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I was at the library yesterday. With two small children, I go often; but yesterday was a special treat. My wife and I decided to skip past the local branch library in favor of San Antonio’s Central Library, the one that was designed by some famous guy from Mexico and that looks, well, like it was designed by some guy from Mexico.
Anyways, one of the (obviously) nice things about large libraries is the sheer volume of books to peruse. Sometimes I get lost in the sea of print, never quite finding on the way out what I went in there for. So I was pleased to stumble serendipitously on two coffee books that many here may or may not have seen.
The first is Coffee, A Dark History, by Antony Wild. [FYI, I usually link to Amazon's site since it often lets you browse a few pages online.] With the compulsory overview of the history of coffee (i.e., Kaldi’s goats, smuggling coffee into new lands, etc.) it is a non-standoutish. But, as the title suggests, Mr. Wild does dabble in some of the, ah, seedier and seamier underbellies of the trade. Some chapters deal with slavery and coffee, hierarchical systems that sprung up around the coffee trade, and of course there is the seemingly obligatory chapter on so-called “Fair Trade.”
The other book I picked up is more of a geographical survey and is entitled, The Birth Of Coffee, by Daniel and Linda Lorenzetti. With some amazing photographs covering every major coffee growing country in the world, this book reads more like a collection of travel essays, the kind that allows the reader to pick up rich resources of information about the coffee world without feeling like one is reading a dry dissertation. Thoughtful and romantic, this book is a beautiful compendium and should at least be browsed if not checked out at your local central library…if not bought outright. I’m happy to have found two such books to keep me occupied for a while. 
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Coffeepress… Wow, you have me craving a steamin cup of Joe! But seriously, I enjoy easy reading while sipping mud. And these two you mentioned sound great. Isnt it fascinating how in whatever type of endeavor people chase, there will undoubtedly be some type of sinister or criminal behavior? Even if only from a moral standpoint. Hmm.
I will be in the Alamo City soon. Great artice–keep bloggin.
Bobby.
Robert, we appreciate your readership, but please refrain from using this website as a means for advertisement of your book. I have edited the unwanted content from your post, and left the rest.
Regards.