Espresso is a reasonably fashionable drink. An estimated 2.25 billion cups of it are consumed day by day world wide. Sure, whereas everyone drinks it we wish to assume that there’s a particular connection to biking. Espresso is in every single place in our sport. Whether or not it’s as a performance-enhancer, an agreeable technique of social cohesion, or as an historic think about professional racing sponsorship it’s current. However what do we actually learn about our morning joe? Look no additional than the newly-revised World Atlas of Espresso to study all there’s to know.
Earlier than turning the pages of this lovely guide by legendary British barista James Hoffmann, let’s look again at espresso and professional biking. With each a robust espresso tradition in addition to bike racing one, it’s no marvel that Italy involves thoughts as a rustic that might meld each. Because the pre-eminent producer of espresso machines, Italy has been seen on jerseys through the years.
Eddy Merckx raced for Faemino-Faema from 1968-1970, selling the home espresso machine made by Faema. That Milanese firm, based in 1945, had been lively as a sponsor earlier with the Faema group from 1955. It merged with Flandria in 1963, then leaving the peloton a 12 months later, earlier than returning for the Merckx years.
Within the Nineties, one other Italian espresso machine firm, Saeco of Bologna, turned a main sponsor of a biking group. This was the group of super-sprinter Mario Cippolini, whose antics enlivened the peloton for a number of years. Saeco ended its sponsorship in 2005. The group merged with Lampre and one more coffee-related firm to type Lampre-Caffita. Caffita is a Bolognese maker of a capsule espresso system just like Nespresso and Tassimo. Caffita solely stayed round for a 12 months as a group sponsor. That very same group ultimately morphed into at the moment’s all-conquering UAE Staff Emirates XRG.
Each video of a house go to to a professional bicycle owner all the time appears to point out off a really fancy espresso machine however the drink itself has featured in a exceptional manner in professional biking group historical past. The nationwide federation of Colombian espresso growers (assume “Juan Valdez”) sponsored the Cafe de Colombia professional group from 1983 to 1990. This was basically the nationwide group of Colombian racers, making its mark in European races. The group’s largest star, Luis “Lucho” Herrera, gained the King of the Mountains jersey in all three Grand Excursions. He additionally took the general win on the 1987 Vuelta de España.
Most lately, espresso made an look on the World Tour with Segafredo Zanetti. It was a co-sponsor of the Trek-Segafredo group from 2016-2023. One more firm from Bologna, it was based in 1971 and is a globally-recognized espresso model. Sponsorship ended when the group turned Lidl-Trek in 2024.
So whereas most of us don’t race with some sort of coffee-related sponsor, the cafe cease is a practice on many group rides. The story is that even within the UK, riders are foregoing the long-standing tea break for one thing extra caffeinated and, properly, Italian. There was an enormous change in espresso consuming during the last twenty years as speciality coffees have seen a surge in recognition. For some, schooling on this path got here with the emergence of Starbucks in North America however turning to The World Atlas of Espresso one realizes there’s a lot extra. Apparently, we’re in what’s termed the “third wave of espresso.”
Creator James Hoffmann was World Barista Champion in 2007, and was a two-time British Barista Champion as properly. He has a YouTube channel about espresso that has 2.39 million subscribers and has began varied associated companies. He launched his first World Atlas of Espresso in 2014. The guide was revised in 2018; the third version is popping out on November 4, 2025.
The Guardian, when reviewing the unique version, known as it “excessive geekery made palatable by the evident love pulsing by means of each sentence.” Eleven years on it’s extra of the identical however even higher. It’s an encyclopedic view of this drink and the subtitle will not be overpromising: “from beans to brewing–coffees explored, defined and loved.”
The guide is split into three elements. The primary covers espresso the product, with sections on the biology of the espresso tree, its varieties, how harvesting is completed and the beans processed. Mr. Hoffmann did a three-part video collection on decaffeination and we defy anybody not study something from his writing on this topic.
The part concludes with details about the buying and selling of espresso and “a brief historical past of espresso consuming.” In Nineteen Fifties Britain there was a (seemingly fleeting however shocking to us) craze for Italian-style espresso bars. As an apart, what’s the which means of “third wave espresso?” Evidently the primary wave was the widespread availability of espresso (assume Folger’s or Maxwell Home). Subsequent got here speciality espresso retailers, resembling Peet’s and, massively, Starbuck’s. The third wave is the expansion of single-source coffees for residence consumption and even roasting.
The second a part of the guide is admittedly about consuming espresso within the right here and now. From how greatest to purchase and retailer it, what to search for in style, find out how to grind it… an knowledgeable’s ideas adopted by a fast evaluate of seemingly each recognized (and obscure) system for brewing the stuff. Then we go into the world of espresso drinks and their selection.
As absorbing as the primary two elements of the guide are, the “atlas” a part of the title is delivered in “Half Three: Espresso Origins.” 145 pages cowl all of the nations on the earth that produce espresso, break up into sections on Africa, Asia/Oceania, and the Americas. Every nationwide part contains the historical past of espresso there, the particular rising areas and the traceability of the product from every of them. Mr. Hoffmann additionally supplies a style profile. That is all fascinating stuff.
For instance, we study that espresso got here to Burundi beneath its Belgian overlords within the Twenties and that after 1933 each peasant farmer was obligated to domesticate at the very least 50 espresso timber. After independence a state enterprise managed espresso manufacturing. That is shifting to personal enterprise because the nation started to embrace the speciality espresso sector in 2008. Whereas espresso is grown proper throughout the nation, there are 14 areas named particularly for manufacturing within the guide. Burundi produced 215,000 60 kg baggage of espresso in 2023 and Mr. Hoffmann writes of their style profile: “Nice coffees from Burundi can have advanced berry fruit flavours and a pronounced juicy high quality.” Alternatively, you may wish to keep away from espresso from the Philippines…
There’s a lot to say concerning the largest producers–Brazil and Vietnam–however there’s additionally pleasure to be present in leafing by means of this guide in studying about lesser-known suppliers. St. Helena, Taiwan and Puerto Rico all obtain the identical good-looking maps and high quality illustrations. The part on Colombia goes into element about FNC, that growers’ cooperative and advertising and marketing company that was behind the Cafe de Colombia racing group. Along with being so complete, The World Atlas of Espresso is a stupendous guide. Credit score for this goes to designer Lizzie Ballantyne and the artistic group behind it at Octopus Books.
James Hoffmann’s enthusiasm for espresso is contagious. This guide wears its appreciable scholarship evenly. It could attraction not solely to cyclists questioning about what to order through the cafe cease but additionally to foodies and bibliophiles.
“The World Atlas of Espresso” by James Hoffmann
288 pp., profusely illustrated, hardbound
Mitchell Beazley/Octopus Books, London, 2025
ISBN 978-1-784-72-986-8
Really helpful Value: 30 GBP/US$39.99/C$49.99
# Obtainable from AMAZON.COM HERE. #
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