Book Review: The Philosophy of Coffee

It’s always a good day when another coffee-related book arrives at the house, and Friday saw the arrival of the ‘Philosophy of Coffee’, written by the author of (the increasingly global) Brian’s Coffee Spot, Brian Williams. I first came across Brian’s work through his contributions to Caffeine magazine, documenting the different coffee shops around the country, and have since found both these articles and his blog very insightful on the breadth and diversity of the specialty coffee world – I have found many great coffee shops and drank many tasty coffees thanks to his blog posts and suggestions, and was delighted  to hear he’d written a book.

 This short volume is essentially a condensed history of the global spread of coffee and coffee shop culture, taking you on a whirlwind tour from its origins in Ethiopia to the global industry it is today. Divided into short punchy chapters the book begins with an introduction to coffee and its origins, moving on to the expansion of the coffee house, the importance of particular countries in the growth of the coffee industry (through trade and coffee production), through different coffee booms, modern coffee shop culture and even some considerations for the future. The book is clearly well researched and at several points refers to the work of Dr Matthew Green, a leading authority on the history of coffee houses in London (he does an interesting walking tour if you’re ever in the area).

I particularly enjoyed the chapters on the ‘The Birth of Espresso’ learning about the people and devices that helped this come a more popular drink, and ‘The Italian’s and Post-War London’ for its insights into the espresso bar boom at the time. The chapter on the rise of the modern coffee shop highlights the important role of TV programmes like Friends and of the global coffee giant Starbucks in making visiting the coffee shop a mainstream activity.  Looking to the future the book also highlights some important future considerations for the industry, around the production of coffee, pricing of coffee and why building a sustainable coffee industry is so important.

This book is likely to appeal to anyone with an interest in coffee, whether you consider yourself an expert or not, the narrative in this book helps illuminate the globalisation of coffee and coffee shops, and provides lots of insights into the people, places and events that made the coffee industry what it is today. This isn’t an academic text, however, I’m giving a lecture later in the week in an international business module about the coffee industry, and because this book gives such a good overview of how and why the industry developed so it’s now been added to the recommended reading list. It’s also nice and short, and if you have the time would be great for sitting in a coffee shop to read while letting the world pass you by for a while – in my case I read it while my daughter was asleep but I can at least imagine myself sitting in a coffee shop reading it!

The Philosophy of Coffee is available to buy from the British Library, and also directly from Brian on his website, he’ll also be doing a small tour with the book which he talks about here, if you’re interesting in meeting the author!