I gave this four stars, although it could easily be five. I found this book interesting because the author gave different instances of history concerning the origins of the bean as well as coffeehouses. A lot of good research is presented here. You will really need to be interested in coffee to stay tuned. It can be a little dry in some areas. You will notice that this book is published in 1987 - before the fall of the iron curtain. A lot of references are from eastern Germany, (i.e. Leipzig), and this make for a novelty of sorts. I think the pictures are good, but if this book were done now, the pix would more up-to-date. It's a good book, but not five stars. I purchased a cookbook recently, entitled "Kaffehaus", by Rick Rodgers. Kaffehaus has the type of photos I would expect to see in a book like this. Four stars, but no "Bravo!".
