The Philosophy of Coffee
Despite its title, The Philosophy of Coffee is not philosophy — it is an 80-page illustrated popular history of coffee, published by British Library Publishing in 2018. "Philosophy of" is the name of a British Library gift series spanning tea, wine, beer, whisky, gin, cheese, chocolate and curry; it describes the series, not the method. The Spectator called it "an espresso of a book: a short, potted, illustrated history".
The title is the misleading part
It sits in the British Library "Philosophy of" series — a line of short illustrated gift books that also covers tea, wine, beer, whisky, gin, cocktails, cheese, chocolate and curry. "Philosophy of" is shelf branding across all of them, not a claim about method. Read the publisher's own summary and there is no philosophy in it: it promises a history, and a history is what it delivers. That mismatch is the single thing worth knowing before you buy it — and it cuts both ways. Arrive wanting an argument and you'll feel short-changed; arrive wanting the story and it's very good at being what it is.
What's in it
The publisher's stated contents open with the origins of the bean in northeast Africa, over a millennium ago, then run through named chapters on:
- The rise of the coffeehouse
- Legal bans on coffee
- Brazil's domination of the world coffee trade
- The birth of the espresso
Why a book sits on a machine spec database
Of its four named chapters, one is the birth of the espresso — the short version of how the machine on your counter came to exist at all. That is the reason it sits on a site about espresso machines.
The edition
| Author | Brian Williams — writes about coffee culture at Brian's Coffee Spot |
| Publisher | British Library Publishing |
| Published | First published 2018; US edition 1 September 2018 |
| Length | 80 pages, illustrated |
| Formats | Hardcover, illustrated · Kindle edition available |
| Dimensions | 5.25 × 0.7 × 7.75 in |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0712352307 |
| Series | British Library "Philosophy of" series |
What the press said
an espresso of a book: a short, potted, illustrated history with a strong British perspective— The Spectator
A beautifully illustrated guide to everything we could ever want to know about our morning cup of Joe.— Stylist
Besides tips on brewing and infusion, [Brian] also dazzles us with statistics . . . we are all caffeine addicts now.— Tatler
Who it's for
- You want the story behind the cup, and you want it in one sitting.
- You are buying a gift for someone who is serious about coffee but has never read its history.
- You want to know how espresso actually came about — it has a chapter on exactly that.
Who it isn't for
- You want brewing technique. This is history, not a method book.
- You want philosophy in the academic sense. The title is a series name, not a description — see the shelf for the book that genuinely is philosophy.
- You already know coffee's history. Reviewers who came in expert report learning little new.
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If that's not the book you want
Two other coffee books answer questions this one doesn't — including the one that genuinely is philosophy. They're on the reading shelf.
Reading about espresso isn't pulling one: boiler types explained · every machine by spec · the reading shelf