Coffee knowledge and the market is oversaturated. Just open youtube, tiktok, blogs, everyone is talking about coffee. As easy as it is to find information about coffee, I still personally enjoy having a physical guide a.k.a books that talk about coffee.

The first book about coffee that I discovered and read was when I visited a cafe called Kena Kopi back in February last year. That book was an encyclopedia of coffee which contains the history of coffee to the coffee recipe. When that book wasn’t too expensive for my budget, I could not find it at my regular bookstore that sells imported books. Instead, I can only find the book that I will be reviewing today, The Home Barista: How to Bring Out the Best in Every Coffee by Ruby Ashby Orr and Simone Egger.

As the title suggests, the book is exactly intended for someone who likes to brew at home and also beginner friendly. The content of the book is so well organized that it starts from the introduction of coffee waves to the end of the book showing a directory of coffee lingo.

Did You Know?

We are at the third wave of coffee culture, which according to the book is about seeing the coffee as a whole and a form of art. It is also about the convenience of everyone to learn about coffee without having to cost an arm and a leg.

So essentially the 3rd wave of coffee is about bringing coffee closer to home as opposed to the 2nd wave where coffee chains were born and booming.

The book will also show you how to talk like a professional barista, coffee taster and coffee master. Do you speak the coffee lingo? Do you want to know what someone means when they mention acidity, aroma, balance, or even cupping? The book has it all. After reading the book, you can back up the claim that you are actually a coffee addict,snob, or even a coffee lover.

As for me, the book provides an interesting and helpful look into roasting. That specialization is something I have yet to master or even understand. However, I do understand the basic lingo such as medium, dark, and blond roast. And after reading that book, I came to know that there are several ways of roasting the beans. Additionally, the tools also vary and you can even do it at home with simple tools. However, according to that book, there are some cons and pros which I think is necessary to consider when trying to roast coffee beans with minimal tools.

The last thing that comes handy in the book is the content of the brewing method. The book has information and instructions from making Turkish coffee to using a Moka pot. Though I already know how to make coffee with all the manual brew tools, today, I am trying to follow the instructions of making pour over coffee with v60 from the book.

Tip from the book

When making v60 : You can adjust the flavor and strength by adjusting the speed of the pour. The quicker for lighter coffee and the slower for darker brewed coffee.

That tip is something I haven’t heard until I read the book. My favorite Youtube guy when it comes to coffee is James Hoffmann. I learned so much from watching his videos and also enjoyed his recommendation on coffee tools. I didn’t think I heard him mentioning that tip when I watched his video on pour over coffee. So, it was something that I tried to practice when making the pour over today.

According to the book, brewing using v60 means we need a medium to fine grind. However, today I was too lazy to actually set my grinder properly, so all I got was something in the middle of medium-coarse.

Did you know?

V60 according to the book is the best brewing method good for a late afternoon or a nice morning.

I remember that in the past, I always associated it with peacefulness and stillness. Watching the coffee drip from the paper filter was telling me to slow down in life.

The result of my pour over was delicious. I used Starbucks breakfast beans with medium roast. It really was not bitter, unlike the first time last year when I made v60. It was clean and all the flavors were so apparent. I could even feel the tangy and crisp aftertaste. And overall, the cup was boosting my mood.

Finally, I really recommend the coffee book even for seasonal coffee enthusiasts and those who are new to the world of coffee. This is also a good book if you want to have a physical copy of book knowledge. It’s information packed and all you need; kinda like coffee Youtube knowledge curated into a small sized book.

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