My tastes in the caffeine-rich substance have changed over the past 15 years. As a teenager, I couldn’t stand the stuff – not even the smell – yet now I have my own espresso maker, and I really don’t like instant coffee.

In-between, I have drunk a fair few cups of instant coffee (even Nescafe, which I think is vile now). I had a cafetiere phase when I would drink several cups of fresh coffee a day. Now I really love cappuccinos and strong dark coffees.

I do try not to drink too much per day, which is why what I do drink needs to be of good quality. I don’t primarily drink coffee to keep myself awake (though in the morning, it helps). It is for flavour, and sometimes for a sense of comfort. It can be a wonderful relaxant, which is strangely ironic given that too much gives one a caffeine-rush, buzz, and can cause agitation and restlessness.

I’ve probably spent far too much money at coffee houses, taking away coffee in silly cardboard cups with sip-lids (I try to sit down somewhere and take the lids off when I drink from these now; less risk of scalding and a cappuccino through a half-centimetre square hole is not great)

Yet the other day I was speaking to a colleague who is Greek, and insists that it is a totally different coffee to any other. It is stoneground, and therefore the bean is fully powdered, releasing all of its extracts and flavours. It’s made in a different way, too. I am thinking that I need to try this, though I might get into trouble at home for stinking the house out even more with fresh coffee.