Coffee
It was the Arabs who invented a way of extracting the drink we know today as coffee, and it was in the Islamic countries that the first coffee shops sprang up - the forerunners of today's cafe bars.
Venice takes the credit for the west's first 'coffee shop', sometime between 1640 and 1645. The place, of course, Piazza San Marco. The cappuccino is the mainstay of Italian coffee culture, and the name is derived from 'hood' - the foam on top of the coffee resembling the hooded robe of the Capuchin friars.
A real cappuccino should be one third espresso coffee, one third steamed milk and one third foamed milk, and it must be white at the centre with stronger coffee shades around the rim. The cup is also important - too big is not a good sign - and it must not be boiling hot.
Espresso is another story - in Italian it means 'quick'. The International Institute of Coffee Tasters recommends that espresso should always be drunk out of a small cup, with a capacity approximately twice the volume of the drink, allowing the 'cream' on top to convey the aroma to the nose. A wellmade espresso gives you a haunting glimpse into the very soul of coffee.
The moment of truth. A few sips and then it is gone - but leaving an exquisite aftertaste.