The Devil's Cup (A History of the World According to Coffee)

Sarah and I took a drive on Saturday evening after a full day of taking in the Whistler/Cassatt exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art, and a scrumptuous feast at Ikaros (mousaka, that's all I have to say). We went to Barnes & Noble in Towson, and took in some coffee. I spotted the above-referenced book, and was hooked after the first page. Sarah bought it for me seeing how quickly enamored of the text I was becoming.

It's a departure for me, in that it is a non-fiction work (by an investigative journalist), but the language is so conversational and anecdotal that I find myself lulled right in to the rhythm of Steward Lee Allen's adventures all over the globe sussing out the origins of the mysterious bean, and the darkly intense rituals that happen around it.

It is perfect reading for early evening,when that oddly bright evening light slices the livingroom in half, and I am sipping the last cuppa of the day.