitude is superior), the producers and their culture and how to bring out their best in the preparation. Indiscriminate prep can dishonor a great coffee which is not cheap. And there is no honor in making bad coffee. This well-written book will help the novice enter the magic that is great coffee.

Exquisitely written and an easy read. Exceedingly informative and delightful.

Good reference book, but no info about stovetop espresso makers.

This book is a great way to learn more about coffee: where it's from, how it's grown, what all the jargon you hear at coffee shops means, how to brew better coffee at home, how to troubleshoot your off-tasting coffee brews, and more! It strikes the perfect balance of being too industry-specific and too vague/overly-simplistic. I especially enjoyed the brewing techniques outlined because they not only give you lots of recommendations on brewing with different devices, but explain to you _why_ you should do each step. Many folks on the internet will dogmatically tell you how to make the "best" French press/Chemex/V60/whatever and list a bunch of steps and leave it at that. That might get you started, but what do you do when it doesn't taste... good? That's where this book comes in. After reading it, you start to understand _why_ coffee can sometimes be life-changing and sometimes gross. Another thing is that the authors do a great job at meeting consumers in the middle. They DON'T tell you to buy hundreds of dollars of fancy equipment (spoiler alert: you don't need a lot to make tasty coffee at home). Rather, they calmly explain to you what type of equipment and beans are most important to invest in and what will yield the most benefit based on your interest and needs. I bought this for several friends over the holidays and they all love it!

Do you want to make better coffee? Do you want to learn everything there is to know about coffee? Do you want to know what all those elitist hipster snobs are talking about at your local cafe? Did you know 'cafe' just means 'brown'? All these things and more are contained in this beautifully written and illustrated book. I haven't even come close to reading it all, but you'll find chapters about the history of coffee in our modern era, details about the nearly every origin and variety of coffee bean, and easy-to-follow instructions for brewing delightful craft coffee yourself - even on a limited budget. It's written in a style and tone that begs you to keep reading, none of the elitism or snobbery typical of the coffee world will be found here, it's a book that could be enjoyable even if you've never had a cup of coffee in your life. Beginners will have no trouble picking this book up, experts will certainly find points to enjoy and learn from. I've been spending more time and money than I should on craft coffee for over half a decade, I could probably have given you a high-level overview of every topic in this book, but I still have learned quite a few details I was unaware of. I learned some techniques I have been struggling to master for years, and learned about the history of bean varieties I've long seen the names of but never grasped the importance of. Through-and-through, the book is excellently written and can appeal to a broad audience, without alienating or patronizing any of its readers.

To improve my home brewing and coffee knowledge, I picked up a couple of books. After reading both, this is my impression of each and how they are different from each other. To sum it up, Brew is a beginner-oriented guide with great photos, and Craft Coffee is both a beginner and intermediate level guide that contains a wealth of information but no photos. Craft Coffee: A Manual • Overall a 201 type of book – more detail and coverage of coffee beans, equipment, brewing, flavors, etc. • Great walkthroughs of different brewing methods; has more brewing methods than Brew, including details on different pour over methods • More science-oriented information, but still approachable to most people • Much more detail than Brew on coffee origins and their characteristics, why coffees taste the way they do, and a more detailed breakdown of brewing equipment and how best to operate it • No photos, no color graphics Brew: Better Coffee at Home • Overall a 101 type of book – simple, straightforward information about specialty coffee • Great photos and useful beginner-oriented graphics; has the feel of a coffee table book • Things that it has that Craft Coffee doesn’t: flash chill method, beautiful color photos, recipes (including cocktails) • Lumps the pour over brewing method into basically one category (apart from Chemex) and doesn’t provide detailed information about how to brew using different pour over methods I read Craft Coffee first, and because of that I breezed through Brew in about 30 minutes because Brew 1) has much less text and 2) Craft Coffee already covered almost everything that Brew contains. So, if you’re the type of person that just wants the basics to step up your home brewing game, then Brew is probably the better option. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive guide to home brewing and coffee in general, then I recommend Craft Coffee for the reasons detailed above. I think Craft Coffee has everything you need in a guide to better home brewing, whereas Brew might leave some people wanting for more information and detail in several areas. Minor (very minor) cons for Craft Coffee are a few typos and lack of color graphics, which would have been useful in a couple of places.

Beautifully printed, great info. I got this as a gift and they love it.