So,,, Do you know how much COFFEE we drink ? to say - much , would not begin to describe it,,,, 10 years ago there were about 110 Million - that's MILLION coffee drinkers in the U.S. ... and we consumed about 3 cups per day on the average, with Men folk consuming a bit more than women folk,,,, That equated to 10 ba, ba, BILLION dollars in Sales, and that was before Starbucks figured out that we would buy friggin Latte, Cappuccino, Espresso Grande's for nearly $5.00 a CUP !! No wonder there is a BUCKS in "Star-Bucks" - shows you how badly that company has been mismanaged when they can't make money selling flavored Hot water !! But I digress

Coffee is, after all,,, the most popular beverage worldwide with over 400 billion cups consumed each year. for those of us that drink it ,, just how exactly would we do without it,,,, not very well I can attest. You get that caffeine headache if you are late with the Morning fix,,, If I took the C-Note that I spend on coffee every month and put towards my car payment,,, I could be drivin a Beamer !!

Wikipedia on:
Coffee's history has been recorded as far back as the eleventh century. At first, coffee remained largely confined to Ethiopia, where its native beans were first cultivated by Ethiopian highlanders. However, the Arab world began expanding its trade horizons, and the beans moved into northern Africa and were mass-cultivated. From there, the beans entered the Indian and European markets, and the popularity of the beverage spread. The word "coffee" entered English in 1598 via Italian caffè. This word was created via Turkish kahve, which in turn came into being via Arabic qahwa, a truncation of qahhwat al-bun or wine of the bean. Islam prohibits the use of alcohol as a beverage, and coffee provided a suitable alternative to wine. There are several legendary accounts of the origin of the drink itself. One account involves the Yemenite Sufi mystic Shaikh ash-Shadhili. When traveling in Ethiopia, the legend goes, he observed goats of unusual vitality, and, upon trying the berries that the goats had been eating, experienced the same vitality. A similar myth attributes the discovery of coffee to an Ethiopian goatherder named Kaldi and the Legend of Dancing Goats. One possible origin of both the beverage and the name is the Kingdom of Kaffa in Ethiopia, where the coffee plant originated
WIKIpedia OFF:



Warning,,, Mostly others thought.....
They say - who ever the hell "they" are. that the worlds best coffee is KOPI LUWAK,,, Kopi" is the Indonesian word for coffee and the "Luwak" is the indigenous animal who plays an "active" role in the harvesting of the raw coffee cherries. The Luwak feasts on ripe, red coffee cherries seeking out the sweet taste of the cherry itself, wanting little to do with the parchment of the coffee. Once the Luwak eats the cherry, the parchment covered coffee beans are passed out of the Luwak (read that as he Craps them out) , with the parchment cover still protecting the green coffee beans. ummmmmmmmm Can't wait for a cup of that ...




SO ,, I give you today,,,, Lew Black,,,, and the Starbucks rant,,, you enjoy - while I step out for a Cup of Joe !!