The Devil’s Cup: Coffee, the Driving Force in History

Can you handle mornings without a brew? No? Multiply that. Imagine an entire population under a cloud of lethargy, unable to kick start their days. Now introduce coffee. Bingo. The brain moves into over-drive and it’s time for empire building. So goes Stewart Lee Allen’s crazy theory. Only thing is, after retracing coffee’s journey to world domination – by train, rickshaw, cargo freighter and donkey – he has plenty of evidence to back it up. Stewart Lee Allen has filtered out the richest beans from coffee’s hot and frothy history …serving up a steamy, high-energy brew that will stimulate you more than a triple-strength espresso.

Reviews of The Devil’s Cup: Coffee, the Driving Force in History

* this is lively, interesting stuff, laced with dry wit and canny observations. Scotland on Sunday * Stewart Lee Allen certainly delivers … he cuts a caffeine-fuelled arc that runs from coffee's Ethiopian origins, through its Arabian distillation, across its European domestication, before terminating in a cross-country search for the worst cup of American coffee … a funny book that takes some funny routes. The Independent * Two parts travelogue and history to one part caffeine-fuelled theory … From the genteel cafes of Vienna to wired, late night email conversations on the internet, the book celebrates coffee's ability to sharpen the mind and give society a jolt. Not just mocha do about nothing. The Face * I loved this informal bio of the humble cup of joe… Allen's funky history provides the answer and sets the standard. Sunday Herald