And I'm Catherine.

Catherine, I'm going to start this programme with

a quick test, just for you.

Ooo, I love tests!

Complete this phrase: Wake up and smell the...

Coffee! Coffee, Neil! It's coffee.

I have to say that I love coffee, it's great.

Yeah. OK. So, do you drink much?

Well, just a couple of cups, you know.

Every day?

No, no, every hour!

I love coffee. Don't you like coffee, Neil?

I do - maybe not as much as you!

What's the best thing about it?

It's the smell. It's got to be the smell.

You know, when you open the packet,

it's great, isn't it?

Yes, but it never quite tastes as good

as it smells, does it?

Well no, not really.

It's always a bit disappointing.

I live in hope, another cup,

I think it will be better.

I might change brands actually and

try a different one.

Yeah. OK, you've had quite a lot of coffee

today, haven't you?

Just the usual six cups.

Well, our topic is the smell of

coffee, and coffee is also the subject of

today's question.

The world's biggest producer of coffee is...

Brazil! Brazil!

Yes, yes, but that's not the question.

The question is, Brazil is

the biggest coffee producer, which is the second largest

coffee producing country?

Is it: a) Colombia, b) Vietnam or c) Ethiopia?

Right, so it's not Brazil but I bet it's another

South American country, so I'm going to go for Colombia.

Colombia, is that right?

OK. We'll have the answer later in the programme,

by which time, maybe, the caffeine will have

left your body, Catherine.

Tim Hayward is a coffee shop owner.

He appeared in the BBC Radio 4 programme

The Kitchen Cabinet.

How important does he say the

smell of coffee is?

It's absolutely vital, it's the key thing.

And when you walk in to the coffee shop in the morning

and that smell hits you, you're getting physiological responses.

So how important is it?

I'm feeling a bit calmer now.

Tim Hayward says the smell of coffee is vital.

That means it's very important, it's perhaps

the most important thing.

And he backs this up by saying that

it's the key thing.

Something that's key is essential, it's really important.

And he says that when you experience the smell,

when the smell hits you, you get a physiological response.

This phrase means your body has a reaction to the

smell of coffee.

Perhaps your mouth begins to water in anticipation.

Catherine, when you get a coffee, do you normally have it there

or take it away?

Well, I usually take it away, although if I'm feeling really

in need of a coffee hit, I might have one there

and then get another one and take with me.

Can you describe the container that you are given when you

have a coffee to go?

Yes, it's in a tall paper cup with a lid.

And the lid has a hole in it so that I can

drink that lovely coffee.

Don't you think that's a problem?

I mean, we know how important the smell is, so what's the effect

of the lid on that experience?

The effect of the lid?

Yeah. Well, here's Tim Hayward again talking about coffee

being served with lids.

What baffles me is that how many of the large coffee chains

actually sell a product in a cup that removes the smell.

So, you walk into the coffee shop, you get the smell, but when you

actually take the drink out you are drinking it from something that

is designed to deliver the hot liquid directly

past your tongue but stop any smell coming up to your nose.

That's just weird.

So, what is it he's describing there?

I see, yes. He's talking about the big coffee chains.

A chain is a company that has lots of its stores in

towns and cities sometimes around the world.

I think we can all think of a few well-known coffee chains.

And he says that by putting a lid on take away

cups, you're actually blocking the smell - that smell that is really important to the coffee experience.

Yes, and he says he finds that weird, which is a way of saying he finds it

unusual, thinks it's strange, odd.

So much so that he says it baffles him.

If you are baffled by something, you find it confusing, you can't

really understand it.

Here's Tim Hayward again.

What baffles me is how many of the large coffee chains actually sell a product

in a cup that removes the smell.

So you walk into the coffee shop, you get the

smell, but when you actually take the drink out you are drinking it from

something that is designed to deliver the hot liquid directly past your tongue

but stop any smell coming up to your nose.

That's just weird.

That was coffee shop owner Tim Hayward.

Right, before we have another cup of this week's vocabulary,

let's get the answer to the question.

After Brazil, which country produces most coffee?

Is it: a) Colombia, b) Vietnam, or c) Ethiopia?

Catherine, you said?

I said it was a) Colombia.

Ah, sorry, no extra coffee for you today!

The answer is Vietnam.

And now, on to the vocabulary we looked at.

Take it away, Catherine.

So the first word was vital, which is an adjective that means very important.

And another word with a very similar meaning

was key, meaning essential.

Next we had the phrase physiological responses.

Physiological refers to what our bodies do and a

response is a reaction.

So, a physiological response is a

reaction your body has to something, like the smell of coffee.

Something that baffles you, confuses you, you don't understand it.

You might find something that baffles you to be weird.

This adjective means unusual or strange.

And finally, a chain is a group of shops from the same company with the same name.

Well, that is the end of our programme.

For more from us, check out Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and our App

and of course the website - bbclearningenglish.com.

See you soon. Goodbye.

Bye!

Fancy a coffee? I think you've had too much!

Hello, and welcome to 6 Minute English.

I'm Dan and joining me today is Catherine.

Hey, Catherine.

Hey, Dan.

So, Catherine, do you prefer a brew or a cup of joe in the morning?

Well, if you are referring to whether I prefer

a cup of tea, which we sometimes call ‘a brew’,

or a cup of coffee, sometimes called ‘a cup of joe’,

I prefer my coffee in the morning.

I only drink coffee when I really need to wake up quickly.

And, why are you asking, Dan?

Because it’s part of this 6 Minute English.

Coffee. I see.

So, how do you take it then, Dan?

Well, I’m an instant coffee kind of guy.

And I like mine with a dash of milk.

How about you?

A dash of something is a small amount

of something, especially liquid.

Personally, I prefer freshly-ground coffee beans,

and I like my coffee dark and strong - preferably Colombian or maybe Brazilian.

Wow. A coffee aficionado, eh?

An aficionado is a person who’s very enthusiastic about, or interested in,

a particular subject.

Well, let me test your knowledge with this week’s quiz question.

The specialty coffee, kopi luwak, is made from coffee beans

which have already passed through an animal’s digestive system.

But which animal?

Is it a) an elephant, b) a cat or c) a weasel?

I’m always going to answer b) a cat.

Did you say this coffee actually goes through the animal?

As in, it eats it and then it comes out the other end,

and that’s what we use for the coffee?

Well, yes.

It is actually one of the most expensive coffees in the world.

Anyway, we’ll find out if you’re right or not later on.

So, talking of expensive, do you tend to pay more for your coffee

or are you happy with the cheap as chips stuff?