Review: Very marginal information to be had here.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 04 30, 2013
I hate to say it, but this informational booklet about coffee comes up really short in my opinion. Most of the tidbits in each short paragraph contain far too little information to really be helpful; and as such, you are simply spending time learning the author's very general knowledge. Case in point: The grind is really the most important factor in achieving the best cup of coffee possible from your beans. An incorrect grind or one that is inconsistent due to using a cheap, poorly-made grinder will guarantee your results will be less than stellar. Keeping that in mind, the author suggests you "buy one with a powerful engine" yet never touches on nor discusses any grinder type other than a "whirlybird". In reality, you would do much better buying a quality hand-cranked conical burr grinder with no "engine" than a cheap propeller type. Propeller grinders literally beat your coffee into submission creating ground coffee which contains powder as well as small, medium and large pieces all in the same grind. Brew a pot with this mishmash and the powder will over-extract and give you bitterness while you waste money and flavor due to the under-extracted larger pieces. Oh, by the way...coffee isn't "grinded", it's ground. Additionally, suggesting you waste money on a vacuum container in which to "store your freshly ground coffee" is just plain lunacy. If you want fresher tasting coffee, grind only what you need and use it immediately. There are bags made especially for whole bean coffee which allow for out-gassing while keeping oxygen away from your precious beans.As for Turkish coffee, it is normally made in an ibrik, brought to a boil three times and then a drop of cold water is introduced to settle the grounds. This coffee is the only type which successfully uses a propeller type grinder which can pulverize the beans to powder.French presses have been around for years and make a good cup of coffee BUT unless you brew it and consume everything in the press immediately, your second cup will suffer from sitting in the grounds which makes for an over-extracted, bitter brew. There is an alternate press-type maker named the Aeropress which produces great coffee without the French press drawbacks. It's not as aesthetically pleasing to look at but really, are you drinking the coffee or looking at it?This booklet could do with some editing and verbiage changes, as there are a number of errors and omissions. Example: It's not "an incorrect grinding", it's an incorrect grind or "the level of roasting" vs the correct "level of the roast".There is little discussion of Arabica vs Robusta and only the briefest talk about varietals and how the degree of roast effects flavor nuances in the beans; in fact, the author suggests that "blending is everything" which couldn't be a bigger fallacy. When you are drinking a properly roasted specialty coffee; i.e., a single varietal Sumatra or Panama for example, the myriad flavors you experience don't come from blending or flavoring...they are flavors which are indigenous to the specific country, region and farm on which the plants are grown. Certainly, blending has its place (especially for espresso) but to imply it is "everything" is to misinform.This one just didn't present enough information on many levels; and because of that, and other problems noted in my review, it rates only two stars.