Coffeeland: A History
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- Author：Augustine Sedgewick
- ISBN：0141991909
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Summary
'Thoroughly engrossing' Michael Pollan， The Atlantic
'Wonderful， energising' Kathryn Hughes， The Guardian
Coffee is one of the most valuable commodities in the history of the global economy and the world's most popular drug。 The very word 'coffee' is one of the most widespread on the planet。 Augustine Sedgewick's brilliant new history tells the hidden and surprising story of how this came to be， tracing coffee's 400-year transformation into an everyday necessity。
The story is one that few coffee drinkers know。 Coffeeland centres on the volcanic highlands of El Salvador， where James Hill， born in the slums of nineteenth-century Manchester， founded one of the world's great coffee dynasties。 Adapting the innovations of the industrial revolution to plantation agriculture， Hill helped to turn El Salvador into perhaps the most intensive monoculture in modern history， a place of extraordinary productivity， inequality and violence。
The book follows coffee from the Hill family plantations into the United States， through the San Francisco roasting plants into supermarkets， kitchens and work places， and finally into today's omnipresent cafés。 Sedgewick reveals the unexpected consequences of the rise of coffee， which reshaped large areas of the tropics， transformed understandings of energy， and ultimately made us dependent on a drug served in a cup。
'Gripping' The Spectator
'An eye-opening， stimulating brew' The Economist
'Wonderful， energising' Kathryn Hughes， The Guardian
Coffee is one of the most valuable commodities in the history of the global economy and the world's most popular drug。 The very word 'coffee' is one of the most widespread on the planet。 Augustine Sedgewick's brilliant new history tells the hidden and surprising story of how this came to be， tracing coffee's 400-year transformation into an everyday necessity。
The story is one that few coffee drinkers know。 Coffeeland centres on the volcanic highlands of El Salvador， where James Hill， born in the slums of nineteenth-century Manchester， founded one of the world's great coffee dynasties。 Adapting the innovations of the industrial revolution to plantation agriculture， Hill helped to turn El Salvador into perhaps the most intensive monoculture in modern history， a place of extraordinary productivity， inequality and violence。
The book follows coffee from the Hill family plantations into the United States， through the San Francisco roasting plants into supermarkets， kitchens and work places， and finally into today's omnipresent cafés。 Sedgewick reveals the unexpected consequences of the rise of coffee， which reshaped large areas of the tropics， transformed understandings of energy， and ultimately made us dependent on a drug served in a cup。
'Gripping' The Spectator
'An eye-opening， stimulating brew' The Economist
Reviews
Joe Calder
，
A masterpiece that masquerades as a history of coffee in El Salvador， but in reality， tells a history of so much more。 From the history of American imperialism to intellectual history on communism to the history of supermarket chains in the United States， Coffeeland delivers an multi-disciplinary study of food and hunger that is equal parts stunning and ambitious。
Ricky Marshall
，
Much less about the history of coffee as a whole than I expected but still an enjoyable read。 The book is much more research heavy than I expected and focuses primarily on the coffee history of El Salvador， but it was also kind of all over the place at times。 At times I wanted to put it down but for the most part I enjoyed it and am glad I picked it up。
Joe
，
This was a hugely interesting history of coffee and its relationship with El Salvador。 Very dense and full of facts， Coffeeland was a really enjoyable read for me as someone who loves a flat white and a bit of history。
Melissa Snow Prince
，
This is a topic I love so I was excited for this book。 It's。。。a lot and maybe not in a good way。 I often feel like most non-fiction books could be cut in half。 This book has SO much information but lacks a clear direction making it harder to follow。 It is too many things。。。Definitely some interesting information how the history of coffee and the plantations and political conditions that lead to the rise of coffee but just not focused enough IMHO。 This is a topic I love so I was excited for this book。 It's。。。a lot and maybe not in a good way。 I often feel like most non-fiction books could be cut in half。 This book has SO much information but lacks a clear direction making it harder to follow。 It is too many things。。。Definitely some interesting information how the history of coffee and the plantations and political conditions that lead to the rise of coffee but just not focused enough IMHO。 。。。more
Jacqueline Alvarez
，
This is a must read for all Latin American history or Political Science majors。 I feel so ignorant for not knowing this about EL Salvador and how that story is repeated in other countries especially Guatemala。 This country is one of the most violent in all Latin American and the root cause and continuation of that cause can be laid at the feet of the United States。 At every turn， our county kept throwing gas at the flames and continue to wonder why it is a constant inferno。 The is a saying if hi This is a must read for all Latin American history or Political Science majors。 I feel so ignorant for not knowing this about EL Salvador and how that story is repeated in other countries especially Guatemala。 This country is one of the most violent in all Latin American and the root cause and continuation of that cause can be laid at the feet of the United States。 At every turn， our county kept throwing gas at the flames and continue to wonder why it is a constant inferno。 The is a saying if history does not anger you or frustrate you then you are not reading it right。 This will make you want to pull your hair out。 I who love coffee and Latin America， who was born and raised in the US。。it makes you sick to your very core。 This is why we need a Marshall Plan for Latin America like we did for Europe after WWII。 。。。more
Derick Cursino
，
A tour de force on coffee， its origins， its relation with Latin America and how it affects the human body。 Really enjoyed it。
Mike Fowler
，
A detailed， if at time narratively erratic， history of coffee。 While largely focused on one family of planters in El Salvador， the backdrop of the industrial revolution， emancipation and globalisation is played out with all it's stark realities。 While I knew beforehand that conditions in Latin America have never been great， I hadn't truly appreciated the depths of the poverty present nor that this is largely a consequence of the concentrated greed of a handful of capitalists with the support of A detailed， if at time narratively erratic， history of coffee。 While largely focused on one family of planters in El Salvador， the backdrop of the industrial revolution， emancipation and globalisation is played out with all it's stark realities。 While I knew beforehand that conditions in Latin America have never been great， I hadn't truly appreciated the depths of the poverty present nor that this is largely a consequence of the concentrated greed of a handful of capitalists with the support of mass consumerism。 。。。more
Mike Gonzalez
，
23
Stephanie
，
This book has lots of information as a mix of economics and history。 Well written but not a book I stuck with。
AJHeinz
，
Could。Not。Finish。Liked the premise and first 20 pages or so - that’s when the author goes off the reservation （pun intended） to deeply delve into god=knows=what， including an explanation of why darker blood is found in cold climes and lighter colored blood in warmer climes。 Confused？ So was I。 If you pick this one up just skim it to find passages that relate to the title。 Good luck。
pugs
，
the title really undersells this book， as do some of the low score reviews。 it's "all over the place" in an adam curtis documentary sense， putting historic shards and anecdotal pieces on display and connecting an ambitious narrative along the way。 i was not expecting so much focus and exposure on imperial countries （vs companies）， and sedgewick does not hold back on exploitative and sometimes literal gory details， especially in relation to u。s。 backed genocidal forces in coffee growing nations。 the title really undersells this book， as do some of the low score reviews。 it's "all over the place" in an adam curtis documentary sense， putting historic shards and anecdotal pieces on display and connecting an ambitious narrative along the way。 i was not expecting so much focus and exposure on imperial countries （vs companies）， and sedgewick does not hold back on exploitative and sometimes literal gory details， especially in relation to u。s。 backed genocidal forces in coffee growing nations。 engels's （lenin mentioned， too）， writings on abysmal labor and living conditions in industrial manchester/u。k。 transition into similar treatment in central american and south american coffee plantations， and onward to colonized countries even further。 so far， that many terms we use for coffee today were intentionally branded in ways to hide colonization and enslavement of coffee growing areas， such as java and mocha （the combined phrasing jamoke/joe， i'd argue， too）。 the book focuses heavily on the workers of coffee plantations， how planters used hunger against them physically and monetarily， even philosophizing what exactly - is - the point of work？ to which economists skewed to their favor， trying to create scientific equations to life = work， the normal capitalist bullshit， but also trying to use figures like calories and energy from coffee in new ways to exploit。 which brings into question， at what point is the natural human body worked over， and is the use of coffee on employees （where we got coffee breaks from） just a way to extract more labor for lesser cost？ grocery store sales， absurd bean quality inspection， storing product to raise prices， burning literal tons of coffee beans at sea to manipulate prices， international banking， communist uprisings， capitalist imperialist military intervention， and a handful of names and companies continuing their grip on production along the way， all often anchored around el salvador， there's something for everyone in 'coffeeland，' and i especially recommend it to those interested in leftist/international politics/economics; it exceeded my expectations and i'll never think of coffee the same way again。 from the beginning of its commercialization， through the great depression and "fair trade，" we have never paid enough per cup， and the ethics of coffee drinking are just as important today。 。。。more
Chris Turner
，
I read some reviews on here that complain about the number of tangents that this book covers。 For me， this was definitely a good thing， as this book's broad scope was one of the great appeals to me。 Showing the economic impact of coffee empire and all the impacts that this had， including the various political ramifications。 My only slight complaint was that at the end the author started to attribute a lot to more coffee than felt warranted。 Coffee may have been a factor in some cases， but I don' I read some reviews on here that complain about the number of tangents that this book covers。 For me， this was definitely a good thing， as this book's broad scope was one of the great appeals to me。 Showing the economic impact of coffee empire and all the impacts that this had， including the various political ramifications。 My only slight complaint was that at the end the author started to attribute a lot to more coffee than felt warranted。 Coffee may have been a factor in some cases， but I don't think it could have been argued as a cause。 However， that minor complaint aside， I think this was an exceptional debut novel covering a fascinating subject。 。。。more
Eric
，
James Hill’s story itself is probably interesting， but I had to give up at the chapter describing the minutiae of digging holes。 And that was after I skipped the entire “God on the Make” chapter， which I guess had to do with thermodynamics。 I agree with others’ assessments that focus is too large and there are too many tangential discussions。 If you have the patience， there is some good information about the coffee process - I enjoyed the part describing how judging coffee quality changed from a James Hill’s story itself is probably interesting， but I had to give up at the chapter describing the minutiae of digging holes。 And that was after I skipped the entire “God on the Make” chapter， which I guess had to do with thermodynamics。 I agree with others’ assessments that focus is too large and there are too many tangential discussions。 If you have the patience， there is some good information about the coffee process - I enjoyed the part describing how judging coffee quality changed from a visual to a tasting process。 There were also some other points actually involving coffee that I found interesting。 Overall though， this book has the charm and readability of a college text book。 。。。more
Sailor
，
Je vais utiliser un commentaire insta comme critique:ce livre c'est l'équivalent de faire un travail de recherche et de se faire distraire par un chapître sur Napoléon， et de commencer à écouter un documentaire sur Napoléon， et après tu te dis "okay focus"， tu recommences ta recherche， mais tu te demandes ce qui est arrivé aux enfants de Louis XVI， donc tu vas lire ça sur Wikipédia， et tu cliques sur un nom que tu trouves drôle， et soudainement tu es une experte sur la monarchie française à la f Je vais utiliser un commentaire insta comme critique:ce livre c'est l'équivalent de faire un travail de recherche et de se faire distraire par un chapître sur Napoléon， et de commencer à écouter un documentaire sur Napoléon， et après tu te dis "okay focus"， tu recommences ta recherche， mais tu te demandes ce qui est arrivé aux enfants de Louis XVI， donc tu vas lire ça sur Wikipédia， et tu cliques sur un nom que tu trouves drôle， et soudainement tu es une experte sur la monarchie française à la fin du XVIIIe siècle， et tu as oublié de finir ta recherche。 。。。more
Jonathan Van der horst
，
Een hallucinante en haast geestverruimende leeservaring over de connectie tussen voedsel， werk en het ontstaan van de moderne geglobaliseerde wereld。 Misschien wel het beste non-fictieboek dat ik ooit las。 Het zal moeilijk worden om nog gedachteloos een kopje koffie te drinken。 Of überhaupt om nog gedachteloos een moderne mens te zijn。 'We have no shared idea of what it means to be connected to faraway people and places through things。 We have no common language for talking about the world in te Een hallucinante en haast geestverruimende leeservaring over de connectie tussen voedsel， werk en het ontstaan van de moderne geglobaliseerde wereld。 Misschien wel het beste non-fictieboek dat ik ooit las。 Het zal moeilijk worden om nog gedachteloos een kopje koffie te drinken。 Of überhaupt om nog gedachteloos een moderne mens te zijn。 'We have no shared idea of what it means to be connected to faraway people and places through things。 We have no common language for talking about the world in terms of the lives ours depend on。' 。。。more
Marcelo Taboada
，
A fantastic story and a window into my home country’s economy and its relationship to coffee and industrialization。
andrew
，
To its credit there is much information in this work about the history of coffee as a popular beverage throughout the world as well as details concerning its production from the planting of the trees to the roasting of the beans and ultimately its packaging and marketing。 In this vein， there are interesting related stories about such iconic companies as Hills Brothers， Folgers， A&P， and Coca-Cola。 But the major emphasis is on the effect of the coffee plantations in Central America （especially El To its credit there is much information in this work about the history of coffee as a popular beverage throughout the world as well as details concerning its production from the planting of the trees to the roasting of the beans and ultimately its packaging and marketing。 In this vein， there are interesting related stories about such iconic companies as Hills Brothers， Folgers， A&P， and Coca-Cola。 But the major emphasis is on the effect of the coffee plantations in Central America （especially El Salvador） on the socioeconomic and political climate of that area。 The exploitation of the native workers by plantation owners with the support of U。S。 policies led to Marxist and anti-American sentiments and ultimately revolt in the 1930's and again in the 1970's。 Sedgewick makes his point that there has been a significant social cost to our love of coffee。 What makes the book a bit of a slog is his tendency to drag out and repeat many of his economic points。 。。。more
Steven Yenzer
，
Sedgewick wanders far from his central topic in Coffeeland， but I didn't mind the digressions。 The story of how England and later the United States exploited El Salvador is worth learning as a cautionary tale in the dangers of capitalism。 Sedgewick wanders far from his central topic in Coffeeland， but I didn't mind the digressions。 The story of how England and later the United States exploited El Salvador is worth learning as a cautionary tale in the dangers of capitalism。 。。。more
Marcy Graybill
，
What could have been a fascinating book is rambling and dry。 Not worth the effort to even finish the book。
Jane
，
A fascinating history of coffee in Central America， a real eye-opener of a book。 I wish I had a better grounding （no pun intended） in economic theory - this was way over my hairdo in a lot of places。 But even a bear of very little brain can learn a great deal from Augustine Sedgwick， who writes and explains complex political and sociological theories beautifully。
Brittany
，
Don’t read the audiobook—you’ll constantly lose interest。 The book is all over the place which is unfortunate as the topic is interesting。 Author tried to do too much in one book。
Mel
，
This book covers a lot （history， biographical， economics） and was an interesting read for the most part。 Well-researched with numerous references， it describes the making of James Hill’s El Salvador coffee business， along with a lot of historical detail about El Salvador’s government and revolutions and world economic history。 I would have enjoyed more details about coffee itself and biographical details about El Salvadorans Hill worked with and employed。
Sonya
，
I liked what a lot of other reviewers didn’t about this book。 It was about more than how coffee came to be relied upon for what is today in America。 It was about politics and history， too， albeit limited to where American coffee was mainly cultivated back in the day in El Salvador。 Where authors found the back and forth between coffee production in El Salvador and the happenings in USA confusing or distracting， I found it made the book more interesting。 I also enjoyed the snippets into the lives I liked what a lot of other reviewers didn’t about this book。 It was about more than how coffee came to be relied upon for what is today in America。 It was about politics and history， too， albeit limited to where American coffee was mainly cultivated back in the day in El Salvador。 Where authors found the back and forth between coffee production in El Salvador and the happenings in USA confusing or distracting， I found it made the book more interesting。 I also enjoyed the snippets into the lives of some of the 14 Families （mainly one， Hill） in ElSalvador。 It’s not a page turner， but it sure is educational and worth the read if you’re at all interested in learning about the history of coffee。 。。。more
Lynn
，
I wish I could have liked this book more。 It’s packed full of information that I want to know about and learn further about。 Jamie Hill， American Coffee producer， and El Salvador， an country so biologically ravaged， that it’s practically unlivable， is an important story to tell。 American coffee growers moved in at the beginning of American Imperialism and took over the country。 The nearby volcanoes created rich soil that normally wouldn’t be there since its rain forest。 They destroyed the rich v I wish I could have liked this book more。 It’s packed full of information that I want to know about and learn further about。 Jamie Hill， American Coffee producer， and El Salvador， an country so biologically ravaged， that it’s practically unlivable， is an important story to tell。 American coffee growers moved in at the beginning of American Imperialism and took over the country。 The nearby volcanoes created rich soil that normally wouldn’t be there since its rain forest。 They destroyed the rich vegetation and out in coffee trees which poisoned the soil and killed the animals。 It’s also prevented the people from food to eat。 They were used like slaves and lacked the ability to have their own government， their only ability to get food was from the plantation owners。 Jamie Hill comes in during the Depression and later。 In a desperate confrontation， the people kidnap Hill。 A 12 year long war ensues where people either flee or or are killed in large numbers。 Their is no ability to survive in such a destroyed ecosystem except working for coffee plantations。 The information is good and important but the writing is stiff and difficult to read。 They sentences don’t flow well。 I want to know more but will look four a better resource。 。。。more
Odile
，
What is a cup of coffee？ This book really makes you reconsider the global impact of having a cup of coffere and its history。 It connects you to the workers and the countries come from。 It will never be the same for me to have a cup of coffee。 Through the history of a planter family in El Salvador。 the book takes you through the world of coffee cultivation， harvesting and processing， the global trade of coffee， the evolution of coffee consumption in the US， the impact of monoculture of on plantat What is a cup of coffee？ This book really makes you reconsider the global impact of having a cup of coffere and its history。 It connects you to the workers and the countries come from。 It will never be the same for me to have a cup of coffee。 Through the history of a planter family in El Salvador。 the book takes you through the world of coffee cultivation， harvesting and processing， the global trade of coffee， the evolution of coffee consumption in the US， the impact of monoculture of on plantation workers and geo politics。 Although lengthy at times， it is a worthwhile read to as example of monoculture and dependence on global trade。 。。。more
Karen
，
Brilliant A complex mosaic， authentic， informative， fair。 This story is central to our understanding of the modern world。 Read and learn。
Ryan Arthur
，
Wife purchased this book for me for our annual holiday tradition of reading books and eating chocolate the day before Christmas。 Such an in-depth story which only provokes my desire to find out what couldn't have been included in its pages。 Luckily， Sedgwick left an extensive list of citations - so I can further my understanding。 Wife purchased this book for me for our annual holiday tradition of reading books and eating chocolate the day before Christmas。 Such an in-depth story which only provokes my desire to find out what couldn't have been included in its pages。 Luckily， Sedgwick left an extensive list of citations - so I can further my understanding。 。。。more
Talal
，
Although the book is all over the place I've learned a lot about the birth of my favorite legal narcotic。 It's a story of capitalism， globalization， and imperialism。 The sacrifice of human lives at the cost of maximum efficiency Although the book is all over the place I've learned a lot about the birth of my favorite legal narcotic。 It's a story of capitalism， globalization， and imperialism。 The sacrifice of human lives at the cost of maximum efficiency 。。。more
Brad Angle
，
Some interesting history about coffee and El Salvador and economics and politics， but the writing was disjointed and jumped around so much it was difficult to read。
Raul Zaldaña
，
I actually enjoyed the fact that it took place over many countries and time periods。 It really gives you a sense of the global scale and intergenerational significance of the coffee industry and how all these disparate events coalesced into a brutal reality in El Salvador。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Coffeeland: A History
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Coffeeland: A History&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Coffeeland: A History&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0