From Booklist
Only a careful statistician could actually say which chain has more successfully come to conquer a market: Starbucks or McDonald’s. Each started from humble single-outlet origins to become dominant in its own industry. And each in its own way wrought revolutionary change in the way Americans consume food. Antol sets out not just to tell the story of Starbucks, but to talk about the role of coffee throughout its relatively brief history in the world. Confessions of a Coffee Bean covers vast ground as Antol moves from the bean’s origins to its spread throughout Europe. She addresses the physiological and cultural effects the bean has exerted over all segments of humanity. Recipes to supplement the text include both coffee-flavored items and assorted accompaniments to a cup of coffee. An index helps make all this information accessible for school reports on one of the world’s most desired commodities. Mark KnoblauchCopyright © American Library Association. All (more…)