God in a Cup

The speciality coffee industry is now a mature global part of coffee culture, but this book captures the early excitement around it as it burst onto the global stage. How coffee companies sought out and bought coffee was completely rewritten during this time, and this book makes for a fascinating read.

Weissman follows the travels and experiences of three major figures in specialty coffee (not ever precisely defined, but pretty much meaning anything not in a plastic tub at the grocery store, and implying great care in selecting and roasting coffee beans) who have been looking for years for fabulous coffee. The guys involved are fascinating, complex coffee geeks. Geoff Watts of Intelligentsia Coffee talks about a cup that was so good it seemed to have “streams of light” coming out of it. Don Holly was so transported by one brew that he “saw the face of God in the cup.” The book follows… show more.