A turn-of-the-century English novel, THE VARIOUS FLAVORS OF
COFFEE captures the full aroma of life in 1896. Its hero is Robert
Wallis, a rakish 22-year-old whose dream is to become a poet.
Failing his preliminary examinations at Oxford, he frequents the
Regent Street Café Royal near Piccadilly. Putting on the airs
of a well-to-do dandy, he dresses in impeccable style --- complete
with a carnation on his lapel --- and carries a cane. His favorite
velvet waistcoat denotes him among the gentry of his day. However,
he is nearly broke, having exhausted his father’s generosity,
and a real job is the farthest thought from his mind.

Nevertheless, Wallis complains at the café when served
coffee he considers “rusty.”  Declared pernickety
by the waiter, he expounds, “…a well-made cup of coffee
is the proper beginning to an idle day. Its aroma beguiling, its
taste is sweet…. it resembles, surely, the pleasures of
love.”

Comparing the present brew to the taste of mud, with a faint
aftertaste of rotten apricots, Wallis adds the unpleasant libation
to his ongoing tab. A gnome-like gentleman joins him at the table,
a middle-aged guy who is to change his life. Samuel Pinker, a
coffee importer and distributor, is a man with a vision. He wishes
to hire a writer, leaving Wallis with an invitation to meet at
Pinker’s business address. Curiosity drives Wallis to keep
the appointment.

Often pompous, Wallis is a character both to dislike and admire.
His sexual appetites are voracious, often inviting complications to
achieving his goals. However, his poet’s soul enables him to
overcome adversity, change perspective and compel the reader to
like him better. His taste for flavor is exquisite. Together with
Pinker’s daughter, Emily, he writes the ledger for a catalog
system for the coffees that Pinker’s company buys. In the
process, Wallis falls in love with Emily but yields to baser
temptations when tested. He finds himself banished to Africa,
founding a coffee plantation.

There, Wallis surrenders to temptation when he befriends a slave
girl, owned by Ibrahim Bey, a coffee broker. From that time
forward, a downward swirl engulfs Wallis’s fortunes, both
financially and personally. Confused, he finds that he can love two
women at once, but practically speaking, it is an
impossibility.

Wallis’s transformation, from a do-nothing young dolt to a
mature man whose eyes have opened to the world’s realities,
is accomplished in THE VARIOUS FLAVORS OF COFFEE. The most mundane
coffee drinker should develop an appreciation for the
beverage’s multifaceted blends of color, taste, aroma, robust
or mild content, and varied types of beans.

A subplot develops Emily’s aspirations, quite the opposite
from Wallis’s. The two tug and converge until a twig snaps.
Emily’s feminist activities drag her down a path of politics,
while Wallis deplores public servitude. He seeks to please the
elder Pinker but is torn between his own romantic desires and the
demands of a businessman. Coffee, its flavors and aromas, provides
the stimulus to achieving his dreams.

Anthony Capella uses the form of letters, from Wallis to Emily,
while in Africa to develop the plot line. These correspondences
detail the landscape of the remote village where Wallis attempts to
grow coffee beans and describes the intricate politics of village
living, emphasizing the tribal difficulties that make his work
nearly impossible. Natives both respect and resent his interference
in their rural livelihood. Wallis writes to Philomena,
Emily’s younger sister, maintaining a casual relationship
with her.

English wording from the post-Victorian era causes an occasional
stumble. But readers of THE VARIOUS FLAVORS OF COFFEE will gain
knowledge of tasting syrup bled from rich beans, possibly
representing modern brew methods. Coffee tasting is the vehicle by
which Capella weaves a character-driven story, richly brewed and
blended to fruition.