Review
Since its discovery in an Ethiopian rainforest centuries ago, coffee has brewed up a rich and troubled history, according to Uncommon Grounds, a sweeping book by business writer Mark Pendergrast. Over the years, the beverage has fomented revolution, spurred deforestation, enriched a few while impoverishing the many, and addicted millions with its psychoactive caffeine. Coffee is now the world’s second most valuable legal commodity, behind oil, according to Pendergrast, who is also author of For God, Country, and Coca-Cola. “A good cup of coffee can turn the worst day tolerable, can provide an all-important moment of contemplation, can rekindle a romance,” he writes. “And yet, poetic as its taste may be, c [Read More...]
Buy Uncommon Grounds The History Of Coffee And How It Transformed Our World at Amazon
Cool Things Beyond Coffee: If you want an elegant, unique style on your arm, you should always choose Oris Watches.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:31 pm
4.0 out of 5 stars
No half-caf explanations in this cup…
If you want an in depth, detailed look at the history of coffee, this is a great book to pick up. From its discovery in Africa, to how it became the second largest export in the…
September 1st, 2009 at 6:07 pm
If you are looking for something light that offers some tips for tasters or a cultural history on some of the exotic places that coffee is grown, or even an appropriate book for your coffee table, I suggest you look elsewhere. This book is none of that. This book is pretty narrow in focus and limits itself to discussions on the history of coffee growing and the business end of the industry. Topics covered include trading, marketing and distribution, consumption patterns, the emergence of cafe’s and big coffeehouses, and the social, environmental, and political issues in both the producing and consuming nations. As with so many recently published books this one suffers from a pop-culture sounding title which is deliberately eye-catching, but misleading with its grandiose claim. These titles work best with popular science books about arcane subjects that changed the world set in stories about eccentric heroes and villains. I enjoy those books but this is a different book. This serious work is more referrence book than story. Don’t get me wrong though. UNCOMMON GROUNDS: THE HISTORY OF COFFEE AND HOW IT TRANSFORMED OUR WORLD is too well written and has enough anecdotes to provide the “latte” for what could otherwise have been simply a dark and thick text-book.
One of the issues that Pendergrast focuses on is the stark social contrasts between where coffee is grown and the markets where it is consumed. As we read on it becomes very apparent that for Pendergrast, researching this book was part moral lesson. He pays special attention to issues of economic justice and makes us see some of coffee’s story in this light. He says coffee “laborers earn an average of $3 a day. Most live in abject poverty without plumbing, electricity, medical care, or nutritious foods”. After shipping and processing the product arrives here at market where “cosmopolitan consumers routinely pay half a day’s Third World wages for a good cup of coffee.” Along these same lines Pendergrast talks about a movement in the speciality coffee sector towards the idea of “fair trade” coffee which seeks - in the slogan of one of the companies - to offer “Not Just A Cup, But A Just Cup”. Equal Exchange in the US and Max Havelaar Quality Mark coffee in Europe are the best known groups that say we should consider human rights issues when choosing a brand.
Equally as interesting is the topic of “bird-friendly coffee”. Basically it involves a long standing debate over the merits of “shade coffee” (grown under a canopy of trees and thus bird-friendly) or “sun coffee” which is grown on open and exposed slopes. As happens with most things, the discussion ends up as a political argument with opponents of the ecological approach labelling it politically correct coffee. Perhaps that’s true, or maybe as others have suggested, it’s a brilliant marketing strategy for selling speciality coffee. Pendergrast doesn’t say what he thinks but his presentation of a few facts gives us a hint. “Of the fifty-four million Americans who consider themselves birders, twenty-four million actually travelled in 1991 to observe their avian friends. In the process, they spent $2.5 billion - and who knows how much of that went for strong predawn coffee?”
Want to know about coffee prices? Prendergast explains. “One thing I have learned through my coffee research: One consumer’s poison is another’s nectar.” In other words it’s all relative and price is very subjective. “Then there’s the psychological factor. The rarer the bean the more expensive and desirable. Hence, Hawaiian Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain command premium prices, even though most coffee experts consider them bland in comparison to Guatemalan Antigua or Kenya AA.” Of course price is a function of supply and demand and no discussion of coffee could end without referrence to the US. We are the largest market and the home of the biggest coffeehouses (Starbucks of course). The Finns however beat us cups down when it comes to per capita consumption.
I’ve lived in both Kenya and Jamaica and have had my fair share of their coffee and am a birder myself. The books coverage of those topics was therefore of particular interest to me. Whatever your tastes and interests and whether or not you even drink coffee, there’s much to learn and even more to enjoy in this fascinating look at our favorite brew.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:41 pm
2.0 out of 5 stars
a poorly written and tedious disappointment
I was excited when I ordered this book: an analysis of a major crop like coffee and how it has deeply influenced civilization is a fascinating premise.
September 1st, 2009 at 8:00 pm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Read
Although this book is now a few years old, it is still quite excellent -we are still living in the Starbucks era (which the book completely covers), started underground by Peet’s…
September 1st, 2009 at 8:25 pm
It’s not everyday you find a five hundred page book on the history of coffee. But then again, most coffee fans take their jobs quite seriously. Author Mark Pendergast has chronicled ups and downs of this remarkable commodity on an unprecedented scale. He takes us from the discovery of the bean in the hills of Ethiopia all the way to the despicable excesses of Starbucks. The first few chapters of this book take us on a jaunty trip through coffee’s early history, including the ruthless and colorful European traders who were responsible for introducing the Western world to the bizarre beverage. Pendergast, a businessman by education, then settles into a wonderfully readable economic history. The structure of the material centers on the companies and international agreements that make up the international coffee system. But unlike so many commercially-oriented histories, Uncommon Grounds is eminently readable and captivating. The characters in the saga are fascinating: from American industrialists to Latin American peasants to African warlords to European consumers, there are people involved in this story, not just money. If you have a yen for coffee, grab an espresso and read this book. You won’t find weighty theories on how coffee forms the basis of all human history, rather a fun, a caffeine-inspired trip through modernity with java-tinted glasses. — HistoryHouse.com
September 1st, 2009 at 9:28 pm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, if a little ponderous at times
Given that I wanted some background on the coffee industry, this was a great introduction. It provided details of the origins of coffee and how the major players have been formed…
September 1st, 2009 at 10:53 pm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thanks Mr. Pendergrast!
This is such an informative and detailed history that it must take it’s place as one of the most important books on coffee.
September 1st, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Uncommon Grounds is the best history of coffee and the coffee trade to be published in English in over three-quarters of a century.
Mark Pendergrast has provided both to the casual reader and the coffee professional a perspective on the history of coffee and the coffee trade that has the ring of truth.
Pendergrast has not bothered the reader with myths of goatherds and mullahs, but focuses on the documented true story with the adventure and lure of fortune to be found in the brown gold that is coffee. We can sense the anguish and torment of peon and slave, and feel the silk-shirted personalities of the 19th Century robber barrons who created the great coffee fortunes. We cry with the Central American farmers, and cheer on the fledgling specialty coffee roaster/pioneers of the 1970’s who created the new coffee business which heralded the myriad of consumer coffee choices of today.
The reader is swept along with the flow of history, as it is paralleled in the telling of coffee’s fortunes and the fortunes of the men and businesses who have pursued it’s financial promise. By the last chapter Mark Pendergrast has our cup running over with knowledge and understanding. Uncommon Grounds’ text, authoritativly annotated and footnoted, brings coffee into sharp focus, warts and all. The picture is clear, well textured and on balance, an appealing and fascinating one. Uncommon Grounds, by Mark Pendergrast is sure to be enjoyed by the coffee lover on your gift list.
……
The reviewer, a professional roaster/cupper is Gourmet Specialties Editor @ Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, founded in 1902, the oldest and most esteemed trade organ serving the international coffee community.
September 1st, 2009 at 11:05 pm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Facinating history of my favourite drink!
From the early beginnings of coffee’s discovery to the maturation of the specialty coffee revolution in 1999 it’s all here.
September 1st, 2009 at 11:28 pm
5.0 out of 5 stars
“Let’s have another cup of coffee . . . ”
Resting next to your mouse or keyboard - at a safe distance! - your cuppa steams aromatically. The morning coffee, whether at home or work, is the “kick-starter” of many a…
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:05 am
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great read for history and coffee junkies
I am an admitted Starbucks addict and History Channel junkie. Both of those traits made this book a total blast to read.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:10 am
5.0 out of 5 stars
now it is 3 degrees of separation not 6
Everything we do, everything we buy has an impact far around the world. This is an excellent study of these links through an in depth review of the coffee industry.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:42 am
2.0 out of 5 stars
Like Instant Coffee - Dry and Flavorless
The subtitle of this book is: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed Our World. I thought I was getting into a book about the role of coffee in the waves and trends of…