Wandering Manchester’s Northern Quarter at lunch time is a great way to jump-start creativity and a quick duck into my favourite creative book store Magma always brightens the afternoon.
I was delighted to find a little gem of a book this week, sitting among the kitchen accessories and miniature models. It not only wins on content but is, for want of a more eloquent description, just real damn pretty.
To discuss the most important part *ahem* the content, How to Make Coffee – The Science Behind the Bean gives a concise summary of what coffee is and exactly how it works, including explanations of its origins, history and its pride-of-place in our everyday lives.
Although professing to be “an explanation of the scientific principles behind the art of coffee making”, its much less of a factual and dry read than this implies. The book’s lean examinations of various preparation methods, explanations of decaf, instant coffee granules and even advice on correct storage, make this book accessible but educational. This balance can be difficult to strike in a book with the potential to appeal to a wide audience.
Exploring the career of its writer and multiple hat-wearing creative Lani Kingston has also proved a bonus and has
unearthed her blog Four Seasons of Food , which I’ve bookmarked for a thorough sift through later.
Back to the book, aside from being particularly readable and easy-to-carry (always a bonus), I found it to be a really digestible insight into the drink that basically keeps me alive on a daily basis and it definitely filled in a lot of knowledge gaps. The illustrations are also minimalist but memorable, going hand-in-hand with the content.
On the visual front, wherever I left How to Make Coffee in-between reads, I kept getting a glimpse of it making my living room look maximum literati – on my chaise lounge, desk, sofa and even floor. It was like some kind of literary Victoria’s Secret photoshoot around here this week.
A book that’s as beautiful outside as in and one I’ll continue to drink in, this is a highly recommended read and go-to reference book for fellow coffee-lovers, appreciators of great minimalist design and of course, colour coordination.