Emma: I just got hold of the audio version of "The Coffee Trader" but haven't started it.

One can certainly be hooked on coffee. And I don't think it's just the caffeine. Coffee has many (I've been told hundreds but that's hard to believe) active compounds.

If I go without coffee for a day my body feels it. Coming off coffee takes me a week of severe discomfort, and a second week of 'coming down'. Getting 'on' coffee is much more fun and takes about a day and a half.