Over the years, worldwide controversies have arisen over coffee. It has been called many expletives including "the drink of the devil", an evil brew and a beverage that causes men's impotence. On the other hand, literary masterpieces, national testaments and oratories have been created, medical advances have been made and huge business deals have changed the course of history, all over a cup of coffee. Of course, none of these advances were due to the coffee, but may well be indebted to it.

Coffee is surely more than a simple beverage. The world loves it, and for good reason.

Fine coffee, like wine, takes special preparation. Coffee is the antithesis of wine, but it requires the same amount of dedication, specialized processes and cultivation. Wine relaxes the body and tends to slow the mental processes. Coffee has quite an opposite effect. Coffee is calming, rather than intoxicating. It stimulates the senses, rather than dulling them. Someone once said that "It cheers the spirit without making one mad."

Like wine, coffee needs blending, brewing and various other preparations that go with excellent drinks. Coffee also has its own vocabulary of terms. If you wish to be truly familiar with coffee, here are some of the more notable terms to learn:

Acidity

The acidity in coffee contributes to its special liveliness, color and brightness. Carrots and coffee have roughly the same levels of pH.

Arabica

One of the most popular types of coffee is Arabica, the other being Robusta. Coffee Arabica contains less caffeine, and it is harder to cultivate as it grows best at altitudes from 3,500 to 7,000 feet. This type of coffee has a more full-bodied taste as compared to Robusta, and it is consequently more expensive.

Bourbon is a variety of coffees Arabica grown in Africa. Its cultivation was not seriously pursued for some time because, although it has more character and taste, it does not yield as large a crop as the other Arabica varieties. With the current popularity of coffee, however, its cultivation has risen in popularity.

Coffee Blends

The art of blending coffee is much like an artist mixing colors on the palette. Coffee blenders use beans from various coffee-growing regions, and then mix them to craft a specialized flavor that cannot be achieved with coffee of single origin.

Full Body

The "body" of the coffee is a term used to describe the way it feels in the mouth. The body may be thin, delicate, light, syrupy or buttery.

Decaffeinated Coffee

This process is used to minimize the caffeine content of the coffee beans. Several processes can be utilized to remove the caffeine content. One is a method using chemicals, another makes use of a variety of water processes, while the third method uses carbon dioxide. In each of these decaffeinating processes, the chief concern is to preserve the natural flavor of the coffee bean.

Coffee Grades

Coffee beans are classified by their size and density. Premium coffee is the highest possible grade and it is sold at the highest price.

Processing

This term is used to describe the separation of the flesh from the coffee bean. Drying and washing are the two main methods of processing coffee. In drying the coffee, the beans or "cherries" are spread across the ground to dry out in the sun. Every day, the beans are raked several times to ensure even drying. After two or three weeks, the dried flesh cracks and the beans emerge. This type of dry processing produces an earthy flavor and a syrupy texture to your coffee.

The washed processing is a method of cutting the skin off the coffee bean and allowing it to stand so that it ferments until the skin can be easily washed off with water. After that step, the beans are dried. This kind of processing sustains the natural flavors in the coffee.

Now that you're more familiar with coffee vocabulary, go ahead and impress your friends with this newfound knowledge. Over coffee, of course!