Coffee - philosophy for everyone: grounds for debate (series: philosophy for everyone)

With more than 400 billion cups consumed worldwide every year, there is much to discuss philosophically about one of the world"s most popular drinks. Essays by journalists, philosophers, coffee insiders, and coffee aficionados offer a penetrating analysis of coffee and its surrounding culture. Featured writers include Mark Pendergrast, coffee expert Kenneth Davids, and the Coffee Bean Guys James Kirkland and Dan Levy. Plus an interview with Matt Lounsbury of Stumptown Coffee.

Enjoy the philosophical aroma as the book offers fascinating discussions on topics such as:

• The ethics involved in coffee growth
• Caffeine as performance-enhancing drug
• The centrality of the coffeehouse to the public sphere
• Just how good can a cup of coffee be?

Coffee - Philosophy for Everyone kick-starts the day with an entertaining but critical discussion of the ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and culture of the world of coffee.

Foreword (Donald Schoenholt).

Editors" Introduction (Scott F. Parker and Michael W. Austin).

PART 1 THE FIRST CUP: COFFEE AND METAPHYSICS.

1 Coffee: Black Puddle Water or Panacea? (Mark Pendergrast).

2 The Necessary Ground of Being (Michael W. Austin).

3 The Unexamined Cup Is Not Worth Drinking (Kristopher G. Phillips).

4 Sam. sara in a Coffee Cup: Self, Suffering, and the Karma of Waking Up (Steven Geisz).

5 The Existential Ground of True Community: Coffee and Otherness (Jill Hernandez).

PART 2 GROUNDS FOR DEBATE: COFFEE CULTURE.

6 Sage Advice from Ben's Mom, or: The Value of the Coffeehouse (Scott F. Parker).

7 The Coffeehouse as a Public Sphere: Brewing Social Change (Asaf Bar-Tura).

8 Café Noir: Anxiety, Existence, and the Coffeehouse (Brook J. Sadler).

9 The Philosopher"s Brew (Bassam Romaya).

PART 3 THE WONDERFUL AROMA OF BEAN: COFFEE AESTHETICS.

10 Three Cups: The Anatomy of a Wasted Afternoon (Will Buckingham).

11 Is Starbucks Really Better than Red Brand X? (Kenneth Davids).

12 The Flavor of Choice: Neoliberalism and the Espresso Aesthetic (Andrew Wear).

13 Starbucks and the Third Wave (John Hartmann).

14 How Good the Coffee Can Be: An Interview with Stumptown's Matt Lounsbury (Scott F. Parker).

PART 4 TO ROAST OR NOT TO ROAST: THE ETHICS OF COFFEE.

15 More than 27 Cents a Day: The Direct Trade (R)evolution (Gina Bramucci and Shannon Mulholland).

16 Higher, Faster, Stronger, Buzzed: Caffeine as a Performance-Enhancing Drug (Kenneth W. Kirkwood).

17 Green Coffee, Green Consumers - Green Philosophy? (Stephanie W. Aleman).

18 Coffee and the Good Life: The Bean and the Golden Mean (Lori Keleher).

How to Make it in Hollywood by Writing an Afterword! (The Coffee Bean Guys).

Notes on Contributors.