Completely revised and updated for 2006, The Coffee Book ranges from bean to cup, exploring production, the history of café society, dramatic tales of high-stakes international trade, health aspects, the industry's major players, and the specialty coffee revolution-including the very latest developments in sustainable coffee. Jammed full of facts, figures, cartoons, photos, and commentary.

"There is no shortage of books on coffee, but none provide the academic depth of THE COFFEE BOOK while remaining highly accessible to all levels of interest, making it a ready reference for both coffee lovers and coffee professionals. "

--Speciality Coffee Association of America

"Informed and argumentative... Drawing on sources ranging from Molière and beatnik cartoonists to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the authors describe the beverage's long and colorful rise to ubiquity. "

--The Economist

"This well-written book is an enticing brew. . . . An outstanding example of a thorough industry treatment."

--Library Journal

Banned from coffeehouses, English women published "The Women's Petition Against Coffee" in 1674, complaining they were being left alone too much in the evenings.

Before the 1600s, coffee was an Arab monopoly, its secrets jealously guarded. Foreigners were forbidden from coffee farms and the beans were exported only after destroying their germinating potential.

The modern espresso machine was created by Fernando Illy in Italy in 1904. Invented so rushed Italian commuters could enjoy fresh coffee on the run, espresso has become the basis for the US specialty coffee industry.

Legend has it that a pilgrim from India smuggled coffee seeds from Mecca to India around 1600. In 1616, Dutch spies succeeded in smuggling out coffee plants that they eventually cultivated in their colonies in Java.

Although an ounce of tea leaves contains more caffeine than an ounce of coffee, brewed coffee has more caffeine because it takes more ground coffee to make a cup of java than it takes tea leaves to make a cup of tea.