The Devil's Cup

Can you handle mornings without a brew? No? Multiply that. Imagine an entire population under a cloud of lethargy, unable to kick start their days. Now introduce coffee. Bingo. The brain moves into over-drive and it's time for empire building. So goes Stewart Lee Allen's crazy theory. Only thing is, after retracing coffee's journey to world domination – by train, rickshaw, cargo freighter and donkey – he has plenty of evidence to back it up. Stewart Lee Allen has filtered out the richest beans from coffee's hot and frothy history . . . serving up a steamy, high-energy brew that will stimulate you more than a triple-strength espresso. As they might say in Starbucks: 'Enjoy.'