An ode to coffee

Coffee, like love, is an addiction. Like a lover, coffee shares with you life`s joys, frustrations, miseries and victories. And like passion, it drives you wild, elevates your mind, heightens your senses.

Revolutionary ideas, critical thinking come out in between sips of coffee. Over cups of coffee, lovers, friends and families share ideas from the most mundane to the most profound--the memories of yesterday, the absurdities of today, the hopes for the future. Over cups of coffee, you tell the story of your life. Your secrets. Your regrets.

That smell of coffee in the morning? You sure woke up on the right side of bed. On a rainy day or a stormy weather like today, you wish you`d have that good cup of coffee while reading a book at home. On a waiting game? Coffee. Writer`s block? Coffee. Need to be awake? Need to be in focus? Sharpen your mind?

While many have discriminating tastes, others don`t bother. It don`t matter to some sipping brewed coffee, espresso, caffe latte, cappuccino or instant, or whether they`re in Italy, Brazil, New York or on Saipan while doing so. After all, “coffee,” according to Algerian Islamic scholar Abd-Al-Kadir in 1587, “is the common man`s gold and, like gold, it brings to every man the feeling of luxury and nobility.”

Coffee, as one writer says, is one of the essential pleasures of life but very few people know much about it.

Here are some interesting facts from food journalist Jon Thorn`s book, “The Coffee Companion”:

Japan may be the only country in the world to celebrate an official Coffee Day. It falls on Oct. 1.

The Arabica coffee tree originated in Ethiopia, where it grew wild. The name “coffee” derives from the Ethiopian town of Kaffa. To this day, Ethiopia remains as Africa`s major exporter of Arabica beans.

Finland is the world`s leading coffee consumer, with some 5.7 million drinkers each consuming more than 25 pounds of green coffee annually.

Street cafes are so much part of French life that it would be difficult to imagine a visit to a French city without stopping to enjoy a refreshing cup. Other cities around the world try to become street café capitals, too.

The world`s first commercial espresso machines were manufactured in Milan in the early years of the 20th century.

The coffee “revolution” in the U.S. began in the 1970s in Seattle, possibly
because that city enjoys good, clean water, and Starbucks quickly became the city`s second most famous export; Boeing being the first.

Kona Kai Farms on the Kona Coast in Hawaii contain the only coffee grown in the United States, and it is coffee that is highly prized for its wonderful aroma and
flavor.

“It would be surprising if Cuba did not produce good coffee to accompany its fine cigars.”

Here on Saipan, among the places for a good coffee experience that are not necessarily elitists – Coffee Care on Capital Hill, Java Joe`s in Dandan, Wild Bills in Garapan.

Also, many coffee shops and restaurants on Saipan now offer Wi-Fi. But please if you have to use your laptop to surf the Net for an hour or two in a food establishment, try to order something other than coffee.