Cropster Releases 2nd Edition of its ‘Specialty Coffee’ Book

The cover of the second edition of Cropster’s “Specialty Coffee — Managing Quality”

Coffee solutions provider Cropster has released the second edition of its book, “Specialty Coffee — Managing Quality.”

The company — which provides a host of software and digital solutions for coffee roasters, traders, producers and others throughout the supply chain — says the book has been deeply revised to reflect a broad range of advancements in coffee research, information and technology since its original publication in 2012.

Edited by coffee scholar and scientist Thomas Oberthür along with Peter Läderach, H.A. Jürgen Pohlan, James H. Cock and Pih Lee Tan, the book is broken into three main sections: background and concepts; crop management; and value chain management. More than three dozen leading figures from throughout the academic, private and nonprofit sectors contributed as authors.

“The book will appeal to anyone with an interest in understanding the vast range of factors that affect coffee quality, from breeding and plant genetics through to production, processing and grower buyer relations, and business models, right through to preparation of the cup,” Cropster said in an announcement of the release today.

In the book’s introduction, Oberthür and Cock outline the broad scope of the revisions from the first edition as the coffee industry has progressed exponentially since 2012 in terms of quality control and management from seed to cup. The introduction also prominently mentions the increasingly important role of climate change in guiding current and future quality decisions.

“We hope this new edition will continue to stimulate the creativity of those involved in the specialty coffee industry, by providing practical approaches that support and vitalize the capacity to innovate in a productive and sustainable manner,” the book’s intro states. “Innovation to unlock the complex treasures of exotic fragrance, aroma and taste is facilitated by transparent collaboration between all those involved in producing a great cup of coffee. This can be achieved by more direct interaction and dialogue between farmers, buyers, processors and consumers as they explore opportunities to improve the quality of this fascinating drink.”

Self-published by Cropster, the hardcover book “Specialty Coffee — Managing Quality — is currently available for $90 plus tax and shipping.