A robust brew

Author shows how the history of coffee is intertwined with histories of colonisation, indentured labour, war, migration, and destruction of tropical forests to meet the demand for cash crops

Cherry Red, Cherry Black

Author: Kavery Nambisan

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 288   

Price: Rs 699

When you drink a cup of coffee do you think about the processes of planting, growing, plucking, drying, and packaging that have gone into it? For most, coffee is simply a beverage that kick-starts your day or helps you stay awake when you work at night.

If you are a coffee lover and a bibliophile, Kavery Nambi­san’s new book Cherry Red, Cherry Black: The Story of Coffee in India deserves a place on your bookshelf. It is an engaging work of non-fiction about the geography, economics and history of coffee. The