Coffee: Volume 1: Chemistry Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1985 Edition

I'm a molecular biologist, roaster, and also teach many physical and online barista courses. If you do a search of coffee chemistry topics (even on the website of the same name), you'll quickly find there is very little information out there on the DETAILS of the over 1,000 compounds in coffee. The rare books with confirmed component research are now either out of print or cost $300 US plus!Thanks to an Amazon/Springer deal, this volume, one of a 6 part series on coffee from the mid-80's, was reprinted in soft cover for under $80 US at this writing. It covers nearly 800 compounds, reactions and synergies, both in green beans and the roasting process. It even covers the important waxes and oils, which no other book or website I've seen does-- you have to go to the food chemistry journals for the oils outside this fine reference. As baristas and roastmasters you know how important oils are, especially beyond city plus.Unlike a typical organic chem text that gives formulas at a fast clip, this text is focused on processes, chemistry differences in origin countries and varieties, and effects of different preparation and roasting methods on quality, and to a lesser extent, physiology.The nice thing is the usual Springer editorial quality (ignoring their usually terrible prices)-- they have painstakingly cross referenced and indexed chapter topics so you can see the effects of a compound or category (acids, oils, alkaloids, etc. --10 major categories in all) as it applies in situation after situation in progressive chapters. Do use the generous "look inside" feature above on Amazon to get a feel for the organization; I was surprised at how extensive the geographic details were, for example.The level of detail, at its highest, is advanced undergrad, so most of the discussion should be accessible to the majority of intelligent baristas and roastmasters through education or experience or both. This type of coverage is certainly not necessary to be a great barista, but if you want to take the "next step" in your profession, or are an autodidact hungry for all things coffee, no other book at any price has this level of coverage.If you want a little less for free, the coffee chemistry dot com site has more cursory coverage, but not nearly as extensively applied as this fine text. There also are books there and elsewhere that are not nearly worth the $200 being charged compared to this text. Given the low supply and high demand, if you have any interest at all, I'd grab one while you still can. After all, nearly two "dry" decades went by when the only coffee chem you could find were in journals that cost $500 US to subscribe to 5 annual issues! One out of print book with half the compounds of this title has been selling for over $400 due to rarity, and others for over $300. (Example:  Coffee Flavor Chemistry ).Highly recommended if you want advanced study beyond normal barista or roastmaster courses, and a MUST if you are a coffee entrepreneur, roastmaster, grower, seller, blender, etc.

A good book but not really practical.

Great book

The best comprehensive and authoritative reference text on the chemistry of coffee. A definite must for coffee scientists, chemists and/or coffee lovers. [email protected]

A VERY informative book!