THE MANY FACES OF THE WORLD OF COFFEE

From when he founded elBulli Foundation in 2015, influential and innovative Spanish head chef Ferran Adrià aimed to publish an encyclopaedia of the Western world’s fine-dining sector based on the Sapiensmethodology, a methodology that enables us to organise knowledge about a specific subject, with a historical, socio-political and socio-cultural approach.

Interesting fact: Sapiens, a Latin word meaning "one who knows".

As he focused most of his time in research into the world of food, Adrià went onto creating what is now known as the Bullipedia series. This series, which is made up of several volumes, discusses Western gastronomy and involves experts from different disciplines seeking innovation. While the first three volumes of the series discuss wines, drinks and cocktails, this encyclopaedia has also dedicated an entire volume to the origins of coffee and the culture surrounding it. 

Also known as Coffee Sapiens, this volume attests to Adrià’s 20-year-long journey alongside Lavazza, which inspired him to also analyse coffee through the lenses of the Sapiens method. Thanks to stories written by researchers, explorers and scientists, the Coffee Sapiens volume in the Bullipedia series shares the intriguing the complexities of coffee in all its forms and expressions.

Written in collaboration with Pollenzo University, Coffee Sapiens strives to understand coffee far beyond the rim of a cup. The volume discusses in depth the origin and history of coffee and its many faces: how it was born, what it became, what it represents for Western culture and why it should be respected.

This volume covers four main thematic routes: coffee as an unelaborated product (the plant); coffee as a product elaborated by man (from beans to ground), coffee as a gastronomic elaboration (from a raw product to a beverage); and coffee as a gastronomic experience (with a focus on the activity of a coffee bar). However, to discuss each thematic route in explicit detail, the Coffee Sapiens volume has been further subdivided into 14 individual chapters. 

So, whether you’re an enthusiast, a novice or an expert in the world of coffee, this study was created to deepen your understanding on the topic of coffee and broaden your perspective on what it represents in the world today.