698 Dr. Mark Plotkin on Coffee, the World’s Favorite Stimulant — Chemistry, History, and More
This is a OPEN AI summary of the Tim Ferriss Podcast #698- visit www.TinyTim.blog for more AI summaries, or www.Tim.blog for the official Tim Ferriss Podcasts.
Coffee is the most widely consumed mind-altering plant in the world, and it has a rich and intriguing history. The history of coffee features adultery, larceny, spies, smugglers, and slave revolts. If Hollywood can make hit movies based on an amusement park ride like Pirates of the Caribbean and based on a plastic doll like Barbie, why have they never made a film about the history of coffee?
The origin story of coffee supposedly begins with a goat herder named Kaldi, who noticed that his goats became frisky and animated after eating the fruits of a local tree. He consumed a few and felt a similar burst of energy. The Oromo peoples of Ethiopia considered coffee to be the tears of Waaqa, the supreme sky god, and they devised a variety of ways of ingesting the plant, including chewing the beans and leaves, and making a wine out of the fermented pulp. The discovery of caffeine was a revelation in an ancient world devoid of many other stimulants.
Coffee is a naturally-occurring stimulant that has been used by humans for centuries. It is known to increase energy and concentration, and has also been used as an aid for nocturnal prayer ceremonies. Coffee houses have often been associated with political and religious discussions, and some rulers have attempted to ban coffee drinking altogether. Despite this, the practice has persisted due to the pleasurable effects of caffeine. Coffee has become deeply ingrained in Muslim culture, to the point where it is known as "the wine of Islam."
Coffee became popular in the Arab world in the early 1700s and quickly became a hub of social interaction. However, political conservatives soon began to attack coffee house culture due to its progressive orientation. Europeans first tasted coffee in these Arabic coffee houses and assumed the plant was native to the Middle East. However, the plant is actually native to Ethiopia. British ethnobotanist James Bruce traveled to Ethiopia in 1770 and spent two years exploring local peoples and their uses of medicinal plants and coffee. Bruce's writings make gripping reading and provide ample evidence of the dangers and challenges early plant explorers faced.
The Dutch East India Company encouraged the Dutch merchant Van Broecke to obtain live coffee plants from Mocha in 1616. The Dutch planted them in the Dutch East Indies on the island of Seylan, now Sri Lanka, in 1658, and then Java in 1699, and then in their colony in Suriname, which was the first plantation in South America in 1716. Trees from the Asian plantations were shipped to the Amsterdam Botanical Garden in 1706, but only a single specimen survived the arduous journey. A cutting from the French tree was taken to the Caribbean island of Martinique, where it eventually gave rise to many of the world's coffee plantations, particularly in Central and South America, all descended from the single specimen in the Amsterdam Botanical Garden.
In the early 18th century, Melo Palheta smuggled coffee plants from French territory to Brazil, where they eventually took root and flourished. The coffee industry in Brazil is now worth over $10 billion. However, the early days of the industry were marred by the brutal treatment of African slaves, who were imported in large numbers to work on the plantations. The Haitian Revolution, led by Toussaint LOuverture, eventually put an end to slavery in the coffee-producing colonies.
Coffee is a major crop in many tropical American countries, and has contributed to economic development and employment. However, coffee cultivation has often been at the expense of tropical rainforest, and the economic benefits have typically been concentrated at the top of the economic pyramid. In Colombia, coffee was introduced by Jesuit priests, and soon became the major export crop. Costa Rica is a notable exception to the seemingly unavoidable process of concentration of wealth in the hands of a few coffee barons.
The French playwright and author Honor de Balzac wrote an essay entitled The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee, in which he explains why artists fell in love with Mocha Java coffee. He describes how the coffee beans' natural insecticide (caffeine) affects the human nervous system, and how this stimulant has helped Europeans become more productive.
The coffeehouses of 17th century Europe were places where people of all classes could gather and engage in free and open discussions, challenging traditional beliefs and power structures. Some authorities were nervous about this new environment, but Pope Clement VIII ruled that coffee should not be banned after he sampled a cup.
In the 17th century, coffee houses in England were places where people from all walks of life gathered to discuss political and social issues. These venues were also known as "penny universities" because anyone could enter and learn from the brilliant thinkers who frequented them. Some of the most famous coffee house patrons were Isaac Newton, Christopher Wren, and Adam Smith.
In the late 18th century, coffee houses in Britain became known as places where people could go to discuss important topics of the day. These coffee houses became specialized in certain fields, such as insurance or science, and eventually gave rise to major institutions, such as Lloyds of London and the London Stock Exchange.
The coffee house culture of the Enlightenment led to intellectual advances, but also to violence. Coffee houses were popular gathering places for discussion and dissemination of new ideas like individual rights and questioning the value of the monarchy. The combination of caffeine, radical ideas and the development of revolutionary fervor proved a combustible one. The French philosopher Montesquieu wrote, Were I the king, I would close the cafes, for the people who frequent those places heat their brains in a very tiresome manner. I would rather see them get drunk in taverns. Then, at least, they would only harm themselves while the intoxication which coffee arouses in them causes them to endanger the countrys future. The leaders of the French Revolution, men like Desmoulins, Danton, Marat, and Robespierre fomented their insurrectionary plans at Parisian coffee houses like Procopes, which still stands in the heart of Saint Germain. In fact a speech by Desmoulins at the Caf de Foy in Paris in 1789, calling the citizens to arms, set the chaos in motion, and the caffeinated mob stormed the Bastille just a few days later.
The guan, or jacu bird coffee, is a rainforest turkey found in Thailand. The coffee made from its beans, known as Black Ivory Coffee, can cost up to $1,000 a pound. Robusta coffee, or Coffea canephora, is another species of coffee bean that is used in coffee cultivation and production. It is hardier than Arabica and contains twice as much caffeine. It is often used to make espresso or included in espresso blends. Madagascar is home to dozens of endemic species of Coffea, which are caffeine-free. These wild species might one day be used in cross-breeding with commercial species to reduce caffeine content, increase shields, and enhance resistance to pest and diseases. The global economic value of coffee is staggering. After petroleum products and precious and industrial metals, coffee represents one of the world's most valuable commodities. Americans consume more than 400 million cups of coffee every day. Coffee played an important role in the American Revolution. When the British imposed heavy taxes on tea, coffee was considered a patriotic alternative. The Boston Tea Party was planned in the Green Dragon, a coffee house and tavern that served as a meeting place for Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and other members of the Sons of Liberty.
The role of coffee has always been to make people think, and when people start thinking, they become dangerous to tyrants. Coffee played a role in the American colonies and the new nation, helping to catalyze development and promotion of new ideas. With the Industrial Revolution, coffee became an important tool for enhancing productivity and alertness in dangerous factory jobs. During the Civil War, coffee was essential for maintaining soldiers' morale and well-being. One peculiar episode from the Civil War led to an American presidency. The end of the 19th century saw a shift towards convenience over freshness and taste in coffee, but this was reversed in the 1960s and 1970s with the Cultural Revolution.
The specialty coffee movement began on the West Coast of the United States and focused on the production and enjoyment of high-quality coffee. This movement was spurred by consumerism and materialism, and the coffee enthusiasts employed special brewing methods unknown to their parents, like cold water process, French press and pour-overs to enhance the enjoyment of both the coffee and the experience in general. The movement originated in the Western US due to several historical events, including the Gold Rush and the First World War, which increased maritime connections between the West Coast and Central America. The specialty coffee movement has had a significant impact on technological advancements in the 21st century.
https://tim.blog/2023/10/13/story-of-coffee/
