As I started visiting websites it became clear to me that espresso was more than just a beverage to a very large portion of the general public. If you have never gotten serious- I mean really serious about coffee, then you have no idea how serious some of these people can be. There are parts of the world where coffee is taken very seriously, boarding on a religious fervor. The "Barista" (Italian, literally meaning "Bartender" in English, but used generally to represent a professional coffee brewer) is a disciple who takes his brewing skills and his handling of the coffee beans as seriously as a doctor regards his surgical skills and his patients. The serious espresso drinker knows proper brew times, the characteristics of the various coffee beans, and their various growing locations and what that means to the taste of the brew and a lot more besides. They smell and sip their coffee drinks the way a connoisseur knows his wine.