Caffeine - History

History

Caffeine was first isolated from coffee in 1820 by the German chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge, and then independently in 1821 by French chemists Pierre Robiquet, Pierre Pelletier, and Joseph Caventou. Pelletier coined the word "cafeine" from the French word for coffee (café), and this term became the English word "caffeine".

According to Chinese legend, the Chinese emperor Shennong, reputed to have reigned in about 3000 BCE, accidentally discovered tea when he noted that when certain leaves fell into boiling water, a fragrant and restorative drink resulted. Shennong is also mentioned in Lu Yu's Cha Jing, a famous early work on the subject of tea.

The history of coffee has been recorded as far back as the ninth century. During that time, coffee beans were available only in their place of origin, Ethiopia. Legends trace the discovery of coffee either to a Sufi dervish named Omar, or to a goatherder named Kaldi, who observed goats become elated and sleepless at night after grazing on coffee shrubs and, upon trying the berries the goats had been eating, experienced the same vitality. The earliest literary mention of coffee may be a reference to Bunchum in the works of the 9th-century Persian physician al-Razi. The first reliable record of the use of coffee outside Ethiopia comes from Aden, in 1451. The appreciation of coffee as a beverage in Europe dates from the 17th century. The first coffee house in Venice opened some time in the late 1640s. In Britain, the first coffee house was opened in Oxford in 1650. They soon became popular throughout Western Europe, and played a significant role in social relations in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Use of the kola nut, like the coffee berry and tea leaf, appears to have ancient origins. It is chewed in many West African cultures, individually or in a social setting, to restore vitality and ease hunger pangs. In 1911, kola became the focus of one of the earliest documented health scares, when the US government seized 40 barrels and 20 kegs of Coca-Cola syrup in Chattanooga, Tennessee, alleging the caffeine in its drink was "injurious to health". Although the judge ruled in favor of Coca-Cola, two bills were introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1912 to amend the Pure Food and Drug Act, adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances, which must be listed on a product's label.

The earliest evidence of cocoa bean use comes from residue found in an ancient Mayan pot dated to 600 BCE. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter and spicy drink called xocolatl, often seasoned with vanilla, chile pepper, and achiote. Xocolatl was believed to fight fatigue, a belief probably attributable to the theobromine and caffeine content. Chocolate was an important luxury good throughout pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and cocoa beans were often used as currency.

Xocolatl was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards, and became a popular beverage by 1700. The Spaniards also introduced the cacao tree into the West Indies and the Philippines. It was used in alchemical processes, where it was known as "black bean".

The leaves and stems of the yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) were used by Native Americans to brew a tea called asi or the "black drink". Archaeologists have found evidence of this use stretch back far into antiquity, possibly dating to Late Archaic times.