Dark Bilious Vapors

"For hundreds of years, if someone ordered a cup of coffee, there was no question about what kind.

Now, many Americans prefer their coffee decaffeinated.

The ability to make that choice comes from the work of Ludwig Roselius, a coffee merchant in Bremen, Germany. In the early part of the last century, he developed a process that removed 97 percent of the caffeine from coffee beans, without altering their taste. He described the new coffee as "sans caffeine," which he shortened to "Sanka."

Today, there's not only a decision to make about regular and decaf, but latte, cappuccino and espresso. Specialty coffee shops are increasingly popular. There are about 7,000 of them, selling $2 billion worth of coffee a year."

Karen on 09.08.05 @ 08:00 AM CST