The Professional Barista's Handbook: An Expert Guide to Preparing Espresso, Coffee, and Tea First Edition

I just completed reading (except for the cupping chapter, which I’m saving for later), Scott Rao’s “The Roaster’s Companion,” and I want to recommend it to you, although it contains information that once again sets me back on my heels, as it were, just as acquiring the heat exchanger machine did. Rao’s roasted and cupped over 20,000 batches on a wide variety of roasting machines, and he’s combed his notes to glean commonalities from roasts that he found exceptional— roasts, as he comments, that he can still taste, not just pretty good roasts.The book is a short one, but with information so densely packed that one must read it with intention.Particularly interesting is his discussion of the factors which contribute most— again, in his experience— to superior development of flavors in the coffee bean. Specifically, he emphasizes the importance of the rate of rise (it needs never to flat line or drop) and using a routine that encourages maximum delta T during the initial stages as well as throughout the roast, delta T being the difference in temperature between the inside of the bean and the outside of the bean.Anyway, the book is pricey, but I guessed that it would provide more valuable information than a roasting class from one of those who offer them in Sacramento. My hunch was correct. I did attend a roasting class, and while it was fun to hang around and ask questions, and to see the equipment up close and so on, it was way too basic, designed as it was to introduce people to the idea that they could roast at home.Similarly, I’m halfway through Rao’s “The Professional Barista’s Handbook,” which is also a densely packed, though equally short, book as the “Roaster’s Companion.” I’m impressed with how much incorrect folklore exists among coffee enthusiasts, passed seemingly from one to the next without scrutiny. There are a few voices, though, on the forums that seem to arise from considered experience. Thank goodness for those.It is interesting that the brewing and roasting processes, while distinct and involving differing parameters, are alike in their complexity and in the challenges they present the would-be practitioner who aspires at each step to improve. I recall a book I read years ago called “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind,” wherein the author emphasizes the value in perpetually returning to the state of mind of a beginner. The heat exchanger machine forced me to begin again. Reading Scott Rao’s books is forcing me to begin again, also. But something is happening a little at a time, and I’m grasping the thermal issues in both brewing and roasting more clearly.Now, if I can just end up with a remarkable cup of coffee, it’ll all be worth it.

I recently upgraded my home brew espresso machine from a semi-auto to a more hands on machine. And, while I LOVE the new machine, there has been a relatively steep learning curve :) After a month of frustration with unsuccessful attempts to create appropriate microfoam for lattes and cappucinos, and of wondering if I had gotten a defective machine (but, pretty sure the problem was user error) I bought this book and starting hitting it hard. Within 24 hours, I was making awesomely velvety steamed milk with microfoam that was a barista's dream. Scott Rao's concise, down to earth descriptions make it very easy to follow and make it possible for even a novice to become an expert very quickly. GREAT book. His instructions are so detailed, yet incredibly intuitive. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to make great espresso drinks. Whether you're a home brewista like myself, struggling to master the art of the microfoam, or a cafe barista looking to improve your skill level and become a master of the pull, this book is the resource you are looking for.

Excellent read, I wish there was a companion guide for my team!

Informative, helpful and interesting. I’m a home barista. So, I wasn’t the target audience, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Much more information has been learned and developed on techniques since this book was written. A good basic book but not current. Overpriced.

I must say that at first I was very happy about this book. I went from cover to cover very quickly, but at the end I felt like there was something missing. I felt like there was a lot of information, but to me, it felt that the information presented was not direct and clear.In the French Press chapter, for example, he mentions that after boiling water, before pouring, the water should be a few degrees hotter than the desired brewing temperature. Ok, so what is the brewing temperature? Then he goes on saying that you should weigh the beans. Again no information about how much coffee, in grams, should be added, and how much water to use. You have to look at another chart in a different page for the information to figure out the ratios in grams or oz (which he fails to mention). He then mentions that water at 93 C weights 28.3 grams, so is that the proper brewing temperature?At the beginning of the chapter one of the items needed is a naked portafilter for shot evaluation, but there is very little on that. Actually the same images with the same evaluations can be found at a popular coffee forum.The brewing control charts on pages 75 and 74 make no sense to me, and the author assumes that the reader understands this by simply not explaining it.I think that Scott Rao has done a great effort to compress a lot of information into the book, but I feel that his mistake was to not understand his target audience. What I mean by that is that a lot of information is presented in a manner that the author assumes the reader to be a beginner at this, but then presents technical information assuming that the reader understands this, as if the reader is a pro.On the positive side there is a lot of very useful information and techniques that will certainly improve your barista skills. One thing that was really useful to me and helped me improve my shots was his technique on tamping. Tamping lightly without knocking the tamper on the side of the portafilter DOES improve your shot consistency. Very interesting and you should read his reasons why (I don't want to spoil it for you).Another VERY useful information is about brewing temperatures, how the mass of the coffee and brewing temperatures affects extraction temperatures. This information is a MUST for those who work with shots with different amounts of coffee. I personally like my shots in the Italian style with 7 g of coffee, brewing temps at 90 or a bit below, for a espresso normale. BUT I must now I adjust my temperature when dealing with 20 g of coffee for lattes or cappuccinos.The Tea chapter was an eye opener! Every barista who offers tea in his menu MUST read it. Great effort by the author.If you a home barista enthusiast this book is a must. It takes some time to digest the information, but it is all there. I honestly don't think that this book is intended for the successful pro.