Interestingly enough most people picture expresso machines steaming away next to coffee makers either in the comfort of a kitchen or at the local coffeehouse. Ethiopia gave birth to the coffee craze that has flooded across worldwide borders. It still produces coffee from wild treed forests its sub-tropical environment. Coffee can only be grown in that environment or in the world’s tropical regions, where they get plenty of sun and needed rain.

Coffee growth is restricted to a narrow ring from 23° North to 25° South A Turkish proverb describes it as ‘… black as hell,  strong as death,  sweet as love…’  In fact, coffee is a commodity that is 2nd only to the oil industry in dollar for volume production. Over 70 countries now supply it.

The largest coffee production is found in Brazil – 28% of the world total. Columbia produces only 16%. Indonesia provides only 7%, and Mexico follows closely with 4%.

The best beans are grown in higher altitudes, but many varieties have acclimatized to other regions. Brazilian coffee plantations cover huge areas. Hundreds of laborers are employed to tend the young plants. Columbia is more mountainous, but it is restricted to mule or Jeep transportation to get it to major centers.

In Hawaii, coffee plantations benefit from Mauna Loa’s volcanic soil. Volcanic ash is combined with volcanic rocks. However the sunshine is strong and the area gets its ample share of tropical rains.

In the former Dutch colony of Indonesia, coffee has been produced on its 1000′s of islands since the 1600′s. However, despite all the best technology being used worldwide, the best coffee climates are the damp and warm ones found around the hundreds of small farms on Sumatra, Sulawesi and Java. They provide at least a third of the world’s coffee.

The famous Altura beans of the higher altitudes of Mexico can be found growing in Chiapas, Veracruz and Oaxaca. The rest of the country is dotted with 100′s of thousands of these tiny farming plantations.

Over the past years Vietnam has been resurrecting its Tonkin region after a long time of misuse and is now rivaling Indonesia for third place. French missionaries planted the famous aribica coffee trees in the middle of the 1800′s. It is now home to the robusta plant.

The African countries of the Ivory Coast and Kenya have become renowned for their darkish big beans that produce a mild and fruity flavored coffee. Their production is relatively small in comparison the other producers, but the coffee that is grown at the foot of Mount Kenya and the expresso beans from the Ivory Coast, the world’s largest robusta expresso producers are becoming more well known now in North America, despite their popularity in Europe for many years.

Coffee continues to rival tea for dedicated and devout fans worldwide. The array of varieties is seemingly endless, even coming from as far away as Indian or Tanzanian, or as close to home as Costa Rica.

If you are trying to find the espresso machine that is best for you, you will first have to decide which are the features that are the most important to you. With all of the espresso models out there, even many models from the same manufacturer, it will be hard to choose among all of them. Even for the experts who own fancy coffee houses, with all of their knowledge about what should be the best espresso machine and the ability to compare notes with others in the field, it is difficult to have to understand what they want since so many new models come out all the time. If they have a hard time, what about us poor ordinary consumers?

One of the most important things you want to consider in an espresso machine is the built in grinder. Freshly ground coffee is important to good espresso. Many of these machines will have a grind dial that will allow you to fine-tune the density of the grind. If you machine does not have a built in grinder, you will have to make sure you grind your coffee to match the espresso machine. If your machine is set too low, for a mocha or drip brewing grind, you will have to keep experimenting until you find the right consistency for your espresso machine. The recommended ratio is w ounces of espresso from the beaker in about 27 seconds.

A good machine should be able to stand a grind that is a little too thick, so don;t be afraid to experiment. A good espresso machine will not jam if the grinds are too coarse or too fine. The really high quality machines will have a check valve. This allows the the machine to have a higher tolerance for finer grinds that require higher pressure. Until you find the right grind for your machine, you may not get the best results. There is a certain pressure necessary for the best extraction, and if it is too high, you will have a bitter cup of coffee.

Sound levels are another good barometer of a fine espresso machine. The best machines are quiet, as low as a whisper. If you can’t carry on a normal conversation near the machine, it is too loud, and consequently not of good quality. This will let you tell your friends about your great new espresso machine.