Walking down Ocean Drive on 13th Street on South Beach you enter the Art Deco region of Miami with classic examples such as the Tides Hotel. The area started to spring up in the 1920's visited by the rich and the famous, later to be frequented in the 1950's by the Mafia.

The Art Deco movement can be linked to the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs Industriels et Modernes held in Paris in 1925. So how did Art Deco arrive in Miami? Its introduction to Miami coincide with John Collins and Carl Fisher (1910) undertaking to transform the island now known as Miami Beach from a mangrove swamp into a tourist destination.

Today Miami has moved beyond it Cocaine Wars to represent luxury and premium lifestyles. Visit the Versace Mansion on Ocean Drive, travel up to Bell Harbour Mall or try and spot Operah on Fisher Island. Lincoln Road now represents the new modern heart of Miami.

Luigi Bezzera of Milan (Italy) in 1901 developed and introduced the first espresso machine. By the 1940's the piston lever espresso machine was introduced, producing our beloved espresso solely by steam pressure (approximately 8 to 9 BAR needed for the perfect cup creating the magical crema).

An authentic espresso is clearly distinguished by its thick consistency, a higher dissolved content and the magical "crema" which is the reddish-brown foam that floats on the surface and is composed of vegetable oils, proteins and sugars.

Even though the trend is downwards for general coffee drinking there is evidence to show that consumers are searching and demanding more premium and authentic quality coffee (2008 National Coffee Drinking Trends).