Page 15 - Thirst Magazine Issue No. 3 Coffee & Tea
P. 15
A BUTLER’S GUIDE TO ENTERTAINING
BY NICHOLAS CLAYTON (2011)
Flex your hosting muscles and throw the best soirees
with detailed advice from professional English butler
Clayton. Here’s some serious Downton Abbey-level
etiquette, detailing everything to do with invitations,
seating plans, place settings, serving food and drinks…
enough to see you breeze your way through a casual
afternoon tea or a massive dinner feast. Prepare to wow.
HELLRAISERS: THE INEBRIATED LIFE AND
TIMES OF RICHARD BURTON, PETER O’TOOLE,
RICHARD HARRIS & OLIVER REED
BY ROBERT SELLERS (2008)
Four men walk into a pub. Their names are Richard Burton,
Richard Harris, Peter O’Toole, and Oliver Reed. They spend
their lives indulging in the excesses of stardom (drunken
binges, broken marriages, and orgies, oh my!), crossing
paths with one another, and getting up to all manner of
miscreant deeds. Let’s face it, some of the best stories come
about when we’re off our faces.
THE PDT COCKTAIL BOOK:
THE COMPLETE BARTENDER’S GUIDE
FROM THE CELEBRATED SPEAKEASY
BY JIM MEEHAN (2011)
A book by one of the world’s most famous bartenders
from one of the best bars in the world, Meehan lays out
everything there is to know about New York’s renowned
PDT. With over 300 recipes of all cocktails available at
the bar, and details on bar design, tools and equipment
– all lusciously illustrated by Chris Gall – this book is
a Holy Grail for any serious cocktail fan.
A FILM ABOUT COFFEE
DIRECTED BY BRANDON LOPER (2014)
Straight to the point from the start, this is
a documentary about coffee – or, rather, as the film’s
website aptly puts it, “a love letter to, and meditation
on, specialty coffee. It examines what it takes, and what
it means, for coffee to be defined as ‘specialty.’” At only
67 minutes long, the film acts like a travelogue, taking
viewers on a journey from farms in Honduras and
Rwanda, to coffee shops in far-removed metropolitan cities
like Tokyo, Portland, and New York. Emotive scenes of
farmers in Rwanda harvesting the cherries combine with
still moments in a Japanese coffee shop, presenting an
unfolding narrative without imposing one on them.
It’s a movie for the coffee enthusiast, as it does not explore
in much depth the technicalities of the industry. Director
Loper describes it best when he says “No matter the quality
of your cup, people who love coffee, love it. Coffee is about
people, and people are what I’m interested in ultimately.”
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