Recommended Reading
2007/10/29Planning a trip to Wisconsin and need to know where to find the best coffee? Live in Wisconsin and want to find a new place for your daily cup of Joe? Interested in the spirit of the Midwestern coffee house? If any of these apply to you, pick up a copy of Brewed Awakenings: An Illustrated Journey to Coffeehouses in Wisconsin (and Beyond) by Jeff Hazen.
This small but charming illustrated volume recounts a bit of the myth and history of coffee's journey to the Midwest and explores the Midwestern coffee house phenomenon through the story of 39 of the finest coffee establishments in and around the state of Wisconsin.
With so many local interest books that seem like nothing but a collection of advertisements assembled and pasted together by some editor who will never see the places covered, Brewed Awakenings stands out with its unpretentious humor and the clear authorial vision Hagen provides. The text is concise and the illustrations are delightful. The choice of coffee houses isn't bad either, even if it does include one shop that doesn't know the difference between a caffé americano and a shot in the dark.
I recommend this book for anybody with an interest in the Midwestern coffee house or anyone who wants to see what a local interest publication done right looks like and I'm not just saying that because I'm mentioned by name in the book or because I got a free copy.