JEDDAH, 14 September 2005 — Coffee is much loved in the Kingdom. Some people don’t feel awake until they have the first cup in the morning. The coffee break at work is one of the highlights of the day. And countless thousands of people enjoy an outing to a cafe for an evening of conversation and coffee.

But what is the best way to brew coffee? A team of Starbucks employees came to Arab News yesterday to show off a variety of coffees which could be enjoyed at home, at work and on an outing.

Editor in Chief Khaled Almaeena, himself a well-known coffee drinker, and his staff of coffee aficionados watched with keen interest as the team demonstrated coffee brewing.

“The coffee press is Starbucks’ preferred method of brewing,” Paul Matta of Starbucks Saudi Arabia said as he introduced four Saudi coffee masters — Wessam Helmi, Saud Sherif, Khalid Al-Humaidi and Khalifa Abubaker, all of Starbucks-Alshaya International Trading Co, which in five years has opened 40 stores across the Kingdom.

“Coffee prepared in a press will give you the same depth of coffee flavor you would find at a professional coffee tasting,” one of them said. Delivering their message of “Simply the best way to brew coffee,” the coffee connoisseurs demonstrated how one can brew coffee to one’s taste using the coffee press. They discussed the best proportions for a good cup of coffee, the right grind for the coffee press, and water heated to a rolling boil. Then, presto, a cup of fresh coffee was ready for taste testing.

Coffee is grown and harvested in the equatorial regions of the globe, primarily in Latin America, throughout the Pacific and Africa. The soil, climate, altitude and surrounding plants to which a coffee tree is exposed, as well as the method by which the green coffee is processed, affect the flavor of the coffee.

Coffees of the Arabian Peninsula and Africa often combine the crisp, clean acidity found in Latin American coffees with intense floral aroma and enticing fruit or other flavors. Favorites include Starbucks Arabian Mocha Sanani and Kenya. Other African coffees include Tanzania, Ethiopia Yergacheffe and Gazebo Blend.

The range of coffee-making instruments offers drinkers everything they need for brewing great tasting coffee at home — coffee-makers, espresso machines and brewing accessories.

Starbucks representatives say the art of coffee and espresso can be perfected at home with the brewing equipment they offer. Press or percolator, drip or instant, just about everyone has his or her own idea about the perfect cup of coffee.

As to whether Starbucks is the best, that’s up to the individual coffee drinker to decide. Suffice it to say Starbucks stands firmly behind the coffee press.

“Coffee presses provide the boldest and most flavored brew and allows one to savor coffee the way the professionals like it — creamy and completely true to itself, with an extra touch of richness and body,” Matta said. Creamy and completely true? Extra touch of richness and body? Maybe we’ll have just another cup of that coffee!

Editor’s Note: Automobiles run on gasoline; newspapers run on coffee. Therefore, this report is as objective as we could make it between cups of coffee.