Coffee: A Connoisseur's Companion

by Claudia Roden

For many of us, coffee is one of the essential pleasures of life. In A Connoisseur's Companion, award-winning culinary writer Claudia Roden explores every facet of the heavenly brew. She begins with its history, ranging from the ancient traditions of coffee-making in the Levant to modern-day additives and substitutes. She then presents an A to Z guide to choosing quality beans as well as tips on buying, storing, roasting, and grinding. Finally, gathered from Roden's travels, there are45 recipes for sumptuous coffee-laced cakes, mousses, and gateaux. Elegantly illustrated in watercolor and ink, this is an ideal gift book for all coffee lovers and connoisseurs. Claudia Roden is the author of Invitation to Mediterranean Cooking, The Food of Italy, and A Book of Jewish Food.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, History

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Claudia Roden was brought up in Cairo. She finished her education in Paris and later studied art in London. Starting as a painter she was drawn to the subject of food partly through a desire to evoke a lost heritage - one of the pleasures of a happy life in Egypt.
With her bestselling classic, A Book of Middle Eastern Food, first published in 1968, Roden revolutionized Western attitudes to the cuisine of the Middle East. Her intensely personal approach and her passionate appreciation of the dishes delighted readers, while she introduced them to a new world of foods, both exotic and wholesome. The book received great critical acclaim.
Mrs Roden continued to write about food with a special interest in the social and historical background of cooking.
Then came the BBC television series, Mediterranean Cookery with Claudia Roden and the accompanying book entitled Claudia Roden's Mediterranean Cookery.
In 1992, she won the Glenfiddich Trophy, the top prize in the Glenfiddich Awards.

Reviews

[Yves · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid overview which has been revised after 20 years by the author for the reader that wants a journey. The harder edge of coffee, the slavery, the crushing poverty, and the colonial attitude of the large coffee buyers are glossed over or ignored.

What book this could have been if a chapter on the reality of the coffee trade replaced the cake and dessert chapters which are anachronistic and better suited to culinary book.

Good enough to stay on my shelf but what a book this could have been with all of that knowledge writing about the reality instead of the fable of coffee.

[Gerald Kinro · Rating 4 out of 5]

For one desiring the basics, this book had just the right amount of information--history, growing selecting and brewing. Plus, it is beautifully illustrated.

[Nina Cast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not terribly useful since it was written in the 70's, but kind of fun to see how things have changed in the last 45-50 years.

[Richard Atkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little book about my favourite drink. The recipes at the end though, my word...very 70s.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an awesome, educational read on coffee! I've learned some stuff and hope to put this new knowledge to work for a better cup at home.