It comes as no surprise that Americans are obsessed with coffee.

For many of us, it’s become the first step of our morning routine that we simply can’t function without.

In fact, recent studies have shown that 31% of coffee drinkers make coffee the most important part of their mornings, brewing their morning cup almost immediately after waking up. Overall, 65% of the coffee consumed occurs during normal breakfast hours.

Coffee drinkers aren’t shy about their obsessions either. 55% of coffee drinkers would rather gain 10 pounds than give up coffee for life, and 52% of coffee drinkers would rather go without a morning shower than without their morning cup of coffee.

The United States is the leading consumer of coffee in the world coming in at 146 billion cups of coffee per year, with Seattle leading the way with over 10 times more coffee stores per 100,000 residents than the United States has overall.

Coffeehouses have been cemented in our nation’s history for ages. Both the American Revolution and the French Revolution it later inspired had some of its earliest origins amongst the conversations that took place within coffee shops.

One of the most interesting things about coffee is its wide variety of styles and methods of preparing it. People from all over the globe have their own distinct preferences for their coffee. Moroccans drink their coffee with peppercorns, Mexicans mix in a bit of cinnamon and most Belgians add some chocolate to their cups.

In America, coffee drinkers add their own mix of creamer, sugars and other flavorings to taste. 28% of coffee drinkers take their coffee black, forgoing adding any substances to their coffee.

One of the most ritual rites of passage in coffee drinking is understanding the proper cupping technique. Any serious coffee drinker knows the proper method for assessing how a particular batch of beans is roasted, brewed and tasted.

Cupping is not a routine to be taken lightly. The cupping process includes carefully weighing and grinding the beans to proper size, shaking the dry grounds to release the aromas and assessing the smell, and finally tasting, spraying the coffee all around their mouths before swallowing to carefully note each and every flavor.

Regardless of how you take your coffee, there is nothing better than enjoying the comforting

taste of a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

11 Tunnel Way

Mckees Rocks, PA 15136

412-771-7767

www.fortunescoffee.com