The Professional Barista's Handbook by Scott Rao

The author of this book, Scott Rao, has compiled his experience in the coffee business for over 15 years. Here is a quote from Scott:

When I started my coffee business in 1993, I read every book I could find about coffee. But after reading all those books, I felt like I hadn't really learned much about how to make good coffee. My coffee library was full of colorful descriptions of brewing styles, growing regions, recipes, and so on, mixed with almost unreadable academic books. I wanted to replace those books with a serious, practical book about how to make good coffee in a cafe. After 15 years in the coffee business, I thought someone needed to write such a book, and so I wrote "The Professional Barista's Handbook."

This is a book that I would recommend not only to those who are thinking about opening a cafe, but also to those who will be working as cafe staff and those in the food and beverage industry.