Craft Coffee: A Manual - by Jessica Easto (Hardcover)

About the Book

A comprehensive guide to improving home coffee making, written by a coffee enthusiast for coffee enthusiasts. Includes information on 10 different manual brewing methods, such as French press, Chemex, and V60, as well as advice on selecting beans, choosing equipment, and deciphering coffee bags.

Book Synopsis

Named a top food & drink book of 2017 by Food Network, Wired, Sprudge, and Booklist.

This comprehensive but accessible handbook is for the average coffee lover who wants to make better coffee at home. Unlike other coffee books, this one focuses exclusively on coffee--not espresso--and explores multiple pour-over, immersion, and cold-brew techniques on 10 different devices.

Thanks to a small but growing number of dedicated farmers, importers, roasters, and baristas, coffee quality is at an all-time high. But for nonprofessionals, achieving café quality at home can seem out of reach. With dozens of equipment options, conflicting information on how to use that equipment, and an industry language that, at times, doesn't seem made for the rest of us, it can be difficult to know where to begin.

Craft Coffee: A Manual, written by a coffee enthusiast for coffee enthusiasts, is a comprehensive guide to improving your brew at home. The book provides all the information readers need to discover what they like in a cup of specialty coffee--and how to replicate the perfect cup day after day. From the science of extraction and brewing techniques to choosing equipment and deciphering coffee bags, Craft Coffee focuses on the issues--cost, time, taste, and accessibility--that home coffee brewers negotiate and shows that no matter where you are in your coffee journey, you can make a great cup at home.

From the Back Cover

"An engaging resource that holds value for home brewers and professionals alike. This is a coffee book well worth poring over." --Ellie Bradley, editor, Fresh Cup Magazine

Chemex. V60. AeroPress. Oh my.

For such a simple beverage, coffee can seem complicated, especially if you don't make it for a living. But thanks to a growing number of dedicated farmers, importers, roasters, and baristas, coffee quality around the world is at an all-time high, and achieving cafe-caliber goodness at home is well within reach.

That's where this book comes in. Written by a coffee enthusiast for coffee enthusiasts, Craft Coffee helps you figure out what you like, what to buy, and how to use it. From demystifying the science of extraction and manual brewing techniques on 10 different devices to choosing equipment and beans, this accessible guide focuses on the issues--cost, time, taste, and accessibility--that home coffee brewers negotiate. No matter where you are in your coffee journey, you can make a great cup at home.

Review Quotes

Praise for Craft Coffee: A Manual:

"Provides all the information budding javaphiles need to discover what they like in a cup of specialty coffee--and how to replicate the perfect cup at home." --Food Network

"Build a better brew by mastering 10 manual methods, from French Press to Chemex, with this comprehensive guide." --Imbibe Magazine

"Like the coffee bean, Jessica Easto's book . . . dives deep and reaches wide as it teaches consumers how to improve their daily cup." --Chicago Tribune

"Engaging and fun . . . . I really can't recommend Craft Coffee: A Manual enough. If you're even mildly curious about brewing coffee at home, it's absolutely worth a read." --BuzzFeed

"Easto's manual for coffee enthusiasts goes beyond mere brew guide to pull back the curtain on the bean itself, coffee processing and roasting, and industry jargon--we're on to you, tattooed barista. . . . Easto offers a thorough overview of coffee that is never elitist in tone, emphasizing that individual taste should always be one's guide. . . . Clearly written and comprehensive, this book belongs in every home barista's tool kit." --Booklist, starred review

"Craft Coffee is a beautifully written guide to improving your home coffee no matter what your brew method or current coffee setup. . . . If this book doesn't make your brew better, then I'm coming over to your house every morning, because your coffee is already top notch." --Sprudge

"Eliminates the intimidation factor from manual brewing. . . . This guide offers value for new cafés or novice baristas, as well as the casual consumer." --Fresh Cup Magazine

"If you're ready to learn more about perfecting your morning cup, this is a great place to start." --Wired

"There's nothing quite like home brewing for sheer satisfaction. This book will help brewers to finesse their technique and select the best equipment." --Perfect Daily Grind

"The small hardcover includes recipes and simply explains how to use equipment and produce tastier coffees." --Eater Chicago

"A well-rounded presentation of coffee basics in an easily digestible format. From helping readers understand the origins of coffee and how it's processed, to deciphering the vast array of available brewing methods and how to use them, Jessica and Andreas have put together an engaging resource that holds value for home brewers and professionals alike. Full of wonderful illustrations, convenient tables, and helpful sidebars, this is a coffee book well worth poring over." --Ellie Bradley, editor, Fresh Cup Magazine

About the Author

Jessica Easto received a degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee and an MFA in creative writing from Southern Illinois University. She works as a book editor. Her writing has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Gapers Block, Psyche magazine, Fresh Cup, and more. For more coffee content, follow @craftcoffee_amanual on Instagram.

Andreas Willhoff has been a part of the Chicago coffee industry for more than a decade. He's worked the floor as a barista, managed coffee shops, directed wholesale training for a roaster, and more. He is currently a technical specialist at Rancilio, an espresso machine company.