Uncommon Grounds or Chocolate

Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and how It Transformed Our World

Author: Mark Pendergrast

Uncommon Grounds tells the story of coffee from its discovery on a hill in Abyssinia to its role in intrigue in the American colonies to its rise as a national consumer product in the twentieth century and its rediscovery with the advent of Starbucks at the end of the century. A panoramic epic, Uncommon Grounds uses coffee production, trade, and consumption as a window through which to view broad historical themes: the clash and blending of cultures, the rise of marketing and the “national brand,” assembly line mass production, and urbanization. Coffeehouses have provided places to plan revolutions, write poetry, do business, and meet friends. The coffee industry has dominated and molded the economy, politics, and social structure of entire countries.Mark Pendergrast introduces the reader to an eccentric cast of characters, all of them with a passion for the golden bean. Uncommon Grounds is nothing less than a coffee-flavored history of the world.

Wall Street Journal

"A focused and juicy history of our last legal and socially acceptable drug."

New York Times Book Review

"Pendergrast has served up a rich blend of anecdote, character study, market analysis, and social history...everything you ought to know about coffee is here."

NY Times - Betty Fussell

With wit and humor, Pendergrast has served up a rich blend of anecdote, character study, market analysis and social history....[E]verything you ought to know about coffee is here: even how to make it.

Economist

Mr Pendergrast provides a stolid analysis of [Starbucks'] rise to prominence, and waxes eloquent about coffee being "the millennial elixir in the Age of Starbucks"....Who knows? By restoring some of the magic that propelled coffee to greatness in the first place, Starbucks may well help launch the next great revolution.

Publishers Weekly

Caffeinated beverage enthusiast Pendergrast (For God, Country and Coca-Cola) approaches this history of the green bean with the zeal of an addict. His wide-ranging narrative takes readers from the legends about coffee's discovery--the most appealing of which, Pendergast writes, concerns an Ethiopian goatherd who wonders why his goats are dancing on their hind legs and butting one another--to the corporatization of the specialty cafe. Pendergrast focuses on the influence of the American coffee trade on the world's economies and cultures, further zeroing in on the political and economic history of Latin America. Coffee advertising, he shows, played a major role in expanding the American market. In 1952, a campaign by the Pan American Coffee Bureau helped institutionalize the coffee break in America. And the invention of the still ubiquitous Juan Valdez in a 1960 ad campaign caused name recognition for Colombian coffee to skyrocket within months of its introduction. The Valdez character romanticizes a very real phenomenon--the painstaking process of tending and harvesting a coffee crop. Yet the price of a tall latte in America, Pendergrast notes, is a day's wage for many of the people who harvest it on South American hillsides. Pendergrast does not shy away from exploring such issues in his cogent histories of Starbucks and other firms. Throughout the book, asides like the coffee jones of health-food tycoon C.W. Post--who raged against the evils of coffee and developed Postum as a substitute for regular brew--provide welcome diversions. Pendergrast's broad vision, meticulous research and colloquial delivery combine aromatically, and he even throws in advice on how to brew the perfect cup. 76 duotones. Author tour. (June) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

In this enlightening sociocultural chronicle, journalist Pendergrast (For God, Country & Coca-Cola) focuses on the popularity of coffee, especially in the Western Hemisphere. Coffee-drinking came late to the New World but was embraced almost immediately. It accompanied settlers on their way west (Native Americans referred to it as "black medicine") and was popular with soldiers in the Civil War and both world wars. Pendergrast's book is filled with stories about the rise (and fall) of coffee dynasties like Hills Brothers and Folgers and of how the fledgling advertising industry helped promote each. The book concludes with the advent of specialty firms like Starbucks. While it lacks the extensive industry overview that characterizes Gregory Dicum and Nina Luttinger's The Coffee Book: Anatomy of an Industry from Crop to the Last Drop (LJ 4/1/99), it provides substantial background on coffee production as well as making an entertaining yet serious attempt to understand the popularity of the beverage. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.--Richard S. Drezen, Washington Post News Research Ctr., Washington, DC Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Booknews

From its beginnings in Ethiopia to the expansion of the Starbucks empire, the author explores the growth and nature of the coffee business. Mainly concerned with the marketing of coffee in the United States, he does touch upon coffee in Europe and social justice and health issues. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

The Economist

Mr Pendergrast provides a stolid analysis of [Starbucks'] rise to prominence, and waxes eloquent about coffee being "the millennial elixir in the Age of Starbucks"....Who knows? By restoring some of the magic that propelled coffee to greatness in the first place, Starbucks may well help launch the next great revolution.

Brill's Content - Jane Manners

Mark Pendergast's Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World often reads as if it was written under the influence of caffeine: The wide-ranging, animated account charges through coffee's history, from its legendary discovery in an Ethiopian mountain forest sometime before the tenth century to the proliferation of gourmet brands and coffeehouses in the 1990s...

Pendergast concludes his sweeping history on an up note. After largely dismissing reports of coffee's bad health effects, he offers what most readers have probably been craving all along: instructions on how to brew the perfect pot.

The Washington Monthly - Heather Bourbeau

is not only a good read but a vital one for anyone who considers him or herself an American political economist. Or simply a responsible coffee drinker.

The Wall Street Journal - Zakaria

[A] focused and juicy history of our last legal and socially acceptable drug....Balzac ate coffee powder to help 'ideas march into motion like battalions of a grand army.' Perhaps Mr. Pendergrast had a few spoonful while writing this stirring book.

Kirkus Reviews

An exhaustive, admirably ambitious examination of coffee's global impact, from its roots in 15th-century Ethiopia to its critical role in shaping the nations of Central and Latin America. Pendergrast (For God, Country, and Coca-Cola, 1993) explains almost everything we'd ever want to know about coffee. The story begins in the mountains of Ethiopia, where goat herders first discovered the pleasures of the coffee bean. Arab traders helped spread coffee to Europe, where it became a 17th-century sensation. Soon the imperial powers of Europe established coffee plantations from Java (a Dutch colony) to Brazil (a Portuguese colony) to Haiti (a French colony), enslaving the indigenous populations. Even after freeing themselves from centuries of imperial control, the coffee-growing nations remained under "coffee oligarchies" that exploited local peasants. Today, most coffee workers "live in abject poverty without plumbing, electricity, [or] medical care." Afraid of leftist rebellion in Latin America and eager for low-cost coffee, the US has actively supported these oligarchies. Pendergrast does a fine job exploring the disturbing economic inequalities behind every cup of coffee. He also analyzes how the boom-and-bust cycles of the coffee harvest have destabilized nations like Brazil, Colombia, and Costa Rica. After WWI, coffee emerged as a major American industry—advertising helped turn Maxwell House, Folgers, and Hills Brothers into household names. With intense competition, coffee quality was often sacrificed for low price. By the 1960s, coffee quality was so low that a "gourmet" coffee movement emerged, led by purists such as Alfred Peet. While the "gourmet" coffee movement reactedagainst bland, mass-produced coffee, it's now identified with a corporate giant called Starbucks, whose aggressive tactics Pendergrast skillfullyÊdescribes. Should be read by anyone curious about what goes into their daily cup of Java—too often, good coffee isn't good for the people who produce it. (60 b&w photos) (Author tour)

Table of Contents:

	Prologue: The Oriflama Harvest
	Introduction: Puddle Water or Panacea?
Pt. 1	Seeds of Conquest
1	Coffee Colonizes the World	3
2	The Coffee Kingdoms	21
3	The American Drink	45
4	The Great Coffee Wars of the Gilded Age	63
5	Hermann Sielcken and Brazilian Valorization	77
6	The Drug Drink	95
Pt. 2	Canning the Buzz
7	Growing Pains	115
8	Making the World Safe for Coffee	143
9	Selling an Image in the Jazz Age	155
10	Burning Beans, Starving Campesinos	179
11	Showboating the Depression	189
12	Cuppa Joe	217
Pt. 3	Bitter Brews
13	Coffee Witch Hunts and Instant Nongratification	235
14	Robusta Triumphant	257
Pt. 4	Romancing the Bean
15	A Scattered Band of Fanatics	291
16	The Black Frost	317
17	The Specialty Revolution	337
18	The Starbucks Experience	367
19	Final Grounds	389
App	How to Brew the Perfect Cup	427
	Notes	431
	Bibliography	461
	List of Interviews	497
	Acknowledgments	499
	Index	503

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Chocolate: A Healthy Passion

Author: Shara Aaron

The world loves chocolate and chances are-with most of the population saying their favorite flavor is chocolate-you do too. This enjoyable book will serve to deepen, not only your love, but also your understanding of chocolate.
Some may think that chocolate is simply a treat, something that satisfies a sweet tooth. After reading this truly pleasurable and educational account by two leading dieticians, you will agree that chocolate is much more than that. You will discover it encompasses a culture, a cuisine, a treatment, and much more!
The authors begin by revealing how to truly savor chocolate. Even the most avid chocolate lovers will pick up tips on how to intensify the full chocolate flavor and expand their sensual experience.
Next, they illustrate how cultures around the world enjoy chocolate, and how chocolate, more than just a flavor, holds a special place in holidays and celebrations globally. While exploring other cultures, they journey to the rainforest and explore the origins of chocolate. They then trace its history through the centuries, from the Maya and Aztec cultures, where the chocolate phenomenon began. Over the ages, this dark, delectable food has been viewed as a gift from the gods, as valuable as gold, a medical treatment for illness, a social indulgence for just the elite, and finally a treat to be enjoyed by everyone.
Today, science has proved what was revealed to ancient civilizations so long ago: chocolate does have healing powers. At the end of the 1990s, the authors were among the first to communicate to the media the exciting news that dark chocolate may enhance health. They helped to launch the first "heart healthy" chocolate brand for aglobal chocolate company.
Replete with luscious photography and enticing recipes, this delightful, even mouthwatering, book will bring your appreciation for this gift of Mother Nature to a new level.

Lisa A. Ennis - Library Journal

Registered dieticians Aaron and Bearden have crafted an in-depth and decadent examination of one of the world's favorite treats: chocolate. Divided into six chapters, the book covers all facets of the confection. The authors begin by explaining what chocolate is and its origins before moving on to the history of chocolate and how it is grown and harvested. Of particular note are the last two chapters on chocolate and health and the various myths about the food. The authors do an excellent job of explaining the health benefits of chocolate, which is rich in antioxidants and flavonols. They also provide recipes at the end of each chapter, including those for facials, lip balm, and soap. Chocolate is also flavored with color and black-and-white illustrations. Thoroughly researched and very well written, this would be an excellent addition to any collection. Recommended for all libraries, especially those with strong culinary or food history collections.