In a world where a huge percentage of people drink coffee on a daily basis, it simply has to be asked: Is there an art to making coffee? If you read articles on enough coffee-based websites, you'd think there are more ways to make coffee than there is to tie your shoes (if you wear shoes that need to be tied). Well, I don't know too much about it because I have limited experience in making coffee. I have a lot more experience in drinking it.

Good Coffee, Bad Coffee and Manly Coffee

I always get a good laugh when someone mentions manly coffee. If you read "Brewing the Perfect Cup of Coffee" at The Art of Manliness website, your first impression might be that the author is talking about manly coffee. Well, not really. That comes up in the comments following the article, but the article itself ignores that specific attribute.

My definition of making manly coffee would be coffee made in the quickest, simplest method possible, with as little impeding the final result of guzzling a cup or two as possible. Obviously, percolated coffee or automatic drip coffee wouldn't fill that bill. In all my years, I can definitely say I've had some manly coffee, some good and some bad, with some extremely horrible tasting coffee in the mix of all that.

The fact is, it's the water that determines if coffee tastes good or bad. Most tap water isn't fit to drink, so why use it to make coffee? I see people doing it all the time and it makes me wonder what they're thinking. Filtered or unfiltered, coffee made with tap water usually tastes like you're drinking something made with dirty socks.

Instant Coffee, Brewed Coffee and Cowboy Coffee

It's obvious what the difference between instant coffee and brewed coffee is, but what the heck is cowboy coffee? Well, apparently, it's where you put coffee grounds in a sauce pan or coffee pot with water, bring it to a boil and remove it from the heat when it smells or looks strong enough for you. After a minute or two of cooling, when the grounds have settled to the bottom, you can pour the liquid from the top.

That seems like too much work for me. I'll take instant coffee over that any day. That's exactly what I did when I was in the field while in the military anyway because instant coffee packets were included in the rations. Drop a packet in a canteen cup (metal), add boiling water (or boil water with it) and you have about two cups of coffee in just three or four minutes. Of course, these days I simply use the hot water from my hot water dispenser and stir in a spoonful of instant coffee and a couple of spoons of sugar (no cream or non-dairy creamer). My ordinary cup of coffee takes less than a minute to prepare.

I'm still looking for a decent coffee maker of some kind and I haven't found one I want here in the Philippines. I'm not a good judge of things like that anyway, and that's where the unmanly wife comes into play. She knows what I like and what I need and she knows what kind of coffee maker will do the trick. Isn't that what wives are for anyway? To keep us husbands in line by controlling what we eat and drink? I'm not being serious, by the way, but I do rely on my wife for so many things, including the whole non-instant coffee ordeal.

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I have had the debate time and time again over the validity of my coffee as compared to other friends' coffee. Yes, I add sugar and creamer, but that is how I like to have my coffee, much like some people prefer butter on their toast or salt and pepper on their dinner. Drinking coffee without any added ingredients can be commendable but the debate remains over what is the "true" way in which to drink coffee.

Discovered in the 9th century in Ethiopia, coffee spread throughout the North African world, infiltrating the Muslim culture until the 15th century when it was spread to the rest of Europe and on to the Americas. In many African cultures, such as those in Yemen and Ethiopia, coffee had an important role in many religious ceremonies and was therefore banned from secular consumption. The original coffee drinkers drank the coffee straight from the beans (the "pure" form), without any of the fancy additives which we now add, and was thought to counteract many stomach illnesses. While coffee did not experience the boom in North America that it did upon initial introduction in Europe, the demand grew during the Revolutionary War mostly due to the reduced availability of tea during this time. The American taste for coffee grew during the Civil War as increases in brewing technology led to a better tasting quality for everyone. This in turn led to coffee becoming the everyday commodity which we now know it to be.

Coffee users have since discovered a myriad of ways in which to prepare the beverage, from the traditional "black" coffee, to coffee with milk or cream, even iced coffee. Espresso-based coffee is even another way that was created in a shot form, or in a watered-down style of café américano. Milk can additionally be added to this drink to make a café latte, or equal parts of steamed milk and milk froth can make a cappuccino, or even a bit of hot foamed milk on top creates a caffé macchiato. Instant coffee has also become incredibly popular throughout the modern world for those coffee drinkers who do not wish to prepare their own. This increase in particular coffee use has also procured an increase in coffee shops throughout the world as well, with many Starbucks-esque shops which serve customers who want their coffee prepared with a certain flavor or added ingredients. This evolution from the early coffee drinkers who simply drank the "bunnu" fruit in Africa has been an amazing transition; most Americans today cannot fathom drinking coffee straight from its original source, especially without the specialized drinks they have now learned to love.

In the end, there is no "right" or "wrong" way to drink coffee, but if you want to debate over the methods, the original way to drink coffee was the preferred "black" way, although even Civil War Americans liked to add their milk to the mix. Coffee has become a staple of modern day society and many people now could not function without the caffeine it provides to their day, which is the main reason why this cash crop will never drop in value.

This post was contributed by Meredith Walker, who writes about the online nursing programs. She welcomes your feedback at MeredithWalker1983 at gmail.com

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