Travels in the World of Coffee

Legend has it that coffee was discovered when an Arabic shepherd noticed goats looking unusually frisky. He tried the beans himself and history was made. Although coffee can be made from two distinct species, coffea canephora and coffea arabica, the finest beans are all ground from one: Coffea arabica. The many tastes and styles of good coffee can be traced to differences in climate and cultivation, presence of additional ingredients, degree of roasting and fineness of grind.

Let this primer be the first stamp in your passport to the joys of java. Many coffee drinkers insist that they like their coffee strong, but strong has at least two different meanings: harsh in taste or potent in caffeine, and a more robust taste does not translate into more caffeine.

Coffee roasts range from a breakfast blend at the milder tasting side of the spectrum to a french roast or dark roast typical of a Starbucks. The mid-range taste is called a medium roast or "city roast" and is my personal favorite. The supposedly powerful Starbucks blend is probably not the most potent. This is because a harsher or over-roasted coffee becomes undrinkable when ground finely.

For a deceptively mild coffee, try a good espresso. This friendly-tasting brew, which is also the primary ingredient of cappuccino, packs a kick like a mule. Why? Espresso uses a mild tasting coffee, but then grinds it down to a consistency just above powder. A true espresso is made with superheated steam that draws every drop of caffeine into the drink and deposits it right in your cup. A demitasse of this stuff is pure rocket fuel, but it goes down so smooth.

Similar in some ways is a good cup of Turkish coffee. Turkish coffee is like drinking candy-that is because a cup consists of coffee grinds and sugar syrup. Neither water nor milk are allowed to adulterate this manly cup of Joe.

Kona, product of the rich lava soils of the Hawaiian Islands, is our only native coffee. Kona is a true premium bean and the quality of the bean shines through even when sampled in a blend. Kona features a lush, low acid taste that is simply scrumptious.

Few pleasures can surpass coffee and beignets at Cafe Du monde in New Orleans while watching a passing Jazz funeral or simply viewing the sights of Jackson Square. New Orleans style coffee blends chicory in for economy and taste. The coffee is then prepared with steaming milk to make a cafe au lait. The most famous brand is "Community Blend," and I make sure to have friends pick me up a pound of two whenever they return from the Big Easy.

When I visited Austria, I spoke not a word of German, yet somehow had to order a cup of coffee in this most cosmopolitan of nations. As I pantomimed frantically, the waitress came to my rescue. Melange? asked the waitress, I agreed and was quickly treated to the finest coffee ever. For the rest of my trip, I was certain that Melange meant coffee with cream in German. But, no matter. For what else would one have in Vienna but Melange? To partake of this marvelous drink is to remember when all roads met not in Rome, but in Vienna, capital of the Holy Roman empire. As much a part of the city as its wondrous Ferris wheel, this is truly a coffee fit for an emperor.

Where shall we travel next? To Africa. So many lands, so many brews. How about Kenya for a delicious double A? Or Ethiopia for a delicious Harrar? Or Tanzania for some Teaberry?

In Indonesia we can sample a delicious Mocca Java, which the innocent mistake for coffee adulterated with chocolate. The real Mocca Java is one hundred percent coffee and two hundred percent delicious. A true premium blend, and one worth traveling the world for.

Jamaica weighs in with it's delicious Blue Mountain coffee. Bean for bean among the most prized in the world. A pound of the stuff is roughly equal to the cost of a good bottle of scotch and is an excellent remedy for recovering from said spirit the next day.

There are so many lands still to see. Colombia, justly famed for the quality of its product. Few of us have tasted the best that this coffee giant has to offer. A good cup of the real deal has all the rich flavor notes of a glass of fine wine

There are so many wonderful ways to get your coffee passport stamped. Gevalia coffee www.gevalia.com/Pages/index.aspxto offers an excellent education. Just make sure to immediately dial down the frequency and amount of coffee delivered by this coffee club or you will have vacuum sealed half pound containers coming out of your ears. Fresh Direct http://www.freshdirect.com/index.jsp is an excellent choice for neophyte coffee connoisseurs. This internet-based supermarket features detailed descriptions of their products and features a coffee of the week available at an excellent price, One may happily order a mere half-pound of the featured brew and be done with it. Let the great coffee purveyors be your agents in your new journey through the joys of Java.