From the internationally bestselling author of The Wedding Officer comes a novel whose stunning blend of exotic adventure and erotic passion will intoxicate every reader who tastes of its remarkable delights.

When a woman gives a man coffee, it is a way of showing her desire.

—Abyssinian proverb

It was a cup of coffee that changed Robert Wallis’s life—and a cup of very bad coffee at that. The impoverished poet is sitting in a London coffeehouse contemplating an uncertain future when he meets Samuel Pinker. The owner of Castle Coffee offers Wallace the very last thing a struggling young artiste in fin de siècle England could possibly want: a job.

But the job Wallis accepts—employing his palate and talent for words to compose a “vocabulary of coffee” based on its many subtle and elusive flavors—is only the beginning of an extraordinary adventure in which Wallis will experience the dizzying heights of desire and the excruciating pain of loss. As Wallis finds himself falling hopelessly in love with his coworker, Pinker’s spirited suffragette daughter Emily, both will discover that you cannot awaken one set of senses without affecting all the others.

Their love is tested when Wallis is dispatched on a journey to North Africa in search of the legendary Arab mocca. As he travels to coffee’s fabled birthplace—and learns the fiercely guarded secrets of the trade—Wallis meets Fikre, the defiant, seductive slave of a powerful coffee merchant, who serves him in the traditional Abyssinian coffee ceremony. And when Fikre dares to slip Wallis a single coffee bean, the mysteries of coffee and forbidden passion intermingle…and combine to change history and fate.

"Food aficionado Capella (The Food of Love) brews a tale of a young poet-turned-coffee-expert in 19th-century England. Robert Wallis, a lazy 20-something poet, meets a man in an artists' cafe and soon has a job. With his talent for over-description, Wallis is the perfect employee for Samuel Pinker, a coffee merchant wanting to create a guide to the world's coffee beans. Unfortunately, Wallis falls short trying to woo Pinker's daughter Emily with charming 'epigrams' and his oversized ego. To spare his daughter from scandal, Pinker sends Wallis on a journey around the world, and the real story begins. Political issues of the time — from the slave trade to women's rights — provide the backdrop for Wallis's expedition. Navigating a series of unpredictable challenges, Wallis transforms from an apathetic charmer to a poised young man. Despite the lack of food details prevalent in Capella's earlier work — coffee doesn't have quite the same appeal — the surprising plot twists and authentic love story will make this a crowd pleaser. (Sept. 2)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

“Robust…. Fast-paced … propelled by Capella’s masterful characterizations.”Kirkus Reviews

“Capella serves up an fine new helping of gourmet fiction.”The Economist

“This story is an eclectic brew of such diverse elements as the coffee trade, women's suffrage, foreign travel and slavery, and is spiced up with a dollop of exotic romance.”Seattle Times

When Robert Wallis, an impoverished poet in turn-of-the-century London, accepts a commission from eccentric coffee merchant Samuel Pinker to categorize the elusive tastes of coffee, little does he know his assignment will completely alter his life.

Anthony Capella is a lover of all things culinary who lives in Oxfordshire, England. His previous novels, The Wedding Officer and The Food of Love have been translated into twenty-two languages. He is at work on his next novel.