The Coffee Handbook

University project - 2018

The Coffee Handbook is everything about coffee. I chose this topic as I am a barista with a passion for coffee. It shows an insight into the life of a barista, how coffees are made and everything about the life of coffee from its journey as a bean to when it gets to us in a cup.

The publication contains illustrations, photography and text to give the reader aesthetic way to learn about coffee. Printed onto stock to mirror the material of coffee filters. Information was gathered from personal experiences, interviews I carried out and online resources.

I have been a barista for 8 years and have an extensive knowledge on coffee. I developed an interest as I love how I could incorporate design within drinks and have the ability to be creative in a job which isn’t always seen as such. I love the culture of going to a cafe and also working in one, in particular the feeling of making a coffee to a high standard and seeing the customer’s face when they receive it. So using my own experiences to influence it, this book celebrates the art and taste of coffee. 

A lot of The Coffee Handbook was generated by experiences. I photographed the coffeeshop I work in and interviewed other baristas and also customers. So whilst this publication is informative it is also quite personal to me and the cafe I work in. The illustrations help explain what makes up each coffee - how much foam is in a cappuccino vs a latte, the difference between a filter coffee and americano and so on. As a result of this, I see this publication as a great reference for trainee baristas and customers alike.

The information was gathered from my experience and knowledge from being a barista but also books and online sources. Which allowed me to learn even more about my topic of coffee.

The photography was taken in St Peters Garden Centre Coffee Shop, Worcester where I work. I really enjoyed creating the book, it was the first thing I published and printed on a large scale, so it taught me a lot.