Prologue: The Oriflama harvest --
Introduction: Puddle water or panacea? --
PART ONE: SEEDS OF CONQUEST: Coffee colonizes the world --
The coffee kingdoms --
The American drink --
The great coffee wars of the Gilded Age --
Hermann Sielcken and Brazilian valorization --
The drug drink --
PART TWO: CANNING THE BUZZ: Growing pains --
Making the world safe for coffee --
Selling an image in the jazz age --
Burning beans, starving campesinos --
Showboating the depression --
Cuppa Joe --
PART THREE: BITTER BREWS: Coffee witch hunts and instant nongratification --
Robusta triumphant --
PART FOUR: ROMANCING THE BEAN: A scattered band of fanatics --
The black frost --
The specialty revolution --
The Starbucks experience--
Final grounds --
Appendix: How to brew the perfect cup.