Good book if you want to learn more about the coffee trade and its history. If you're looking for non-US stuff, it doesn't offer much.
Positive Product Points
Good overview of the history of Coffee Commerce. Good history read, and overall, good opinions by the author.
Negative Product Points
Had hoped for more history on the bean instead of mainly history on the bean commerce. Very US-centric.
Detailed Commentary
Uncommon Grounds, by Mark Pendergast is a detailed account of the world of coffee commerce, especially in the United States. Filled with details on famous yet long gone coffee barons and princes, the book is probably not of very much interest to the general public, but any serious coffee hound or coffee professional can get a lot out of this book.
My biggest gripe with the book is it focuses too much on the commerce of coffee in the US. I guess this stems from the author's previous work, an expose on the world of Coca Cola. I wanted more details on the history of coffee from a social aspect, and the history of brewing methods, and I didn't get this. I also would have liked more in depth and European based commerce info, and didn't really get that either.
With that said, I can't think of a better resource for learning about coffee commerce, which, after oil, is the world's most heavily traded commodity. Pendergast's author style is a bit scholastic, but not overly so, making it a pleasant book to read through. It took me about two weeks to read this book, and I came away with a much greater knowledge of the bean and how it has affected countless lives and many countries and their economies.
