While drinking a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop I performed some brief research online to discover who were the top retail coffee shops in the United States – and the results are Starbucks, Tim Horton’s, Caribou Coffee, and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. In accordance with the latest data, Starbucks has over 8,000 locations in the United States, Caribou Coffee – 322, Tim Horton’s – 292 and last, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf with 213 locations.

Most of us have been blessed with the wonderful gifts of seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, and touching. Numerous individuals love waking, in the morning, to the fresh, percolating smell of delicious coffee, wafting through their homes. What a huge enticement for their sense of smell! Why do we have such a love affair with this fragrant drink?

Despite the uncertainty created by today’s economic climate, one thing remains the same: People will continue to love coffee. Experts all agree that coffee production in the world will continue to grow by approximately 0.5 percent annually. Large coffee production will amount to nearly seven million tons or 117 million bags this year.