Coffee is an integral part of my family. We've had disputes, and discussions settled over coffee. Sometimes we have bargains and agreements done over coffee. In demonstrable fact coffee has given our family time to slow down and simply catch up.

With coffee so ever famous, it's no wonder that it's become a business life blood. Some companies even charge up to $5 for a cup, and yet people are still buying.

How many times have you heard, or even used, the oh-so polite phrase, "this coffee tastes like s**t?" As something of a coffee addict I've tasted blends from pretty much every country on the planet and have had some really bad cups and some truly exquisite ones. Having delved a little deeper into the history and origins of the brown stuff I heard of what I thought was a myth - an altogether different type of brown stuff; animal poo coffee.

Coffee - it's everywhere. I know that in my town you can't walk down the high street without going past at least four different outlets for the stuff and I'm not even talking about the cafes and restaurants. Starbucks, Costas, Neros... they spring up overnight when not so long ago the closest you could find to a cappuccino was a coffee with a lot of froth on top that dissolved into limpid clusters that looked unnervingly like saliva.

There's not much else in coffee apart from caffeine yet we all drink it and take little time to know where it grows, how it's produced and how it affects our brains and bodies. Surely something this good must be bad for you. Au contraire! There is on-going scientific evidence that 2-4 cups of coffee a day (based on a 6oz serving) offers more health benefits than you may know.

One of the most interesting stories in the world is the history of that amazing drink that we call now coffee. OK, coffee is varied and interesting, involving chance occurrences, political intrigue, and the pursuit of wealth and power.

According to one legend (no idea is the legend is real or not), the great effect of coffee beans was noticed by a smart sheep herder from Caffa, in Ethiopia named Kaldi as he was watching his sheep.

Coffee makers come in many different shapes, sizes, colours and abilities. There coffee makers that will make good old regular coffee or others which can produce everything from a espresso to a latte at the touch of a button. What ever your preference may be there is an automatic coffee machine out there to full fill your need for coffee. It is even possible to get a coffee maker which can grind the coffee beans and have perfect coffee ready when you wake in the morning, all you have to do is program it the night before!

As with any appliance if you take care of your coffee machine and maintain it properly it should serve you well for many years.

While coffee and espresso is a trend that doesn't seem to die down -- especially since Starbucks is still so popular, even though you can find them virtually across the street from each other -- barista training is hard. In order to get a staff ready to serve high quality espresso drinks, you have to spend hours on espresso, then on milk, and then on building drinks.

Beans are classified into two botanical types Arabica and Robusta. The coffee used in commercial production, which you usually see in instant coffees are Robusta. Arabica, on the other hand, is the older type of coffee that could give you premium-tasting cups.

Roasting

Although the growing factors of each coffee bean provides their distinctive taste, the process in which the beans are roasted will have a greater affect on the overall flavor.

Most of us drink coffee in our homes every now and then. A simple and ordinary coffee maker makes our coffee everyday. There are dozens of espresso maker brands and models these days. We should be careful when choosing the espresso maker carefulness, as it will determine every cup of coffee we make everyday. Drinking coffee comes with a certain price, the same way as an espresso maker.

Are you one of those die-hard traditionalists that thinks that Starbucks is an affront to everything that is good and righteous in this world? Or do you just think that all those fancy options you have for your coffee today are perversions on what is a very fine drink all by itself?

If this sounds like you, don't be embarrassed. You're not alone.