On his rather neglected album, Ring-a-Ding Ding, recorded in 1960, Frank Sinatra sings the witty Coffee Song - and it's a tune we could easily adopt as a new national anthem, such is our current obsession with coffee.
North, south, east and west of Ireland, we are embracing a coffee culture at such speed that anyone would think coffee trees grew throughout the country. Tea remains, for the most part, our domestic drink, but coffee is now our public hot drink - the Celtic Tiger is fuelled by regular hits of caffeine.
But still most of the coffee we drink is of indifferent quality, and is usually poorly made. While some of the major coffee houses are training their staff to achieve the excellence of the Italian barristas, those men who raise the making of an espresso to an art form, many places serve coffee which is scarcely worth drinking.
We don't see the preparation of coffee as an art - we reckon it is just a process. But even making a simple cafetiere of coffee can be done well, or badly.
I find it best to warm the cafetiere with hot water from the kettle, then pour a good splash of water over the ground coffee as the water in the kettle approaches a boil. Don't let the water boil, pour it over the grains slowly, then let it rest. All of these simple things actually make a better cup of coffee.
If you want to make a great espresso at home, you will get closest to it by buying a Magic espresso machine and using the Illy espresso pods, imported by Food Solutions in Blackrock, Co Louth.
One man who is addressing the problem of coffee quality is David McKiernan, whose company, Java Republic, has set about the business of coffee roasting and selling with an admirable iconoclasm. McKiernan possesses the vital ingredient for a coffee roaster: he is passionate about the drink itself. Java Republic only uses Arabica beans in its blends (most companies use the cheaper Robusta beans along with Arabica, to bulk out the coffee) and he also prints the date of the roasting on the pack. This is vital, because once roasted, coffee has a short life - it loses 50 per cent of its flavour in the first two hours after roasting.
McKiernan and his coffee roasters, David Dodd and Paul Mooney, achieve maximum flavour by roasting the beans for a long time at a lower temperature than is the industry norm: the beans are judged to be ready by sight and smell, before being slowly cooled and then ground into the blend.
The result of their considerate approach is delicious - Java Republic coffees are fresh, sensual blends, with a focused lightness that is very appealing. Along with the superlative Illy coffees, the Java Republic blends show the culture of coffee in all its narcotic glory.
And if you can drink it, you can also eat it, as this delicious dessert shows. It's a recipe by the great English cook, Joyce Molyneaux of the Carved Angel restaurant. Coffee and Praline Charlotte is one of those great old desserts which it does your heart good to indulge in. The recipe has a number of steps, but is actually fundamentally straightforward and easy to achieve.
Coffee and Praline Charlotte
For the charlotte
50 g (2oz) ground coffee
600 mls (1 pint) milk
5 egg yolks
100g (4oz) caster sugar
11g (scant half oz) leaf gelatine, soaked, or one sachet gelatine powder
450 ml (3/4 pint) cream
24 sponge finger biscuits
2 tablespoons Tia Maria
2 tablespoons water, in which you have dissolved one level teaspoon sugar
For the praline:
50 grams (2oz) hazelnuts
50g (2oz) caster sugar
To make the praline, spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated, hot oven for 5-10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, rub between the palms of your hands to remove the papery skins. Chop roughly.
Place the sugar in a small pan with one tablespoon cold water. Stir over a medium heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved, then increase the heat. Boil until it turns a light brown, watching the pan constantly. Immediately tip in the hazelnuts, bring back to the boil and remove from the heat. Pour on to a lightly oiled baking sheet and leave to cool and harden. Break into pieces and grind to a powder. Store until needed in an airtight container.
To make the charlotte, put the coffee and milk into a pan, and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Strain through muslin, return to the pan and reserve.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until light and fluffy. Bring the coffee-flavoured milk to the boil and pour on to the egg yolks and sugar, whisking constantly. Return to the pan and stir over a low heat for about five minutes, without boiling, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Strain.
Stir the gelatine into the warm custard until thoroughly dissolved.
Leave to cool. When almost set, whip the cream lightly and fold in, along with the praline.
Take a 1.75-litre (three-pint) mould - a soufflΘ dish, or an oblong mould, for instance - line with cling-film, and cover the base with finger biscuits, curved side down, cut into wedges so that they can be arranged like the petals of a flower. Stand more finger biscuits round the sides, again curved sides against the mould, wedged tightly into position. Make sure there are no gaps. Mix together the Tia Maria and the sugared water and sprinkle it over the biscuit mould.
Fill the mould with the praline cream, tapping it against the work surface to expel any air bubbles. Cover the top with cling-film, and chill for 12 hours or overnight. Turn out before serving and peel off the cling-film.
Java Republic, The Roastery, Citylink Business park, Old Naas Road, Dublin 12. Tel: 01-4565506. Email: mailorder@java- republic.com. Java Republic coffees are widely available.
Food Solutions, Seafield Road, Blackrock, Co Louth. Tel: 042-9322922.