Any serious coffee drinker can tell you that their morning cup is more than just a drink - it's an honest to goodness ritual, and one they would never dream of doing without. So let's take a look at that ritual, shall we, and find out just how deep it runs.

Coffee cultures come in all shapes and sizes, from the trendy coffeehouses in the United States to the traditional smoke-filled Japanese kisatens. Roasting styles and flavor popularities depend as much on geographic region as on individual preference and, unlike other beverages, harvesting, roasting and other processes are strongly considered when ranking a particular blend. Each coffee is unique, representing an authentic tradition of harvesting and roasting, passed down from generation to generation. Where U.S. coffees are milder for example, an Italian brew is likely to sport a French Roast, darker and much more intense than the typical American coffee. Asian blends on the other hand, traditionally feature a very dark roast with a bold, earthy flavor.

These variations allow true coffee connoisseurs to pick and choose their cup of choice without limitation. Yet despite the many differences in flavor and roast, the love of coffee remains a global affection.

Coffee rituals are as varied as their origins but they all come back to the brew. The upscale Espresso bar with its professional barista, the frappes and lattes served up in colorful eclectic wares and the automatic drip machine with its timer strategically set for ten minutes before you awake. Its the smell of the brew, the rich aroma of a work in process that entices us to return to our ritual again and again.

In Ethiopia, coffee drinking is still very much a ceremonial event. The birthplace of coffea aribica, coffee drinking is a sacred exercise complete with flowers, straw and a blessing from community elders. This ceremony is typically performed by women and can take up to two hours to complete.

In Turkey, coffee is served from a special pot known as a "Cezve". When the guest has finished their coffee, the cup is turned upside down on its saucer where it's allowed to cool. The hostess then reads the guest's fortune from the coffee grounds that remain in the cup. To see an angel meant good news and happiness for the guest. A cat? Arguments were certain.

Do you have your own coffee ritual? Do you add your cream and sugar simultaneously or do you spoon them in one at a time? Does your morning cup find you out on the patio reading the paper or curled up in your bed while the rest of the house sleeps? One thing is for sure: regardless of the ritual, we all love our coffee.

The 1940's and 50's brought us the old fashioned coffee shop, complete with jukeboxes, barstools and a waitress named Marge. It was a place of solace and comfort. One where community elders could gather to discuss the latest gossip, world events and any other topic that might strike someone's fancy.

Today's coffee shop has a much different look but its purpose remains the same. Having bridged the generation gap where various forms of entertainment failed, coffee is no longer just your parents' drink of choice. When Starbucks opened its first shop in Seattle in the 1970's, it also opened the door to a whole new generation of coffee drinkers, ranging from business men to college students, from self-employed to soccer moms. By the time Starbucks broke ground in Eastern countries, there was a long line of would-be patrons ready and waiting to greet them.

The idea of marketing coffee with a social spin caught on quickly and specialized coffee houses began sprouting up around the country. Coffee took on a new personality, one with appeal to select groups of people with distinct ideas and interests. These specialty coffee houses have taken the Starbucks idea to another level, providing a unique socialization tool for a variety of interest groups.

When the Internet boomed in the 1990's, coffee entrepreneurs were presented with a new breed of coffee drinker like they had never seen before. Internet users logged on and stayed on. They surfed, they shopped and they frequented chat rooms for hours on end. Coffee it seemed, was the perfect match and Internet Cafes were quickly born.

These new cafes cater to a growing group of people, providing Internet connections and hot java in limitless supply. The cafes offer the anonymity people expect from the Internet, yet provide a group setting for those looking for a human connection. Like many of the more traditional coffee shops, many Internet cafes have expanded their wares to include lattes, cappuccinos, espressos and other frothy coffee variations to give a more global appeal.

Email, chat rooms, instant messaging and of course the world wide web can be accessed from the comfort and convenience of your cafe table, just a few feet away from another hot cup of java.

Take a good look around and it would seem that coffee has its place in every aspect of our lives. The business world is no exception.

Coffee has become a staple in most offices, with some of the more upscale businesses even providing more exotic flavor choices direct from Starbucks or similar suppliers. Coffee is the conduit for business deals, employee interviews and everything in between. Having some clients in for a presentation? The coffee bar should be the first thing you set up. Wondering how to motivate your staff in the next brainstorming session? Be sure you have plenty of coffee to go around.

Because of its natural stimulant properties, coffee makes the perfect partner to the average busy lifestyle. We think better, we feel better and we retain that extra "edge" that lets us get the job done. Is it really the coffee? Maybe.. maybe not. But one thing's for sure: coffee has a permanent place in our business world.

Does coffee have a place in religion? Even it's humble beginnings are rooted in the church, with religious leaders of the famed goatherder Kaldi, boiling the coffee cherries to create the first official cup.

In the Arabian community, coffee beans were frequently used as a powerful aid in prayer and meditation. Obessed with the beans and their obvious powers, community leaders guarded them closely, boiling any beans destined for export so that outsiders would be unable to force the beans to germinate.

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, coffee made its way across Europe, presented as a religious or medical aid that required the approval of the most powerful leaders of the Church.

By the seventeenth century, Christians were on the coffee bandwagon as well. Seeing the effects on its parishoners, some of the church leaders wrote to Pope Clement VIII, warning him of the beverage and declaring it a "tool of the devil". Wanting to see for himself, the good Pope asked for a cup and found it to be "heavenly". He liked it so much in fact that he baptized the beans, declaring coffee to be purely Christian.

Today, coffee is abundant in the Church, a feature of the many "fellowship hours" and "spiritual festivals" that are held just after service on Sunday. For many, these coffee hours offer a safe and permissable form of entertainment, encouraging social interaction without any of the negative effects of other, more harmful stimulants or enhancements.