Spilling the Beans on Brewing the Best Coffee

On average, regular American coffee drinkers chug up to 3.1 cups of coffee daily. Which, as any frazzled college student or 9-to-5 worker can tell you, checks out.

Whether you're on your way to writing the next great American novel or you simply need the strength to make it through the day, you probably find yourself seeking refuge at the local coffee shop and drinking them out of house and home.

No judgment.

If you consider yourself a coffee connoisseur, or even if you're just a casual fan of inhaling liquid caffeine every morning, here are some things to know about everyone's favorite morning habit.

Breaking Down The Bean

Ready to have your mind blown? Coffee beans aren't actually beans, they're seeds. Like the pits of cherries, coffee beans are the seeds of a coffee plant, which therefore makes coffee a fruit.

Like everything else in the golden age of technology, you can order coffee beans online without even getting out of your PJs. You can even find fairtrade options and companies that donate to charity.

If you prefer to slurp the good old bean juice from the comfort of your own home, splurging for a full-blown espresso machine for your kitchen might be well worth the shipping fee.

Sip it Simple

Here's a life hack for anyone who camps out for long periods of time in coffee shops: coffee stays warmer up to 20% longer if you add cream. Although, this might be bad news for anyone who prefers their coffee blacker than the dead of night.

I Prefer My Coffee to be Fancy Today, Thanks

If you're in the mood to treat yourself to something special instead of injecting caffeine directly into your bloodstream, seek out specialty coffees. These are carefully curated and given a quality score by coffee experts, BABASUF. This confusing acronym stands for body, aftertaste, balance, acidity, sweetness, uniformity, and flavor. When you order coffee beans that have been scored by the SCAA (the Specialty Coffee Association of America), you know you're not getting your run-of-the-mill ground coffee, you're getting an experience.

Regardless if you order coffee beans from the internet or if you order coffee beans from that cafe down the street where everybody knows your name, enjoy being a part of the majority of Americans who guzzle coffee every day like it's their job. You will never lack for options -- hot, cold, cheap, fancy, and everything in bean-tween.