Coffee certainly has enjoyed sustained success as the next big beverage for quite some time now. Move over, tea! You’re only for Brits and people who need to calm down before going to bed on a chilly winter’s evening. But a love for coffee isn’t as simple as walking up to the counter at Starbucks and ordering whatever sounds the most Italian. No, it takes a little more work than that.

A lot of people who think they know a lot about coffee actually don’t, really, because they assume that in cultures where coffee is consumed more, people know more about it. The fact of the matter is that just because a country drinks coffee every day, it doesn’t mean that the people sitting in the cafes know any more or any less about it than your average Starbucks customer. It’s just a part of the culture, and a huge part of socializing.

The real difference between a love for coffee and a strong like for it is knowing a little bit more about how it’s made and where it comes from. For example, espresso is not a different type of coffee bean. Rather, it’s a special kind of coffee beverage where the hot water is forced through well-packed, finely-ground coffee. The machine that makes espresso is where the beverage gets its name, and is actually only from 1901, when a man in Milan filed the very first patent. Unlike coffee, espresso has a foam, even without milk, and a thicker consistency. A truly good espresso, you see, will hold sugar you pour in for a couple of seconds before it breaks through the foam.

Many coffee drinkers think that getting serious means switching to espresso, which definitely enjoyed a surge in popularity thanks to the whole Starbucks movement. The thing with espresso, though, is that it’s just a stronger version of regular coffee, which is something that a lot of people don’t quite realize. In fact, espresso machines didn’t even exist until 1901. But those with a love for coffee who are looking for a stronger drink, remember this when you’re ordering your espresso: the really, really good kind should be able to have some serious hang-time when you toss in that spoon of sugar. Otherwise, you might as well just drink regular coffee.

In fact, ordering coffee is one of the biggest parts of learning to drink it, and if you’re going to be using coffee to socialize in new and exciting places, you should probably know what you’re getting yourself into. Except early in the morning on the way to work, when you stand at the bar and do a shot of espresso, drinking coffee in Italy is going to set you back at least an afternoon. The same is true in France. Those are a couple of the only countries where you can order a shot of espresso and make it last for a couple of hours, so order accordingly.

But part of a love for coffee is appreciating all of the fun and fancy versions of drinks that have been developed, and trying them all out. Depending on where you are in the world, or the style of coffee you’re sampling, a number of different things are used for flavor. Whether it’s enjoying the taste of chocolate in a mocha or drizzling some sweet caramel-like sauce down in Argentina right into the coffee, it doesn’t have to be a bitter-tasting drink experience.

In most countries where you’re going to be out drinking coffee, there will also be snacks that come along. So in case you’re worried that a love for coffee means only drinking cup after cup, don’t worry! In Holland, a bunch of cookies come with a regular cup of coffee, and mint tea is an equally popular beverage, so there’s no need to jump right into the world of caffeine. It’s still possible to just try coffee out and still have back-up beverages that won’t get you banished from the cool kid’s table.

Don’t forget: the main purpose of drinking any sort of beverage with a group of friends is to socialize. You don’t need to be an expert on coffee, or even have a serious love for coffee, to go out and use the excuse of an afternoon cup to make a great friend or get to know a new place better. Just do it.

If Damian Papworth has a major celebration he pulls out the 12 cup coffee maker. For all other mornings though one cup coffee makers are fine