Coffee

There are well over 100 known species in the genus coffea, but only a few are commercially important. Coffee beans are mostly of two main types:

• Robusta coffee being the most widely produced.
• Arabica coffee being considered the higher quality one.

A third, less common, variety is Liberica which grows on a tree rather than a bush. Of the three, Liberica has the lowest caffeine concentration and Robusta the highest. A fourth variant is Excelsa, which some consider only a variant of Liberica rather than a separate species.

Coffee can be purchased as instant granules, which are used by most hotel rooms, though many cafés purchase roasted coffee beans and then grind them themselves to make coffee, usually starting with a single shot of espresso. For drinkers who desire more caffeine or a stronger flavour, additional shots can be requested. Coffee can also be bought as roasted and ground, which is the common form in some countries. Coffee can be brewed or boiled instead of using the espresso technique.

Coffee can be served black (as in no milk added), white (with cream, or milk in straight, 'frothed' or condensed forms) or even sometimes with alcohol (as in a shot of whisky to make 'Irish Coffee'). Many people prefer to add sugar to their coffee to counter the inherent bitter taste.

Common coffee types served around the world include:

• Americano: a shot of espresso with hot water to the brim
• Cappuccino: a shot of espresso with a milk foam, sometimes with spices
• Cortado: a shot of espresso with a shot of milk
• Espresso: a single shot of coffee in a thicker, concentrated form
• Flat white: a small coffee from Oceania where the espresso mixed with very hot milk
• Latte: short for the Italian caffè latte, coffee with milk, although latte may also refer to cappuccino. French café au lait and Spanish café con leche refer to similar servings, in big cups with equal parts milk and coffee. There are several variants going by different names, with the coffee base and the type and amount of milk varying.
• Mocha: named after the historic coffee trade city of Mocha, Yemen. A coffee with chocolate and milk

Coffee liqueurs such as Tia Maria and Kahlúa can be used to make alcoholic cocktails such as:

• Black Russian: made with vodka and coffee liqueur
• Irish Coffee: made with hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar, stirred, and topped with cream. The coffee is drunk through the cream.
• Coffee martini: made with vodka, espresso coffee, coffee liqueur, and sugar syrup. It is not a true martini as it contains neither gin nor vermouth, but is one of many drinks that incorporate the term into their names.

Coffee is one of the world's most traded commodities, and you can probably find many types in your home region. Nevertheless, there are many distinctive ways of drinking coffee around the world that are worth experiencing.

• Ethiopia is the botanical home of the coffee plant and some places still offer coffee brewed the traditional way

• Enjoy the American coffee capitals of Seattle and Portland

• New Orleans has its own unique style of coffee known as café au lait. In contrast to its French namesake, it is flavoured with roasted chicory and uses scalded milk.

• Colombia is widely known for its coffee traditions, which are listed by UNESCO as a part of the world's cultural heritage. Most Colombian coffee is grown in a region of the Andes known as the Zona Cafetera, sometimes called the Eje Cafetera. Many plantations offer tours and roasters and coffee shops are common throughout the country. Even in the most remote part of Colombia, there is likely to be a Juan Valdez coffee shop.
• While Nicaragua grows a lot of coffee (in its Northern Highlands), the tradition of drinking coffee is surprisingly weak outside of growing regions and major cities
• Costa Rica used to be dominated politically by the coffee growing class and the beverage is still a favorite of all classes and ethnic groups as well as one of the main agricultural exports. Some Costa Rican coffees are roasted and blended with a small amount of cane sugar, giving them a uniquely sweet signature.
• Mexico is a leading exporter of organic coffee. Coffee is grown in the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Chiapas. Gourmet coffee bars, roasters and skilled baristas are becoming more common, but sadly, it's still common to have even first-class hotels and restaurants think it's okay to serve Nescafe instead of brewed coffee, let alone quality coffee (ask before you order, especially after dinner, when coffee is rarely requested by Mexicans). Cafe de Olla is coffee brewed with cinnamon.

See also: Western_food_in_Asia#Coffee

• Visit a kissaten in Tokyo
• Have a frog coffee in Vietnam, or otherwise Vietnamese-style filtered coffee is unique too
• It is hard to beat a good 'flat white' in Melbourne, Australia
• Ipoh "white" coffee from Malaysia, roasted with palm oil and served with condensed milk
• Try a Kopi Luwak in Indonesia. Expensive and unusual in that it was prepared by passing through the digestive tract of a civet cat. This can now also be found in most other Southeast Asian nations.
• In Java in Indonesia, the strong black coffees with a base of sugar similar to Turkish, but Javanese in style
• The Philippine provinces of Batangas and Cavite have their own variety of coffee called kapeng barako. This is neither arabica nor robusta, but liberica that grows on a tree rather than a bush.
• South Australia has Farmer's Union Iced Coffee, a local band of strong, flavourful iced coffee. One of the few places in the world where coffee and not soda is the most consumed beverage.
• Hainan has is known in China for its coffee culture because of the influence of returning overseas Hainanese from Southeast Asia.
• The Arabs of the Middle East and North Africa have their own distinctive style of drinking coffee, in which cardamom is added to the coffee.
• A Korean 'Iced Americano' or 'Ah-Ah' on a freezing winter morning or steamy summer day

• Viennese cafes in Austria, have a coffee with the famous Viennese Sachertorte chocolate cake made with apricot jam
• A strong Turkish coffee in Istanbul, or a very similar Greek (alternative choice is the Frappé, which is instant cold coffee), Armenian or Bosnian coffee
• Try a delicious tiramisù dessert that is traditionally made with espresso-soaked ladyfingers (savoiardi), mascarpone cheese, marsala wine and cocoa powder. Or take a shot of espresso straight from the machine in Milan, Italy
• Indulge in the Swedish fika culture.

• Ping Huang Coffee Museum (品皇咖啡博物館), Taibao City, Taiwan. 
• Virajpet (Virarajendrapete), Virajpeta, India. Various plantation tours are available in this town. 

• Museo Lavazza (Lavazza Museum), Turin, Italy. All about coffee and the Lavazza brand, in a former coffee factory. (updated Feb 2024)

• National Coffee Park (Parque Nacional del Café), Montenegro, Colombia. A coffee theme park in the Andean mountains.