In his book The Gospel According to Starbucks, Leonard Sweet tells the story of Ed Faubert. Faubert is what you call a "cupper"—in layman's terms, he's a coffee-taster. And his perspicacious taste buds are actually certified by the state of New York!

So refined is Faubert's sense of taste for coffee that even while blindfolded, he can take one sip of coffee and tell you "not just that it is from Guatemala, but from what state it comes, at what altitude it was grown, and on what mountain."