The entire story revolves around a young blind man and his grandfather. From his disability, he developed a ‘nose.’ It’s like with perfume, and he is capable of identifying the different qualities of coffee through touch, taste, and smell.
Pascal Marmet takes us on a journey through time and space, as we discover coffee through the history of humanity, and how it came to us. The author then takes us with Julien through Latin America, ‘A journey with a cup.’ We visit Paris and its cafes, as numerous as the many facets of the City of Light. The novel of coffee, its history, the plantations, the usage of coffee, the roasting, the almost religious ritual of preparing a coffee.
How does this small seed become this divine beverage? You must read this novel; Pascal Marmet acts as our guide, and page after page, we discover the secrets of coffee and cafes, those symbolic institutions of Paris. Writers, artists, politicians, and many others were enthusiasts of this alluring ebony black juice. Balzac was an adherent, and each page of his work is somewhat the fruit of a coffee.
The espresso—there is a nuance—is served differently depending on the country, and once again, we are whisked away to wondrous and fascinating landscapes. The novel of coffee is an ode to this beverage, whose known origin dates back to the 11th century with the Arabs. Julien, with his white cane, becomes our guide, but let’s listen to him talk about coffee, the percolator, the roaster, the bean, and the cup filling up…
After the novel of perfume with its noses and ‘organs,’ Pascal Marmet invites us this time to the Café Procope, where waiters come and go serving coffee. We must listen, smell, and taste to appreciate this nectar that still dances in the cup that the waiter has just placed on our table. Perfume, Coffee, perhaps the next novel will be about wine! We can only encourage you to savor this thrilling and captivating novel with a little black coffee, pardon me, an espresso, where action is present on every page.
Thierry Jan
