Sometimes you’re in a hurry and there doesn’t seem to be a damn place where you can find a quality cup of coffee. But wait! There is an automatic coffee machine over there. All you need is a coin and you’ll get your caffeine shot in no time. You know it’s not the real deal but sometimes you’ve got to roll with the punches that life throws at you, right?

And hey… you have enough coins to get a cappuccino. Your day keeps getting better (!) or is it? You’ve just spent the only coins you have and this cappuccino is not as hot as the one that Kelly the stunning barista at your local café prepares for you every morning; with extra cinnamon on top.

What’s going on here? Hmmm? There is a phone number on the machine. Should you call and demand your money back? Should you at least inform them that this automatic machine needs a bit of an adjustment?
Don’t bother. Why? Because these machines are never going to prepare your drinks as hot as your hot barista; it’s a law suit waiting to happen for crying out loud!

The fact is that milk tends to keep getting hotter for a while even after the heating process has stopped. A professional can keep it under control by using a thermometer or checking it by his/her hand but a machine that a customer who has no training in such matters at all is allowed to fiddle with may burn him/herself. The only way to make sure that wouldn’t happen is to keep the heat at a safer degree so that even if milk keeps heating up it doesn’t reach to the point that it’s a threat.

One of the important factors in what our cup of coffee tastes like is the roasting process. As I mentioned before coffee beans are like wine grapes. They come with different qualities. Two main species are Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. Although one gets to recognize the difference in time that doesn’t mean that all Arabica or all Robusta beans would end up tasting the same after all the processing is done.

As far as the roasting goes what one should know is this the darker the bean gets the lesser the original taste of that particular origin remains. For example if you’re drinking overly done Costa Rica coffee, it will be difficult to tell the difference from another type. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just a taste issue that’s all. Because there is also a certain flavor that comes from the sort of ‘burnt’ bean and some people prefer that. I personally enjoy beans that are in the middle; in general that is. Then there are times I feel like going completely dark and enjoy a cup of coffee that taste like poison to some; with no sugar and cream mind you.

So get into your ‘judgmental’ shoes and try different beans with different roast levels. Find your own favorite.

Coffee beans are like grapes to make wine of. They differ from each other depending on where they grow and what climate they are subjected to, etc. Quality beans are inevitably going to be more expensive because it’s not possible to grow them just about anywhere and under whatever climate; that creates some sort of a scarcity if you will.

Then there are beans which are not as ‘picky’ about where they grow and the conditions; although not as easy going as a producer would hope either. Of course, the latter bean type is going to be cheaper but as everything else in life that is effortlessly attainable, it will lack in taste and quality department.

If you’re after quality go with Arabica beans. Arabica beans grow on higher altitudes over 800 meters high and they don’t need as much rain as the other beans. The temperature needed for Arabica beans would be between 15-25 ºC. Arabicas cherries are harvested by hand-picking because that’s the only way to ensure that only the ripe cherries are picked. It’s a slow process but that’s one of the ways to maintain its quality and the higher prices sort of make up for the time and effort spent.

Unless you are a coffee enthusiast with an excruciatingly sensitive palate Robusta beans may not be that awful for you. Robustas can survive between sea level and 800 meters high places. They like rain and heat; somewhere between 25-30 ºC. They can survive in harsh conditions. The picking methods are not as precise as the ones used to pick Arabicas. Usually machines are used to strip the coffee plant branches off of its cherries all at once which makes it very difficult to separate the ripe ones from the not so ripe ones of course.

What happens is that coffee producing companies mix Arabica and Robusta beans to create more affordable blends of their own, that would probably end up in diners and cafés that don’t charge you for extra cups, who knows? Plain Arabica coffee is far more superior without a doubt but at the end of the day, it’s a taste matter and the choice is yours.

Coffee, coffee, coffee… It’s not just another warm drink. There is something romantic and social about it. I sit by the window at my favorite café; watch people go by and surrender to a daydream. I do that in the company of a freshly ground and brewed cup of java letting its steam make its way to my ever-yearning lungs. With every sip the experience gets heavenlier… or something like that. Any coffee lover would know exactly what I’m talking about but only in his/her own unique way.

I worked in cafés for more than a decade and got to see how it connects people, even the ones from fairly different backgrounds, on sort of a secret level that was only known to them which went way beyond that superior taste and made ‘the club’ all the more special. Experiencing this, day in day out, and being a part of that community carves something into one’s soul and I think it’s kind of the explanation, or simply the excuse that I had been searching for, for my addiction.

Things come and go; hell, people come and go! But coffee is forever.