Brewed Awakening: A Definitive Guide to the Word of Coffee

 

Why I Wrote Brewed Awakening

I love coffee. For me, coffee is more than just a drink that helps me wake up in the morning. It is an experience—the aroma of freshly ground beans, the anticipation of that first sip, and the discovery of how different coffees can taste depending on where they come from and how they are roasted and brewed.

That love of coffee is what led me to write Brewed Awakening: The Definitive Guide to the World of Coffee.

My interest eventually moved beyond simply drinking coffee. I became fascinated with the process of roasting my own beans. I started small, using a hot-air popcorn popper to roast green coffee beans. It was certainly not the most sophisticated way to roast coffee, but it was a great way to learn. Watching the green beans change color, listening for the cracks, smelling the transformation taking place, and then tasting the results made me appreciate coffee in an entirely different way. Home roasting can begin with surprisingly simple equipment, although proper ventilation and appropriate equipment are important because roasting produces heat, smoke, and chaff.

Eventually, my interest in roasting grew, and I moved from the popcorn popper to a dedicated home coffee roaster. That opened up a whole new world of experimentation. I could pay closer attention to the roast and discover how changes in the roasting process affected the finished cup.

One of the things I enjoy most is tasting coffees from different countries. Coffee is truly a global product, and beans grown in different regions can produce remarkably different flavors. The character of a coffee can be influenced by its origin, growing environment, variety, processing, roasting, and freshness.

That variety is one of the reasons I never get tired of coffee. One morning I might enjoy one particular origin, while another coffee catches my attention because of its completely different aroma or flavor. Roasting my own beans has allowed me to become more involved in that process and to appreciate the differences from one coffee to another.

In Brewed Awakening, I wanted to share that fascination with readers. The book explores the history and origins of coffee, coffee-growing regions, different types of beans, roasting, brewing methods, coffee terminology, myths and facts, potential benefits, traditions, and the role coffee plays in cultures around the world.

I also wanted to look beyond the coffee in the cup and explore the story behind it. Every cup begins with a coffee plant growing somewhere in the world. From there, the beans are harvested, processed, shipped, roasted, ground, and finally brewed. There is an entire journey behind what many of us simply call "a cup of coffee."

For me, writing Brewed Awakening was a way of bringing together my enjoyment of coffee with my curiosity about its history, science, culture, and preparation. I wanted the book to be informative without losing the simple pleasure that makes coffee so enjoyable.

And, of course, I couldn't write a book about coffee without enjoying plenty of research the old-fashioned way—with a fresh cup sitting beside me.

I still enjoy roasting my own coffee, experimenting with different beans, and comparing coffees from different parts of the world. Every roast and every cup is another opportunity to discover something new.

So if you're someone who enjoys coffee, I hope Brewed Awakening encourages you to look a little more closely at what's in your cup. Maybe you'll discover a new coffee, try a different brewing method, learn something about where your beans came from—or, like me, become curious enough to try roasting your own.

After all, sometimes a good cup of coffee is more than a way to start the day. It can be the beginning of an adventure. Purchase at Amazon

— David M. Turner