Co-author Travis Arndorfer’s coffee dream is set a little closer to home.
“While it may sound a bit simple-minded, I have my dream experience nearly every time I brew in my own kitchen. I brew using manual methods and the simple rituals not only insure the best brew, but also allow me to reflect on the work and love that's already gone into it. It's a time to soak in the wet and dry fragrances and in itself is a happy, peaceful time for me.”
It is perhaps the contrasts between the two authors that help ensure that their 300-page guide to the growing, roasting, grinding, brewing and enjoying coffee (and tea!) is so complete. Their passion for their subject also shines through.
“This book really grew out of a passion for the exciting flavors that can be coaxed into the cup from well-prepared coffee and tea,” says Arndorfer, who previously worked at Alterra. “We had kicked the idea around for a few years, but hadn't been able to get the idea in front of the publisher. About a year and a half ago, we found an agent that was more than happy to take on the project and present it to the publisher.”
“We approached Penguin, the publisher, with a proposal and outline by way of our agent,” adds Hansen. “Much to our delight we were asked to write ‘The Complete Idiot's Guide to Coffee and Tea.’”
Arndorfer’s coffee background and Hansen’s writing skills also proved complementary when writing the book, which, they say, took several months to complete.
“While I was the first author on some of the more technical subjects,” notes Arndorfer, “we both contributed to the project with expertise and writing; we each were the primary author of half of the chapters.”
The pair has collaborated before on the subject, having contributed articles to “Fresh Cup,” a coffee industry magazine published in Portland, Ore.
Despite the book’s title, one doesn’t have to be a coffee neophyte to get something from its pages. Hansen and Arndorfer walk the curious though the many types of coffee and tea, the many different methods of brewing and much more, answering most any question you could think of on the subject.
“This book is geared for someone who already knows he or she enjoys drinking coffee, espresso or tea,” says Hansen. “But maybe he or she wants to dig a bit further, and learn how to make cafe-quality drinks at home.”
“(It) is for the curious,” adds Arndorfer. “Anyone that wants to understand what make specialty coffee and tea different or how to bring the most flavor to the cup. Coffee and tea both have a very long production chain -- from seed to cup -- that require care and attention by growers, processors, importers, roasters as well as the end consumer. We try to give the reader a window into what goes into making great coffee and tea before it reaches them as well as what needs to be done to preserve and release those delicate nuance into the cup.”
While Arndorfer’s java dream is a daily reality, Hansen has reason to believe her jaunt among the coffee plants may happen soon.
“I have been invited to Ethiopia as part of a group this November, and am unsure at this point if I will go due to the expense involved, but if not, then somewhere down the road I hope to visit a coffee farm.”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
