Since its first induction as the worlds most popular beverage, coffee has gone through many changes and upgrades. These improvements allow gourmet coffee drinkers the chance to choose between many different grades and flavors of the coffee. Whether you are a coffee connoisseur or just need your morning pick me up, theres nothing to tempt the palate quite like a hot mug of smooth gourmet coffee!

To fully appreciate a cup of hot gourmet flavored coffee, you should take a minute to inform yourself with the basics of gourmet coffee. The coffee bean is not really a bean; they are actually the seeds of a cherry that are found on a coffee tree. There are a couple of different ways to extract the seed; wet process and dry process. Each process will bring about the shared result of removing all of the fruit from the seed.

There are two types of coffee: Arabica and Robusta. Robusta coffee makes up the coffee that has the most caffeine, at the cheapest price. Arabica (a.k.a. gourmet) coffee is the best grade of coffee. It has50% of the caffeine of Robusta and has the best taste. Those that enjoy this type of coffee will also tell you that gourmet coffee has a much better smell and more desirable flavors than Robusta.

Gourmet coffee is available in many of your favorite flavors, including: almond, amaretto, Irish crme, French vanilla, Swiss mocha, vanilla, chocolate, mint, peppermint, pumpkin spice and just about anything else you can imagine! Basically, if there is any flavor that you are partial to, you will be able to find.

There are gourmet flavored coffees that are caffeinated and those that are decaffeinated. If you have a sensitive stomach, you can even find gourmet coffee that is low in acid, making it a little more gentle. Arabica coffee ranks very high among the Specialty Coffee Association of America, which pretty much sets the standards applied to all gourmet coffee drinks.

Many coffee making companies offer a gourmet style drink, including: Gevalia, Green Mountain, San Giorgio, San Francisco Bay, Kona and Javalution. The gourmet coffee beans are offered in a variety of different serving sizes. They are also offered at many different prices, depending on your personal preference. Though this type of coffee may be a bit more pricey than the Robusta, its the only choice for true coffee lovers!