A clear, detailed, and elegant guide for serious coffee enthusiasts who want to step up their brewing games.
A debut book advises readers on how to make the best cup of coffee in their own homes.
Alford, the head trainer of baristas at Houndstooth Coffee in Austin, Texas, tells readers he tasted perfect coffee in 2011 and subsequently set out to learn how to make it. This book is his endeavor to teach home brewers how to make small batches of cafe-quality coffee. He states his thesis in the foreword: “Coffee is best served when it is understood to be changing.” This work by Alford and co-author Eggert explains the different factors in the development of taste in the coffee-brewing process simply and in accessible terms. In the list of tools and ingredients needed, the authors helpfully prioritize which ones are the most important, mindful of readers who may not be able to afford all of the finest parts at once; the quality of the brewing device and the water used are the highest priorities. The authors cover immersion and pour-over brewers, so this is truly a level above the standard coffeepot most people have at home. There are myriad kinds of brewing and grinding devices, and the authors discuss the pros and cons of each. And they supply many precise recipes with the timing of steps crucially mapped out. The last section of the manual offers a crash course in some advanced topics such as “extraction theory,” which is “a trajectory of aroma development in coffee as it is being roasted.” The authors’ passion for coffee is infectious and immediately evident, with their work opening with a quote about the serving of coffee as an intimate act. This attitude will surely serve to inspire readers that their efforts to make better coffee are worthwhile. The book is neatly laid out with tasteful, straightforward illustrations by Eggert, which should aid readers who need to refer back to the manual as they are practicing.
A clear, detailed, and elegant guide for serious coffee enthusiasts who want to step up their brewing games.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-0-692-82914-1
Page Count: 132
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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