Where the Wild Coffee Grows

Title:

The Untold Story of Coffee from the Cloud Forests of Ethiopia to Your Cup

Author:

Koehler, Jeff

Subject:

Cooking & Food

Nonfiction

History

Description:

"Enchanting . . . An absorbing narrative of politics, ecology, and economics."—New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)Coffee is one of the largest and most valuable commodities in the world. This is the story of its origins, its history, and the threat to its future, by the IACP Award–winning author of Darjeeling.Located between the Great Rift Valley and the Nile, the cloud forests in southwestern Ethiopia are the original home of Arabica, the most prevalent of the two main species of coffee being cultivated today. Virtually unknown to European explorers, the Kafa region was essentially off-limits to foreigners well into the twentieth century, which allowed the world's original coffee culture to develop in virtual isolation in the forests where the Kafa people continue to forage for wild coffee berries. Deftly blending in the long, fascinating history of our favorite drink, award-winning author Jeff Koehler takes readers from these forest beginnings along the spectacular journey of its spread around the globe. With cafés on virtually every corner of every town in the world, coffee has never been so popular—nor tasted so good.Yet diseases and climate change are battering production in Latin America, where 85 percent of Arabica grows. As the industry tries to safeguard the species' future, breeders are returning to the original coffee forests, which are under threat and swiftly shrinking. "The forests around Kafa are not important just because they are the origin of a drink that means so much to so many," writes Koehler. "They are important because deep in their shady understory lies a key to saving the faltering coffee industry. They hold not just the past but also the future of coffee."

Publisher:

Bloomsbury USA

Bloomsbury Publishing

Date:

2017/11/14

Digital Format:

READ IN BROWSER

ADOBE EPUB

KINDLE

Language:

English

ISBN:

9781632865113

Summary

"Enchanting . . . An absorbing narrative of politics, ecology, and economics."-- New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) Coffee is one of the largest and most valuable commodities in the world. This is the story of its origins, its history, and the threat to its future, by the IACP Award-winning author of Darjeeling . Located between the Great Rift Valley and the Nile, the cloud forests in southwestern Ethiopia are the original home of Arabica, the most prevalent of the two main species of coffee being cultivated today. Virtually unknown to European explorers, the Kafa region was essentially off-limits to foreigners well into the twentieth century, which allowed the world's original coffee culture to develop in virtual isolation in the forests where the Kafa people continue to forage for wild coffee berries. Deftly blending in the long, fascinating history of our favorite drink, award-winning author Jeff Koehler takes readers from these forest beginnings along the spectacular journey of its spread around the globe. With cafés on virtually every corner of every town in the world, coffee has never been so popular--nor tasted so good.Yet diseases and climate change are battering production in Latin America, where 85 percent of Arabica grows. As the industry tries to safeguard the species' future, breeders are returning to the original coffee forests, which are under threat and swiftly shrinking. "The forests around Kafa are not important just because they are the origin of a drink that means so much to so many," writes Koehler. "They are important because deep in their shady understory lies a key to saving the faltering coffee industry. They hold not just the past but also the future of coffee."

Author Notes

Jeff Koehler is the author of Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World's Greatest Tea , winner of an International Association of Culinary Professionals Award and a Gourmand Award; Spain: Recipes and Traditions ; Morocco: A Culinary Journey with Recipes ; and La Paella: Deliciously Authentic Rice Dishes from Spain's Mediterranean Coast . His work has appeared in Saveur , Food & Wine , NPR, the Washington Post , and Los Angeles Times , among others. He lives in Barcelona.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Koehler (Darjeeling) nicely captures the natural beauty and mystery of the birthplace of Arabica coffee. He begins with a poetic description of Ethiopian province of Kafa and its highland rainforest ("A tartan of paths wove through the weedy expanses... the conical tukuls sat slight askew") before detailing the history of Ethopia. Foreign explorers found it "nearly impenetrable" for centuries, which kept coffee a local secret. In the 17th century, traders and conquerors took the plant and tried growing it throughout the Arabian Peninsula and Europe. Koehler concludes this section with the downfall of what was once the rich kingdom of Kafa in 1897. In the second half of the book, Koehler focuses on contemporary coffee commerce and cultivation, outlining Starbucks's rise to market dominance and the new wave of artisanal coffee purveyors. Koehler then explains how coffee could completely disappear off the face of the Earth because of the perfect storm the incurable coffee leaf rust fungus, rampant deforestation of the Ethopia cloud forests, and climate change. This is a wonderfully informative book about a bean on which many people rely. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

In his newest endeavor, veteran food journalist Koehler makes a lateral yet organic move from his previous book, Darjeeling (2015), to the hallowed grounds of coffee. He conjures a bewitching atmosphere by opening with a traditional coffee ceremony taking place in the secluded Kafa region of Ethiopia, an area now believed to be the birthplace of coffee. Tracing the origin of Coffea arabica is anything but straightforward, but Koehler confidently leads readers along that winding path, taking relevant detours to reveal the bean's rich history, dedicated stewards, rise to fame, and precarious future. Koehler regularly links the separate pieces of his history with stories of individuals he's met during his research farmers who tend the wild coffee of Kafa's highlands; coffee breeders and botanists charting the plant's DNA giving the cultural and economic importance of coffee a currency and personal resonance beyond one's morning cup of java. Though very real environmental threats face modern coffee production, Koehler closes his flavorful history on a hopeful note, ultimately transforming this seemingly pedestrian bean into something much more magical.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2017 Booklist

Library Journal Review

Coffee is ubiquitous in our society, whether it's a quick pick-me-up from a drip pot, a cappuccino with latte art, or a pour-over from single-origin, fair-trade beans. What is less known, however, is the origins of coffee. Koehler, author of the IACP-winning Darjeeling, explores the history, development, and spread of coffee throughout the globe in this well-researched book. From the remotest parts of the world to large cities, coffee is truly a global product, and the trade is a nexus for colonialism, religion, culture, economics, and agriculture. While focused on the beverage's past, this book argues that Ethiopia may also be the future of coffee, as its trees are the hardiest at battling rust and other diseases along with being the most trait-diverse, which is increasingly important as climate change is affecting various growing regions. VERDICT With a mix of evocative descriptions and a scholar's eye for detail, this is a good academic history of coffee, although perhaps too detailed for casual readers.-Devon Thomas, Chelsea, MI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.