Drinking Coffee 101

(This program originally aired Nov. 20, 2005)

"I've never had anybody fall asleep in this course so that's a positive thing," Ersky quips to CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman.

He says we need to start appreciating coffee the way we do wine.

But isn't coffee, well, just coffee?

"Coffee is never just plain coffee, absolutely not," replies Ersky. "It's very different according to the beans, according to how it was roasted."

As Ersky teaches his students to taste the difference between coffees, you first need to know how to taste. And that lesson begins with something called cupping.

"To cup properly, you don't actually drink the coffee. You take a spoon and you slurp," Ersky explains.

Demonstrating for Hartman, Ersky says, "You spray it across your tongue. You spray it across the roof of your mouth. And that way you get the full flavor sensation."

Over the next hour, Ersky dissected five different coffees from around the world.

Which brings the discussion of coffee to Indonesia. Food science professor Masssimo Marcone is the Indiana Jones of coffee. He came here in search of the legendary Kopi Luak bean, a coffee that sells for up to $600 a pound. To find it, first you have to locate an Indonesian Mongoose. Spot one and the coffee's right behind.

Hartman explains that the mongoose eats the coffee bean, digests it and then it is harvested for consumption.

A "crap-acino" if you will," Hartman jokes.

Massimo says once the beans are cleaned and roasted, they're perfectly safe and make the best coffee in the world, some say.

With much trepidation, Hartman attempts to drink the coffee. To his surprise, the drink tastes like, well, coffee.

While Hartman admits he cannot distinguish between expensive and cheap coffee beans, Ersky says most people can.

In fact, Ersky has found that in blind taste tests, pitting fancy brews against the more humble supermarket brands, folks almost always choose the cheapest one on the table.

And, of course, saving money is often the best buzz of all.