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The Book of Coffee and Tea: A Guide to the Appreciation of Fine Coffees, Teas, and Herbal Beverages
The book of coffee and tea is a passionate guide to selecting, tasting, preparing, and serving the beverages caffeine connoisseurs can't live without. Written by acknowledged experts in the coffee-roasting and tea-importing business, this book will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about that beloved cup of joe (or orange pekoe), including how to: distinguish between Kona, Jamaican, Mocha, Java, and the other varieties of coffee; choose the method of brewing that's best for you; make the perfect cup of coffee at the ideal temperature, no mater which method you choose; recognize ginseng, oolong, Earl Grey Ceylon, and the myriad other types of tea; blend and prepare your own herbal teas at home; recognize quality and freshness; find the best coffee, tea, equipment, and accessories, using the completely updated mail order section.
Rich with the lore, steeped in tradition, and brimming with expert information, this is the only book coffee and tea lovers will ever need.
Rich with the lore, steeped in tradition, and brimming with expert information, this is the only book coffee and tea lovers will ever need.
313 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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83 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 29, 2020
A remarkable little book! Packed with great information, and delivered in beautiful prose, this book is highly recommended. The section on herbs and herbal teas (tisanes) is incredible.
March 31, 2025
Summary: A little bit dated, but most of the info is good. You wouldn't think that coffee would have evolved much since the 1970's but there are a few things.
Picked this book up at the Columbia University Book Swap. Since I regularly travel to coffee regions I thought it might be interesting. Here's stuff I flagged and some final thoughts:
p. 5 - They discus the idea that Coffee was more of a berry juice until 1000AD when the Arbas learned to boil it and it became hot drink. It's interesting that it's being attributed to the Arabic cultures when usually coffee is noted to be an invention deriving from Ethiopia. Technically there were arab's there, but the book goes straight into Turkey in the subsequent pages.
P. 10, they talk about the Coffee Societies, which were the early Driking Socieites of 1650's
p. 25 - They talk about the idea that Arabia had supplied most coffee until 1690, but that as the new world opened you start to get supply coming out of Latin America. They tal about this tipping point in Coffee Trade that occurred because of a disease called Hemilia vastatrix which killed much of the Asian crops, particularly in India, Ceylon (which is modern day Sri Lanka), India, Java, Sumatra, Malaya. Having gone to many of these regions, it's interesting to me. Java and Sumatra started to produce, but much of Indian and Sri Lanka are just tea producing at this point.
p. 29 they talk about Brazil vs Columbian Coffee. The one thing this book does a great job of is talking about the regions, but less about the soil itself and why that is.
p. 38 - They talk about Peaberry coffee and how some coffee does not have the pit.
p. 63 they talk about hte bias toward Arabica vs Robusta.
p. 68, they talk about the regions of coffee within Brazil. These are still the same, but I was really hoping for so much more on soil conditions vs altitudes. Santas coffee and where it's grown. Those all - incidentally - happen to also have very rich soil for mining,but the why is so fascinating and I would have just loved that.
p. 71 - They do talk about how higher altitude is a factor, but it's clearly not hte only factor.
p 75 They talk about how Hawaiian coffee is particularly unique and somehow disease resistant.
p. 87 -They speak of Mocha Coffee from Yemen. I do not know this coffee so I'm intrigued.
p92 They talk about how hand picked has become a marketing ploy as all coffee is handpicked. Truth. Not only is it hand picked, but a lot of coffee is still hand separated into various colors and age of bean. I've seen this a lot on the Instagram Recently. I even had a mini fight with someone on this.
i didn't take as intense notes on the tea side b/c, as I've told my students, - you just don't get he same commoditization of tea so there are better books that address each and every variety.
This book goes after Coffee in General. It's a great starting place for those that are beginning their journey. Modern Coffee Farms though are now doing things similar to wine farms as relates to importing varietials creating blended varietals and working with different roasts and ways to amp up the taste of the beans.
Also, Vietnam - which is newer to the Arabica game but has been producing Robusta for quite some time - is absent from the book. IN general, the book does a better job of latin America than Africa or Asia.
Picked this book up at the Columbia University Book Swap. Since I regularly travel to coffee regions I thought it might be interesting. Here's stuff I flagged and some final thoughts:
p. 5 - They discus the idea that Coffee was more of a berry juice until 1000AD when the Arbas learned to boil it and it became hot drink. It's interesting that it's being attributed to the Arabic cultures when usually coffee is noted to be an invention deriving from Ethiopia. Technically there were arab's there, but the book goes straight into Turkey in the subsequent pages.
P. 10, they talk about the Coffee Societies, which were the early Driking Socieites of 1650's
p. 25 - They talk about the idea that Arabia had supplied most coffee until 1690, but that as the new world opened you start to get supply coming out of Latin America. They tal about this tipping point in Coffee Trade that occurred because of a disease called Hemilia vastatrix which killed much of the Asian crops, particularly in India, Ceylon (which is modern day Sri Lanka), India, Java, Sumatra, Malaya. Having gone to many of these regions, it's interesting to me. Java and Sumatra started to produce, but much of Indian and Sri Lanka are just tea producing at this point.
p. 29 they talk about Brazil vs Columbian Coffee. The one thing this book does a great job of is talking about the regions, but less about the soil itself and why that is.
p. 38 - They talk about Peaberry coffee and how some coffee does not have the pit.
p. 63 they talk about hte bias toward Arabica vs Robusta.
p. 68, they talk about the regions of coffee within Brazil. These are still the same, but I was really hoping for so much more on soil conditions vs altitudes. Santas coffee and where it's grown. Those all - incidentally - happen to also have very rich soil for mining,but the why is so fascinating and I would have just loved that.
p. 71 - They do talk about how higher altitude is a factor, but it's clearly not hte only factor.
p 75 They talk about how Hawaiian coffee is particularly unique and somehow disease resistant.
p. 87 -They speak of Mocha Coffee from Yemen. I do not know this coffee so I'm intrigued.
p92 They talk about how hand picked has become a marketing ploy as all coffee is handpicked. Truth. Not only is it hand picked, but a lot of coffee is still hand separated into various colors and age of bean. I've seen this a lot on the Instagram Recently. I even had a mini fight with someone on this.
i didn't take as intense notes on the tea side b/c, as I've told my students, - you just don't get he same commoditization of tea so there are better books that address each and every variety.
This book goes after Coffee in General. It's a great starting place for those that are beginning their journey. Modern Coffee Farms though are now doing things similar to wine farms as relates to importing varietials creating blended varietals and working with different roasts and ways to amp up the taste of the beans.
Also, Vietnam - which is newer to the Arabica game but has been producing Robusta for quite some time - is absent from the book. IN general, the book does a better job of latin America than Africa or Asia.
October 24, 2025
I learned a lot about tea that I didn't know especially the fermenting process. I also learned some new things about coffee. The book was too wordy in some sections. There are a couple of recipes I want to try: The authors' grandmother's recipe for Honey Cake and a pumpernickel bread recipe where both have hot extra strength brewed coffee as an ingredient.
February 9, 2022
This book left me wanting more to learn about tea...
January 28, 2015
This was the first book on coffee that I have ever read and it was a pretty fun read - assuming you are interested in coffee. It was written quite a long time ago in the early 70s so it was pre-Starbucks in the days when Mr. Coffee and flavorcrystals were finer coffee's major threats. I'd love to hear what the authors have to say about K-cups and other modern coffee trends. It's a good read though.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews