When you think of having a cup of coffee what do you think of?

Do you switch on your state of the art coffee grinder, transfer the grinds to your fabulous coffee machines and brew your self a cup of fantastic coffee?

Or do you open a can, spoon out a pile and add boiled water?

However you make your coffee there is so much more to it than meets the eye. Coffee is one of the most widely drunk beverages in the world.

It starts as a small red or yellow fruit and the process that takes that fruit to your coffee cup is one of the most complex associated with such a widely drunk beverage.

From coffee grower, coffee picker and the mill workers who dry the fruit, to the people that grade and clean the coffee beans, to the master roasters who can infuse those little beans with unbelievable flavor and finally to the baristas and consumers who grind the coffee beans and actually put the coffee in the cup, that little red or yellow fruit makes an incredible journey.

Coffee has literally circumnavigated the globe from its origins in Ethiopia to Kenya and Tanzania via Holland, France,Mexico and Brasil. This trek took the humble coffee bean around 600 years but surprizingly the plant that hooked the world has changed little.

Coffea Arabica is self pollinating and the differences in flavours are more down to the differences in soils than anything else.

We have almost got to the stage of a coffee shop on every corner and most people have coffee machines in their kitchen. But which of the many coffee machines will give us the best flavor? After all the trouble the coffee bean has gone to to get to us, which of the array of coffee grinders will do it justice?

Which speciality coffee is the one for you? Should I go for Jamaican coffee or try Hawaiian Island coffee? What about a gourmet decaff coffee?

The journey of the coffee beans continue on and on. We have developed speciality coffee such as espresso, cappucino, macchiato, latte, mocha, skinny latte, mochaccino to name but a few. As we develop our taste for coffee further our need for accessories has grown and now simple mugs have become espresso cups and tall latte mugs. Coffee gift baskets have become popular choices at Christmas and flavored coffee syrups have raised their head.

For coffee ifficianados and first tasters alike the choice is almost overwhelming. From small red berry beginnings to world wide the story and history of coffee is incredible.

Delve further and discover the world of coffee and its accessories.