October 1st is International Coffee Day. Oh, coffee, the humble little bean with a big attitude that’s been dazzling our senses for centuries. There’s no better way to celebrate than pairing your favorite brew with a good book. Whether it’s a cozy mystery or a non-fiction book teaching you the history of coffee and the fundamentals of roasting, you’re sure to find the grind for you at your local library.
Fiction
Before The Coffee Gets Cold: A Novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi; translated by Geoffrey Trousselot (2020)
Also available in Spanish!
From Goodreads:
In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.
In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer’s, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.
But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold.
The Full Moon Coffee Shop: A Novel by Mai Mochizuki; translated by Jesse Kirkwood (2024)
From Goodreads:
In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a glittering Kyoto moon. This particular coffee shop is like no other. It has no fixed location, no fixed hours, and seemingly appears at random to adrift young people at crucial junctions in their lives.
It’s also run by talking cats.
While customers at the Full Moon Coffee Shop partake in cakes, coffees, and teas, the cats also consult them on their star charts, offer cryptic wisdom, and let them know where their lives have veered off course—because every person who visits the shop has been feeling more than a little lost. And for a down-on-her-luck screenwriter, a romantically stuck movie director, a hopeful hairstylist, and a technologically challenged website designer, the feline guides will set them back on their fated paths. After all, there is a reason the shop appeared to each of them…
Fresh Brewed Murder by Emmeline Duncan (2021)
From Goodreads:
Portland is famous for its rain, hipsters, craft beers…and coffee. Sage Caplin has high hopes for her coffee cart, Ground Rules, which she runs with her business partner, Harley – a genius at roasting beans and devising new blends. That’s essential in a city where locals have intensely strong opinions about cappuccino versus macchiato – especially in the case of one of Sage’s very first customers….
Sage finds the man’s body in front of her cart, a fatal slash across his neck. There’s been plenty of anger in the air, from longtime vendors annoyed at Ground Rules taking a coveted spot in the food truck lot, to protesters demonstrating against a new high-rise. But who was mad enough to commit murder? Sage is already fending off trouble in the form of her estranged, con artist mother, who’s trying to trickle back into her life. But when Sage’s very own box cutter is discovered to be the murder weapon, she needs to focus on finding the killer fast – before her business, and her life, come to a bitter end . . .
Non-Fiction
The Coffee Book: Barista Tips, Recipes, Beans From Around The World by Anette Moldvaer (2021)
From Goodreads:
Improve your appreciation and knowledge of one of the world’s favorite pastimes…drinking coffee! Discover the incredible variety of coffee beans grown around the world with profiles from over 40 countries, from far-flung places like Vietnam and Bolivia. Readers can delve into coffee tasting and use a taster’s wheel to understand the nuances in flavor from bean to bean and understand which notes complement one another.
Delve into the preparation of coffee, from roasting, grinding, to brewing. Easy step-by-step instructions will show you the common brewing equipment used to make different coffees. Using the techniques that you have learned, explore the recipe section, which includes café culture classics, such as the americano, flat white, and macchiato, to more unusual choices, like caffè de olla and ice maple latte. Brew coffee at home like a pro and start your day right with The Coffee Book.
The World Atlas Of Coffee: From Beans To Brewing: Coffees Explored, Explained And Enjoyed by James Hoffmann (2014)
From Goodreads:
Coffee has never been better, or more interesting, than it is today. Coffee producers have access to more varieties and techniques than ever before, and we, as consumers, can share in that expertise to make sure the coffee we drink is the best we can find. Where coffee comes from, how it was harvested, the roasting process, and the water used to make the brew are just a few of the factors that influence the taste of what we drink. Champion barista and coffee expert James Hoffmann examines these key factors, looking at varieties of coffee, the influence of terroir, how it is harvested and processed, the roasting methods used, through to the way in which the beans are brewed.
Country by country – from Bolivia to Zambia – James identifies key characteristics and the methods that determine the quality of that country’s output. Along the way, we learn about everything from the development of the espresso machine to why strength guides on supermarket coffee are really not good news. This is the first book to chart the coffee production of over 35 countries, encompassing knowledge never previously published outside the coffee industry.
Coffee Roaster’s Handbook: A How-To Guide For Home And Professional Roasters by Len Brault (2020)
From Goodreads:
From bean to brew—a complete guide to coffee roasting for beginners and professionals alike
Now you can master the art of coffee roasting—with its heavenly aromas and full-bodied flavors—all on your own. The Coffee Roaster’s Handbook is packed with practical information for roasters of any level, whether you’re just getting started or you’re already a coffee-roasting connoisseur.
From selecting and purchasing green coffee beans to storing and cupping your roasts, this colorfully illustrated handbook has all the comprehensive, roasting-related knowledge you’ll need to create and enjoy your own delicious coffee. You’ll find a deep dive on the science of coffee roasting, tips on how to spot bean defects, a how-to guide to evaluating your roasts, and so much more. Now, go forth and roast!
