"Coffee in Ireland is at about the stage where wine was 10 years ago, " suggested Anne Abberton, managing director of Cafe De Cuba, which has exclusive rights for all export brands of Cuban coffee for both the UK and Ireland. But if coffee is 10 years behind where wine is now, at least there is hope . . . after all, Irish people have only recently learned that a wine list does not begin and end with house wines.

In fact, quality coffee penetration still has a long way to go in this country. Consumption of instant coffee still makes up the vast majority of coffees which are drunk in Ireland . . . which is the exact opposite of the situation on the continent, where Kaffee Klatsch (coffee culture) has developed a far more sophisticated palate.

But as more and more people discover through the various coffee houses that are offering at least an alternative to the pub, or through a better standard of after-dinner beverage, coffee is something to be savoured and enjoyed . . . if you have a cup worth savouring and enjoying.

It is into this market that Cafe de Cuba has entered, bringing with it not only a coffee among the highest quality in the world, but a mission to educate Irish palates in what quality coffee actually is. Fifty per cent of its business is done through retail (no multiple stores, just high-quality outlets such as Donnybrook Fair, Mortons, Fothergills, Cavistons and McCambridges in Galway). The other half of its business is done through high-quality restaurants and cafes, such as Patrick Guilbauds, Bang, One Pico, Bleu and Jacob's Ladder. And if Cafe de Cuba is good enough for those places, it should be good enough for you.

So what makes Cuban coffee special? Firstly, Cuba only exports higher quality Arabica beans, keeping the Robusta coffee for the domestic market. But it is more than this. Like fine wine, coffee is dependent on its terroir (the environment within which it is grown) for its flavour. The altitude, coupled with the soil and surrounding vegetation, gives some Cuban coffees a smoky, tobacco flavour, while others, near a sugar plantation, might have more than a hint of treacle.

The trouble with quality is that you tend to pay for it, and Cafe de Cuba is currently about the most expensive coffee on the Irish market (Jamaica Blue Mountain is still more expensive, but thanks to successive bad harvests, it is almost impossible to find). But, as with anything rare and beautiful, you don't need too much to enjoy it.

"You don't need to drink five cups of coffee all the time, " explained Abberton.

"One cup of quality coffee should be enough, and it should be enjoyed for its own flavour."