Tea and coffee are both drinks which inspire passion. More than just simple beverages, tea and coffee are part of a cultural phenomenon filled with social meaning and ritual. They both have fairly long, extensive histories?here?s a short look at them.

As old time legends have it, the origins of coffee can be traced to Ethiopia, where it grows copiously, and in the wild. Shepherds were apparently the first to discover its stimulating effects after their flock nibbled on some and couldn?t settle down for the night. Another ancient tale tells of a man who was shipped out to the desert to starve to death. In the desert, the man could only find the coffee plant, so he took chance, boiled it and lived. He then made it to the neighboring town of Mocha; the locals there thought his survival was a miracle.

Historians believe that coffee was first drank around 1000 AD. In Yemen (southern Arabia), Sufi monks apparently brewed the drink within their monasteries. The drink traveled to Yemen and Egypt via Ethiopia. As with so many other inventions, we can credit the Arabians for introducing the roasting and brewing technique we are familiar with in these modern times. From the Middle East, the plant spread to Northern Africa by around 1450. It then took off in Europe by way of Italy; from there it spread to Indonesia and then eventually America.

Arabians apparently rendered their coffee export beans infertile by parboiling them so that no coffee would grow elsewhere. However one intrepid Indian man by the name of Baba Budan smuggled out fertile seeds by strapping them to his belly. These beans reached Europe via Venice and flourished there.

The Dutch began growing their own coffee plants and cultivating the beans in 1616 despite the Arab prohibition on exporting beans. Dutch coffee was thus taken to Java and Ceylon. According to historians, by the early 1700?s Indonesian coffee was being drunk by Dutchmen and women by the cupful.

Today, coffee is drunk the world over. Brewing the perfect cup has become something of an art form. It?s not just water and beans, but rather, temperature, water quality, roast and care.

Tea has a long history. Legend has it that it was first discovered in ancient China, some 5,000 years ago. The emperor Shen Nung required that water be boiled, for hygienic reasons. One day, he was visiting a far off land and having stopped to rest, the servants prepared boiled water for the court to drink. Some dried up leaves from a bush fell into the boiling water, turning it brown. The emperor?s curiosity was piqued and he drank the mixture and found it pleasing. Thus tea was first created.

Tea culture was pervasive in ancient China. In 800 AD Lu Yu wrote the first guide to tea called the Ch?a Ching. The book detailed various tea rituals, cultivation methods and preparation. The work was heralded as a masterpiece and backed by the Emperor himself.

The Japanese weren?t introduced to the beverage until the priest Yeisei brought it back to his homeland from China some years later. After that tea was big in Japan.

Tea was introduced to Europe in 1560 via the Portuguese Jesuit Jasper de Cruz. From there it spread like wild fire.

Damian Papworth adores the Krups 4 cup coffee maker. You can peruse the review on the One Cup Coffee Makers site.

Coffee, like wine and cheese, is so much more than just its finished product. It takes a lot of time to make a good cup of coffee, and most of that time is actually spent by people you’ll never met, cultivating the coffee beans out in fields on mountain ranges as far away as Columbia, Java, and even Kenya.

Yes, what really makes coffee taste great are the beans themselves, or the special regions in countries around the world where the weather gets together to create the perfect growing environment. To learn a little bit more about the world’s different coffee producing regions, as well as the most popular beans, you needn’t look any further than this handy guide, which will teach you how to make the best possible pot of coffee around just by learning which brands to select.

Kenya AA People around the world know Kenya AA as a type of coffee, but there’s actually more of a distinction to be made. Rather than a specific bean, this is a classification given depending on the size of the bean. So really, Kenya AA is letting customers know that they’re getting the highest grade of Kenyan coffee beans, which are grown on the high plateaus on Mount Kenya, where the perfect mixture of great soil and suitable weather lead to a bean known for intense flavor as well as a lovely aroma.

Kape Barako One of the types of coffee grown in The Philippines, not many people are familiar with Kape Barako, because of an infestation of Coffee Rust in the 1990s that almost wiped out the plants forever. A type of Liberica species, the coffee, when available, is popular with gourmets, who enjoy a blend where it’s mixed with Arabica to get the best tasting coffee with a distinct aroma.

Costa Rican coffee Not as well known as Columbian coffee by any means, Costa Rica has long been a country where coffee was a hugely important cash crop. The most popular varieties of beans are West Valley, Tres Rios, and Tarrazu, which are known worldwide for their very good body and aroma, as well as a level of acidity that’s rather manageable. These coffee beans are used in blends frequently.

Lavazza Espresso pods Some companies are so well-known for their coffee that they manage to employ their own growers around the world to create the product for them. A look at once such enterprise is world-famous providers of Italian coffee, Lavazza, whose different varieties are sold worldwide. Since the early 1900s, the company has imported beans specially grown for them from countries around the world, including Vietnam, Columbia, Costa Rica, and Indonesia. A delicate mixture of these different varieties, as well as the blending of different types of coffee beans that come from different soils and weather patterns, leads to a complex and delicious tasting coffee.

Remember, while different countries all produce different types of beans, it doesn’t mean that the names on this list are the only type of coffee bean grown in that particular country. Furthermore, it is possible that many of these beans have shown up in different names and varieties through United States importers.

Regardless of how or where you’re shopping for your coffee, please take a moment to consider whether or not it is fair-trade. The world of coffee harvesting is tough stuff, and most of the people who do it never receive proper financial credit for the amount of time and effort they put in. With different fair-trade companies around the world, many of which are easy to buy (just walk into Whole Foods or Trader Joes and ask), it makes giving credit where credit is due a whole lot easier of a task.

For a large weekend BBQ, Damian Papworth’s 8 cup coffee maker comes in real handy. On any other typical morning though, one cup coffee makers are more convenient.

Coffee wasn’t always such a big deal, you know. At one point, it was just something that truckers drank and diners served endless pots of in many places. But beverages grow, they change, and somehow there’s been a boom where you need to know a little more about coffee than whether or not you want a small, medium, or large cup at McDonalds.

No one can quite pinpoint the latest coffee boom, only comment on the far-flung places in the rural United States where it’s now possible to get an organic cup of coffee (thanks, Newman’s Organic and McDonalds). A large number of university cafeterias across the country fought for their right to fair-trade coffee back in the 1990s, so you’d think that this coffee trend, especially with foodies, would be a little over by now.

The real difference between a love for coffee and a strong like for it is knowing a little bit more about how it’s made and where it comes from. For example, espresso is not a different type of coffee bean. Rather, it’s a special kind of coffee beverage where the hot water is forced through well-packed, finely-ground coffee. The machine that makes espresso is where the beverage gets its name, and is actually only from 1901, when a man in Milan filed the very first patent. Unlike coffee, espresso has a foam, even without milk, and a thicker consistency. A truly good espresso, you see, will hold sugar you pour in for a couple of seconds before it breaks through the foam.

Anyone with a real love for coffee also knows that you don’t have to start with espresso but rather, can enjoy some regular coffee with plenty of room for milk and sugar. If you simply must start right out with espresso, be aware: the good kind is much thicker than regular coffee, comes in a small cup, and should have a foamy upper layer that can hold a packet or spoonful of sugar, easy.

In fact, ordering coffee is one of the biggest parts of learning to drink it, and if you’re going to be using coffee to socialize in new and exciting places, you should probably know what you’re getting yourself into. Except early in the morning on the way to work, when you stand at the bar and do a shot of espresso, drinking coffee in Italy is going to set you back at least an afternoon. The same is true in France. Those are a couple of the only countries where you can order a shot of espresso and make it last for a couple of hours, so order accordingly.

But part of a love for coffee is appreciating all of the fun and fancy versions of drinks that have been developed, and trying them all out. Depending on where you are in the world, or the style of coffee you’re sampling, a number of different things are used for flavor. Whether it’s enjoying the taste of chocolate in a mocha or drizzling some sweet caramel-like sauce down in Argentina right into the coffee, it doesn’t have to be a bitter-tasting drink experience.

One of the best parts about drinking coffee, especially socially, is the snacks! From Holland to Argentina, you can expect at least a couple of cookies and sometimes even a glass of orange juice, so there’s always something to pick at while you’re enjoying your coffee. It’s also nice, if you haven’t eaten, to put something in your stomach that isn’t just a cup of caffeine.

Don’t forget: the main purpose of drinking any sort of beverage with a group of friends is to socialize. You don’t need to be an expert on coffee, or even have a serious love for coffee, to go out and use the excuse of an afternoon cup to make a great friend or get to know a new place better. Just do it.

If Damian Papworth hosts a major celebration he pulls out the 12 cup coffee maker. For typical mornings though one cup coffee makers are more appropriate