Coffee Nerd: How to Have Your Coffee and Drink It Too

It’s uncertain who the targeted readers are for Ruth Brown’s paperback Coffee Nerd, considering the number of books on coffee already. It’s surprising to see one more with virtually the same information and facts as given to us by their predecessors. Brown’s writing style is difficult take; she adopts a cutsie humor that may appeal to some but will be a turnoff to others—her writing is not an easy read. But the book is complete, including detailed a history of coffee, production, roasting, brewing, drinking, coffee houses, and so on. She divides American coffee drinking habits into “three waves”: the post–World War II, weak, low-quality light-roast wave; the second wave following the late 1960s, which had a better quality brew, coinciding with the rise of Peet’s and Starbucks; and the third wave starting around 2000 with many specialty coffees, single-origin beans, organic coffees, rainforest-grown beans, etc. Each chapter ends with a list of further reading. She makes suggestions for creating the perfect brew, but suggestions for finding the right coffee house and perfect barista are a waste of space. Sketches of coffee makers are good but inconveniently separated in the text, forcing readers to search.