I was having a lovely dream about Juan Valdez. It was a chilly blue morning, the kind that you find in the mountains when a rain cloud has enveloped most of the landscape. We were sitting on a veranda somewhere in Columbia sipping coffee and he was telling charming stories of his adventures traveling the world with his donkey as the non-speaking spokespersons for Columbian coffee. He charmed, I laughed, and the whole time, I noticed the smell of coffee getting stronger and a horrible air-raid type siren sounding off in the distance getting louder and louder.

"Must be time to leave," I said sadly. "Yes. Have a nice day and thank you for drinking Columbian coffee," he said. "De nada."

For many of us, coffee gets us up in the morning, gets us through work, and then is an aperitif to end the day. But not only is it the cure for the savage morning beast and a stimulant for brain cells, it is a social beverage in coffeehouses around the world– coffeehouses that encourage creativity, the exchange of ideas, intimate conversation over a bistro table, and enjoying pulp fiction in a secluded corner. For our small corner of the world, Common Grounds is one such coffeehouse and has the necessary comfortable atmosphere that encourages people from all walks of life to enter and order an espresso from the barista (coffee bartender) or pour a steaming cuppa joe for themselves and have a seat.

If you have been to a coffee specialty shop in the past few years you may have noticed a change: there are pedantic coffee snobs with their cupping (very detailed, slurping taste tests for coffee quality), lipid percentages, and soil temperatures in Martinique, who may pop up from time to time to educate the apathetic. Ignore them and drink your decaf fat-free double white chocolate cappuccino; coffee is still for the masses.

I am giving the industry a bit of a jab there, but with so many coffee choices, it can be difficult to order and get exactly what you want. Fortunately, Melissa, a barista at Common Grounds, gave me a quick lesson, so I am now more prepared to explain it a little better.

Espresso is the beginning and is a dark, roasted bean, finely ground and tightly packed, that has pressurized hot water forced through it. The goal of delicious espresso is the perfect crema–the aromatic tan-colored thin layer of foam that lies on the top of the drink. Just the look of the crema can tell the barista whether the shot is too weak or bitter.

The next steps are just variations and additions: a Cubano is espresso brewed with sugar in the grounds, an Americano is espresso with hot water added, and a Red Eye is a shot of espresso added to coffee.

Many types of coffee are served at Common Grounds, but the cafe lattes and cappuccinos have become the most creative of the coffee drinks with so many extra ingredients added. Lattes are espresso with steamed milk, and cappuccinos are topped with frothed milk, but the extras added can be syrups such as hazelnut, vanilla, and Irish cream, or toppings such as chocolate, cinnamon, caramel, and whipped cream.

Those coffees may sound like dessert, but there are actual baked goods served that are large and delicious. Ruth Ralph is the baker for Common Grounds and she fills the glass case with beautiful treats: cinnamon rolls (about 8" in diameter) covered in icing and whole pecans, thick walnut brownies, homemade scones, muffins, pies, and cakes. All of which can be special ordered for pick up.

One of my favorite foods at Common Grounds, (because I am still at heart around six years old) is the Urban S'mores. It is a wooden sectioned bowl with a small iron urn in the middle that is filled with sterno and set on fire. Marshmellows are on wooden skewers ready to be charred and Hershey's Chocolate Bar pieces and graham crackers are waiting in the wooden bowl. Recently, a Girl Scout troupe had a very nice time making s'mores in this coffeehouse.

All of this coffee hoopla began with the discovery of coffee which involves an East African (probably Ethiopian) goat herder in 600 A.D., named Kaldi who, while watching his goats, noticed that they were more playful after eating berries from a particular bush. He naturally tried them himself, felt rejuvenated, and told others of this amazing berry. Monks, upon hearing about this, dried the beans inside the berries to ship them so that they could be rehydrated later at other monasteries for enhanced prayer. This led to better transportation and the eventual cultivation of coffee berries which began in Yemen. Today, Kaldi's berries have become the world's most popular beverage, a multi-billion dollar industry and that sweet cup waiting for me as I awake from a lovely dream in the morning.