What are the best books for coffee beginners? Must-read book recommendations for coffee novices and coffee roasting!

Recommended Coffee Books for Every Enthusiast

As the saying goes, learning is endless. When it comes to acquiring coffee knowledge, reading books is an excellent choice. While knowledge in many coffee books may not be the most current, they contain the accumulated knowledge, insights, and experiences that authors have gathered over many years. No book is completely worthless, nor is any book perfect. Therefore, readers need to select books suitable for themselves based on their actual circumstances.

"You Don't Know Coffee" (你不懂咖啡)

"You Don't Know Coffee" is highly suitable for beginners and novices who want to understand coffee. This book concisely introduces the entire process of coffee from seed to cup. It contains lively and lovely illustrations that help coffee beginners more directly understand the principles involved. Meanwhile, the illustrations better alleviate the tediousness that comes with reading text. The book uses scientific perspectives to explain common questions in the process from coffee seeds (green beans) to coffee extraction, using a question-and-answer format to simply explain coffee varieties, coffee bean processing methods, coffee bean roasting, and coffee extraction.

"Complete Guide to Pour-Over Coffee" (手冲咖啡大全)

"Complete Guide to Pour-Over Coffee" is suitable for beginners who are just learning coffee brewing. This book primarily explains the core extraction theories in brewing to help readers establish brewing ideas/structures. The content extensively uses monologue and free association methods, encouraging readers to think independently and apply their knowledge. The book also systematically displays various factors that affect coffee extraction, letting readers know that only by mastering brewing extraction theory can they clearly understand the differences brought by different filter cups during the brewing process.

"Coffee Studies" (咖啡精品学) - Volumes 1 & 2

"Coffee Studies" Volumes 1 and 2 are suitable for readers who already have a basic understanding and knowledge of coffee. Volume 1 mainly introduces the origins of the three waves of coffee, a brief history of coffee, coffee varieties, coffee origins... Volume 1 might seem somewhat dry, but it contains a wealth of coffee knowledge and is very worth rereading. Volume 2 mainly introduces coffee tasting, cupping, flavor wheels, Golden Cup standards, basic extraction methods... The content in Volume 2 is more in-depth than Volume 1, suitable for readers who already have foundational knowledge.

"World Coffee Atlas" (世界咖啡地图)

"World Coffee Atlas" is also suitable for readers who already have a basic understanding and knowledge of coffee. Starting from coffee bean varieties, the book comprehensively describes the entire journey of coffee green beans from harvesting, processing, and trading to roasting, cupping, grinding, and extraction methods, as well as information about 35 coffee-producing countries across three continents and their basic coffee-producing regions. It's a reference book that can be consulted anytime.

"Bean Hunter" (寻豆师) - Volumes 1 & 2

"Bean Hunter" Volumes 1 and 2 are suitable for coffee professionals and enthusiasts. Rather than being a conventional book, it's more like a notebook. Volumes 1 and 2 record the author's tasting experiences during bean hunting in Africa, Central, and South America. Besides these, readers can gain much information about coffee estates and different varieties of green beans from the content. Volume 1 mainly describes the author's bean-hunting experiences in South America and briefly introduces the Cup of Excellence (COE) competition. Volume 2 mainly describes the author's bean-hunting experiences in Africa, introducing international judges' bean selection methods and observations on trends in special processing methods in recent years.

"The Science of Green Coffee Purchasing" (咖啡生豆的采购科学)

"The Science of Green Coffee Purchasing" is suitable for professionals and enthusiasts who are just starting coffee roasting. The book is divided into three parts. The first part mainly discusses common problems in the green bean purchasing process; the second part describes each stage of processing coffee green beans, helping readers accelerate their understanding of coffee bean processing methods, cultivars, storage, packaging, and defective beans; the third part covers green coffee purchasing guidelines, providing purchasing plan suggestions and the author's years of experience and thoughts on purchasing green beans.

"The Science of Coffee Roasting" (咖啡烘豆的科学)

"The Science of Coffee Roasting" is suitable for professionals and enthusiasts who have some understanding and knowledge of coffee roasting. The book covers roasting principles and various influencing factors in the roasting process. The first part discusses coffee bean structure and how roasters store coffee green beans; the second part covers the impact of six common roasting methods on coffee aroma and taste, secrets to uniform heating of green beans, and the effects of green bean roasting quantity, temperature, and time on coffee flavor and taste; the third part discusses the three major principles to follow during coffee roasting and how to optimize roasting curves. The author provides very detailed, scientific, and systematic insights into coffee roasting.

"The Coffee Producer's Handbook" (咖啡生产学术指南)

If the books mentioned above can no longer satisfy your pursuit of coffee knowledge, then we must recommend "The Coffee Producer's Handbook" to you! (Only available in English)

It's simply the "pinnacle" of coffee books. Reading it not only increases knowledge but holding it while reading also provides muscle training.

We're serious about this recommendation! Because this book comprehensively covers coffee cultivation, processing, and sustainable production, serving as a professional guide for growers, producers, traders, and related scholars.

(It's not too heavy, just about 6cm thick)

Some image sources: Internet

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