Pendergrast, M.
New York: Basic Books, 1999
Coffee is the second most valuable exported legal
commodity on earth (after oil), providing the largest jolt
of the world's most widely taken psychoactive drug. Coffee
is an extraordinarily delicate commodity. Its quality is first
determined by essentials such as type of plant, soil conditions,
and growing altitude. The coffee industry has dominated and
molded the economy, politics, and social structure of entire
countries. The coffee saga encompasses a panoramic story of
epic proportions involving the clash and blending of cultures.
Contents: Seeds of conquest (Coffee colonizes the world...
The drug drink); Canning the buzz; Bitter brews; Romancing
the bean; Appendix: How to brew the perfect cup; etc.