Where does coffee come from and what's the difference between all these blends? There's much, much more to coffee than just the label and here's where it all begins.

Ah, coffee. Perfect for those early morning hours, delightful for those cold, winter nights. How do we love coffee? Let us count the ways.

For centuries, the world has maintained a love affair with those little green java beans, whether it comes in small, gourmet bags or metal, store-brand cans. We love our coffee. We praise our coffee. Its what makes our little universe go round.

What you may not know, however is that there is much more to coffee than just cream and sugar. Yes, even more than that shot of Irish Cream that puts it over the top. The cultivation process itself is a long and grueling one and while you may not care to know all the little processing in's and out's, understanding how your coffee is grown and roasted can most certainly help you choose a better cup.

That's right. We said better. And who wouldn't enjoy a better cup of coffee?

There was once an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi. This goat herder noticed that his goats seemed “happier” after eating the bright red berries growing from a tree-like shrub. Indeed, they were so happy that Kaldi found them dancing and, after some of the red berries, he was dancing too. Or so the story goes.

But whether you deem it fact or fiction, there is evidence to suggest that the coffee tree found its beginnings in the Kaffa forests of Ethiopia and still grows there to this day. In fact, some believe that is where the coffee bean got its name – from the Ethiopian translation, “kaffa bun”.

So how did the little red berry make it to the rest of the world? Theory suggests that it likely occurred during the Ethiopian invasion of Southern Arabia during the 6th century. There, Ethiopia ruled Yemen for some fifty plus years, allowing adequate time to introduce the kaffa bun.

It would be several hundred years later before any evidence of brewing occurred. Coffee historians have dated Arabic qahwa, or a beverage made from plants to have begun circa 1100.

Fast forward three more centuries and you find the world’s first coffee house in Constantinople around the end of the 15th century. From there, the little beans enter the European world just one century later and Italy claims its piece of the Starbucks pie during the mid 1600’s, just in time for Captain John Smith to bring the caffeinated delight to the New World.

Despite all the various brand names and roasting regions, coffee basically comes from two distinctly different plants: the coffea Arabica species and the coffea robusta species.

Arabica beans are probably the most widely known and are considered to be the premium variety of coffee bean. The coffea Arabica plant can be found in a variety of regions and is the same coffee plant that migrated from Ethiopia, giving us our first introduction to this must-have morning beverage.

The coffea Aribica plant is an evergreen and grows well in shady, well-watered spots that are around 4,000 feet in altitude (about 2,000 feet above sea level). It cannot tolerate extreme temperatures and, if left to grow wild, will reach up to 35 feet in height however, commercially grown Arabica plants are trimmed to between six and seven feet to ease the cultivating process.

A variation of the high-altitude Arabica is the Brazil which can tolerate the lower altitudes and is mass-produced, making it less expensive. Cultivating procedures are typically less stringent than that of the high-altitude Arabica and can produce a coffee that ranges from “not too shabby” to “I’ll have tea instead”. Most respectable store-bought labels use a mix of Brazils with a few high-altitude Arabicas thrown in for flavor.

The coffea robusta plant, also called coffea canephora, is definitively more disease resistant and can survive the heat and frost, making it an inexpensive and hardier crop. The result however is a lower grade coffee since the bean itself has little to no flavor and the cultivation process isn’t usually given much care. Robustas are most commonly used in the cheapest store-bought labels as well as some espresso blends.

If you're like most North Americans, you've likely bought coffee in a metal can, already ground and ready to be brewed. This is commercial-grade coffee, processed and packaged at large industrial plants with little thought given to roasting, blending or flavor distinctions. Brew it, throw in some cream and sugar and viola! You're ready for your morning drive to work.

But for those of you who take coffee seriously, you've likely discovered there's a whole other coffee world out there just waiting to be tasted. Specialty coffees, like those you'll find here, are imported from premier coffee plantations and estates where the beans are often hand-picked, hand-sorted and cultivated to protect and promote the coffee beans' natural flavors.

Like a dark roast? Or perhaps a spicy, medium blend? If you don't know the difference, you haven't yet experienced specialty coffees and we feel obligated to change that.

Coffee beans are like a fine wine. Its cultivated, processed and aged to perfection to ensure your last drink is as enchanting as the first. Specialty coffees won't arrive pre-ground in metal cans. Instead, you'll receive whole beans - with all that lovely coffee flavor safely preserved - stored in bags that keep any moisture or contaminants out while keeping the bean's natural oils and and extracts in.

Specialty coffees come in blends and roasts as opposed to the "automatic drip" variety of a commercial-grade coffee. You can still find decaffeinated and espresso variations but even these offer more than just one blend or roasting style.

How do you know which specialty coffee is right for you? Several things go into a particular coffee's flavor including the type of roast and the quality of the bean itself. Before venturing into the world of specialty coffees, take a few minutes to learn about the different roastings, the variety of beans and their origins as well as the processing and cultivation methods used.

Then, when you feel good and informed, discover coffee the way it was meant to be.

Despite its name, the coffee bean isn’t really a bean, but a seed of the coffea tree’s fruit. When the Arabica tree blooms, you’ll find small, white star-shaped flowers at the base of the leaves and an intoxicating floral scent some liken to that of jasmine. The flowers fall away to make room for the fruit, small cherries with the precious coffea beans inside. Most cherries have two beans while other have only one. These single beans are smaller and typically rounder than a normal coffee bean and are thought to be of superior quality. They are sold on the market as Peaberry coffee beans.

Once the fruit ripens – red for most, yellow for a few – it is plucked from the tree. While coffea trees in dryer regions tend to bloom and ripen once or twice a year, most remain in a constant state of change, with blooms and various stages of fruit appearing year round. This selective picking process is the reason most coffea cherries continue to be hand-picked, leaving the unripened fruit for another day.

After the fruit has been pulled from the plant, it is processed using one of three methods – dry, wet or semi-dry. These processes utilize very different methods but all have the same purpose – to remove the beans from the cherries. When the pulp of the cherry has been removed the beans must then be cleaned again to remove the thin protective skin that covers the beans themselves.

The beans are then processed according to weight and color, quite often by hand sorting. The heavier the bean, the better the quality assuming there are no visible defects. The beans are then graded and separated before they are packaged and shipped to coffee suppliers all over the world.

Spend anytime learning about coffee beans and you’ll quickly notice two commonly used terms: naturally or dry processed and washed.

Naturally or dry processed beans are those that have dried naturally in the sun. The coffee cherries are plucked from the tree and then laid on a concrete slab, platform or some other flat surface to dry naturally in the sun.

The dry process itself has variations and can drastically affect the flavor of the beans. Because the beans are still enclosed in the fruit during the drying process, any components absorbed by the fruit are also typically absorbed by the bean. Leaving the fruit to dry on dirt, for example will produce what many coffee drinkers refer to as an "earthy" flavor. Chemicals and other substances have the same affect, including any leaves, branches or other trash that might be laying close by. As a result, the drying process generally produces a lesser grade coffee than the wet method.

Washed coffees refer to beans that were processed using the wet method. Instead of naturally drying in the sun, the fruit's pulp is removed through a washing process that utilizes the assistance of large, specialized machines. The beans are then thoroughly dried without the fruit to prevent any unwanted flavors from finding their way to the bean.

This wet-process is the most preferred method for extracting coffee beans and is believed to produce a healthier and more sanitary coffee. Some coffees are washed using only natural spring waters, increasing their appeal to those who value the purity of the process.

Light Roasts - Commonly called Half City Roast, New England Roast and Cinnamon Roast, these produce a dry coffee with very light flavor. Can sometimes be a little grainy, depending upon the bean.

Medium Roasts - Medium roasts typically produce a good, balanced coffee. Also called American Roast or City Roast, a medium roast produces a medium brown bean that stops just short of bringing the bean's natural oils to the surface.

Medium Dark Roasts - French Roast, Continental Roast, Viennese Roast; This type of roast brings the bean's oils to the surface while the bean itself is a darker brown. Beans with a medium dark roast often produce coffee with caramelly or chocolatey tones.

Dark Roasts - Even the dark roasts have varying degrees of roasting. The Italian Roast (also sometimes called Dark French) brings out a smokey flavor and all hints of the green coffee bean are lost. A Spanish roast is even darker still and produces a distinct charcoal essence with a bitter (and burnt) aftertaste.

Short of burning the beans, does roasting really make that much difference? Absolutely. There are four primary variables that will affect your coffee's flavor: roasting, processing, storing and of course, the quality of the bean itself.

There are different roasting styles, each with its own distinct flavors and characteristics. Choosing the right roast for you can make the difference between a coffee you love and one that you don't. How can you distinguish between roasts?

Understanding the roasting process can help you determine the type of flavor you'll likely get from a particular roast. All of the descriptive characteristics you see used to describe a particular bean are the result of the bean itself and the roast that was used. A light roast for example, leaves all of the bean's oils in tact and produces a dry, sometimes grainy coffee. Roast those beans just a bit more however and you'll have the most commonly preferred American roast that is both full-bodied and rich in flavor.

Starting with raw, green coffee beans, roasting is determined by both color, consistency and internal temperature of the bean. A very light roast takes generally five to seven minutes while a dark roast, also known as a heavy roast can take a full 15 minutes to produce. There are also variations between slow-roasted beans and high-temperature (faster) roasts.

Once the beans have reached the desired roast, they must be quickly cooled to avoid any continued roasting generated by the heat inside the bean. This process can be achieved using a number of methods that range from heavy-duty cooling machinery to simple fans.