Publication delayed. Originally scheduled in 2009. How much water does it take to make a cup of coffee ? The answer may shock you - 140 litres ! That's the true amount of water used in growing, producing, packaging and shipping the beans you use to make your morning coffee. In fact, all the goods we buy - from food to clothing to computers - have a water cost in the form of virtual water: the powerful new concept that reveals the hidden facts of our real global water consumption. At a time when the world's resources are being used up at increasingly alarming rates what can we do to help tackle the threat to our planet's most precious resource ?