COFFEE AND CULTURE: LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY

My mum recommended me this book, saying she thought it was the best one her bookclub read all year. She needed to insert that caveat as to not offend me and the book I gave her for her birthday. Which I notice is creeping ever down in her book pile, its ears’ mockingly un-dogged.

Lessons in Chemistry suffered no such fate on my bedside table.

After the first few pages I made the mistake of assuming this was going to be a semi-insubstantial read, judging by how quickly I was turning the pages, but after turning a couple more, I was promptly smacked in the face by Garmus’ matter-of-fact delivery of injustices faced by women in the 1960’s. And it’s this often light, unadorned prose with peculiar characters, that highlights the ridiculousness of the social norms of the time, and makes for a highly engaging and thought provoking read.

The story is of Elizabeth Zott, a matter-of-fact woman herself, pragmatic, intelligent bordering on genius, passionate, with an innate sense of right and wrong that operates independently of popular belief. I would say that she isn’t afraid to speak her mind, but that would assume she had any idea that there were options other than speaking her mind.

We follow Zott in the early stages of her career, from the research lab rat on the brink of groundbreaking chemical discovery (not that her boss would have any idea what it’s about), to her rise to stardom from her TV cooking show (sorry, her food chemistry lessons). We see how she and other characters, some endearing, some abhorrent, one canine, live in a world full of injustice, prejudice, misconception and ignorance.

Garmus’ writing enchants in a similar way to The Rosie Project, and in a similar way to what one would imagine a scientist would write a novel – commonsensical, level-headed, evidence based, which is not at all to say textbook-esque. What it does, is allow the reader to make their own judgements and emotional responses to the given circumstances based on the evidence provided, as if we’re discovering the inequities, and often kindnesses, the characters face on their behalf, being outraged for them, frustrated or joyful for them, which I think in turn makes for a kinship with the book, its characters, and blurs the storyline to melt into our own experience in society.

But this is a coffee blog, and I feel I should relate this to coffee, even in some tenuous way, rather than rattle on about whatever subject tickles my fancy at any given moment (look out for a blog on Christmas Beetles and existentialism coming next month). Lucky for me however, Lesson’s In Chemistry has quite a substantial inroads to the subject of coffee. As Zott is a no nonsense scientist, it would not even cross her mind to drink inferior coffee, when good coffee is just a matter of chemistry. Out of necessity, Zott had turned her kitchen into a laboratory, and using her particle grinders, flasks and bunsen burners, she would syphon water from the lower vessel to the infusion chamber, through the coffee, then returning to the lower vessel as a brewed beverage. Much to the wonder of her infrequent guests, who never knew coffee could taste so good.

But we knew.