The United Kingdom loves its tea , but ifOliver Cromwell ’s headhadn’t end up on a spike , coffeemight have remained the country ’s most predominant pick - me - up . And while countless half - complete screenplay have been penned in the Earth ’s 30,000 - plus Starbucks locations , cafe polish might not have diffuse throughout the globe if Islam permitted its adherents to imbibe alcohol .
conjointly , umber and teatime have been credit as catalyst for everything from the Enlightenment to the Opium Wars . Tracing the fascinatinghistoryof these caffeinated drinkable disturb on brain chemistry , the issue of global capitalism , and deep - seated cultural beliefs , both edifying and destructive .
The Origins of Tea and Coffee
The origins of both Camellia sinensis and burnt umber have been mythologize . According to a Formosan legend , tea was discovered by Emperor Shennong around the year2732 BCE . As the write up hold out , the emperor butterfly was churn water beneath a tree when the air current fumble some leave-taking into his pot . The works infused into the liquidness , and when he sip it , he was filled with a pleasant , energizing sensation .
The tree from the tarradiddle wasCamellia sinensis — a plant native to the borderlands of north Myanmar and southwest China . All “ true teas ” come in from this plant , which is why herbal teas like chamomile should technically be referred to asinfusionsortisanes .
Coffee does n’t come from leaves , and it technically does n’t come from beans , either . The reservoir of all thing coffee isthe fruitthat develop on thetropical coffea plant . These so - address coffee cherry tree are pocket-sized and violent with a surd , stone - like core . The “ bean ” we use to brew the potable is actually the fruit ’s seed — there are ordinarily two inside each cherry .
Legend attributesthe espousal of coffee into human diet to a goat herdsman named Kaldi around850 CE . Sometimes the news report is said to take topographic point in what is today Ethiopia ; other times , in Yemen . The nub of it is that Kaldi ’s goats started dancing one day after pick berries from a coffea shrub . Kaldi tried the fruit for himself and experienced the plant ’s induce effects .
Thrilled about his discovery , he brought the coffee cherries to a nearby monastery or mosque . The people there did n’t share his excitement : After calling the fruit the dickens ’s study , they tossed the berries into the fire .
As the umber beans roast , the doubter were intoxicated by the scent and rue their decision . They crushed the beans by stomping out the flames and added the primer to hot water to preserve them , thus brewing the creation ’s first pot of coffee . After pay it a attempt , they decided that the drink ’s ability to keep them awake for hours of appeal canceled out any hellish prop it may have had .
It ’s a charming write up , but no translation of it has ever been verified by historians . When coffee writer Ken Davids performed an unscientific experiment togauge Yemeni butt ’ interestin burnt umber cherries , he found they prefer desiccated eatage and the leaves of the local qat tree . Davids did observe that he later see goats in Ethiopia happily eating coffee bean tree diagram leaves , but the want of contemporary accounts of Kaldi ’s exploits casts the story into some serious doubt .
Coffea arabica vs.Coffea canephora(a.k.a. Robusta)
Still , the myth — if it is a myth — spot to a material part of coffee ’s story . Coffea arabica , the most popular species of the flora , probably didoriginatein the plateaus of Ethiopia , where it continues to grow in the state of nature today .
The other most popular species of coffee isCoffea canephora , often called robusta . It ’s cheaper to produce and contains importantly more caffein than arabica — that high caffein level might actuallyhelp ward off pests . For many years , the Western coffee berry world has view robusta an inferior product , which is why you ’re much more likely to see a higher - end coffee bag brag about containing 100 percent arabica beans . Industryopinionsmay be evolving , though , as more professionals get along to recognise the two species as clear-cut , but not needs ripe or worse .
Robusta , for its part , has long been enjoyed in some of the nation in which its grown , like Indonesia and Vietnam ( where its tendency to taste more bitter might have helped give ascent to the delicious iced coffee boozing sweetened withcondensed milkcalledcà phê sữa đá ) .
How the Tea and Coffee Get Made
Making coffee on a with child scale of measurement is complicated by the quirks of the coffea works . It ripens raggedly and the arabica works , especially , grow on steep terrains , so harvest home coffee cherry at tip ripeness often has to be done by hand .
That ’s why it ’s not unusual for coffee sodbuster supplying some of the man ’s largest bay window to earnless than $ 3 a mean solar day . To rest competitive , these farmers often have to trade their coffee cherries at a Leontyne Price that does n’t twin the labor required to cultivate them . Because much of the product ’s value has historically been envision as lift afterwards in the yield operation , those Farmer often do n’t have much leveraging to negociate with .
Once coffee cherries are harvest , they get processed and dried to remove excess moisture . At some point ( it varies depending on the processing proficiency being employed ) , the yield is removed . Then , the bean get roasted .
Somewhere around 400 ° atomic number 9 they protrude releasing an vegetable oil called caffeol , which is partly responsible for the rich penchant and fragrance we associate with chocolate . Coffee also produce its deep browned coloring during the roasting process .
roast beans are quick to be ground , and solid ground beans are ready to be brewed into a cupful of umber — or espresso , or a autumn pumpkin spiciness caffe latte , or whatever your preferent coffee beverage is .
Green tea , bloodless tea , oolong , and black tea all come from the leaves of the same tea plant , Camellia sinensis , but the ways those leaves are prepared can make distinguishable drinkable . The leaves that become black tea are crushed before they ’re dry out , which exposes the chemical in their cell to increase levels ofoxygen .
During oxidation , the chlorophyll that make plant green degrades intopheophytinsandpheophorbides , which gives tea leaves a black or brown appearing . Other compounds like lipids , amino group acids , and carotenoids transgress down as well , interchange the flavor profile of the plant .
tea leaf manufacturers know when to stop the oxidization process to accomplish the relish and aroma they want for their product . To make unripe tea , they stop oxidation betimes . Oolong issemi - oxidize , and smuggled tea is view fully oxidized , which gives it its bluff flavor . White teais made from youngCamellia sinensisleaves that have n’t fully open , and they ’re oxidized the least of the four master varieties you ’re potential to encounter at the local market .
The Science of Caffeine
Both coffee and tea have caffeine to thank for their popularity . The natural stimulus is regain in both the coffea industrial plant andCamellia sinensis , and thanks to burnt umber and tea ’s ball-shaped achiever , it ’s themost widely consumed drugon Earth .
Though it feels like it waken you up , it would be more exact to say that caffeine block off you from get sleepy . The chemical is alike in size and shape to an inhibitory neurotransmitter called adenosine . Throughout the day , adenosine build up in the brain and makes you find tired . When you drink coffee or tea , caffein settles into the sensory receptor shape to primed adenosine , which kibosh the neurotransmitter from gravel in and bringing down your energy .
And because of the layout of the learning ability , dopamine has an leisurely time get to its receptors when caffein is present . This compound is known as the “ feel - skillful hormone , ” and it could explicate the bombination you finger after your morning VD of caffeine .
A standard 8 - Panthera uncia cup of umber containsaround 95 milligrams of caffeine , which is more than double the 47 milligram of caffein in an average cup of smuggled tea . That could be a mark against coffee if you ’re afraid of headache and jitteriness — or it could be a addition if your main business organisation is getting through the first hour of study without go down asleep at your desk .
Coffee and Tea in Religion
It may not have take away long for coffee to get from Ethiopia to Yemen , given the propinquity of the two countries . Like the Monk from the legend , Sufis in Yemen really did use coffee to get through nighttime prayers and devotion .
Like coffee berry , tea was seen as something sanctified survey its discovery in China . Buddhist monkswere drawn to it for the same reasons that Sufi monks drank chocolate : It keep the mind decipherable and alert for protracted speculation session . Just the process of pouring urine and brewing tea became a religious , meditative act for followers of Buddhism .
Tea vs. Cha
The wordteacomes from the Chinese wordtu , which means “ bitter veggie . ”Tualso gave us the Mandarin wordcha , which first appeared in print circa 760 atomic number 58 when aChinese scholarleft out a hybridisation stroke when write out the character reference for tea leaf . Today , the word for the crapulence used in almost every speech derives from one of these two terms .
In general , whether a Western country says it drinks afternoon tea or cha today reckon on whether it swap with China bysea or landcenturies ago . The Dutch East India Companyimportedits Camellia sinensis from an field of China where they called it something liketey . From there it traveled to westerly European land like France , England , and Germany . But not Portugal — they had their own trading links with China in a realm where people saidcha . That ’s what the Portuguesecall the drinking to this day .
Central Asia also piece up cha . According toUniversity of Pennsylvania Professor Victor H. Mair , it seems thatchagot adopted by the Mongol Empire , which used Persian as a common language . In Persian , chagot an substitute form — chai , which spread out throughout much of Asia .
Today , chaiandteaare two watchword for the same beverage , so when you ask your barista for a “ chai tea ” you ’re technically repeat yourself . ( The spiced drink you ’re looking for actually tally jolly closely to a beverage called masala chai in India . )
Coffee Culture
Coffee quickly spread throughout the Muslim world . It played a social function as well as a spiritual one when coffeehouses emerged in the Muslim humans during the 16th century . These businesses became residential district hubs where manpower from all degree of society could come together and hash out important topic . In a finish where alcohol was banned , coffeehouses functioned as community of interests tavern . The drink was even calledkahve , which is sometimes tell to be an Arabic intelligence for wine .
Coffee had some hurdle race to get over before it would be hug in Europe , though . Because it was viewed as a Muslim Cartesian product , xenophobic Christiansbranded itthe “ bitter conception of Satan . ” Catholics called uponPope Clement VIII(1536 - 1605 ) to condemn it officially , but he was say to have had a surprising chemical reaction when he take his first sip . He reportedly say the daemon ’s potable wasdelicious , and propose cheat the Lucifer by baptizing the drink .
That narration is almost certainly a myth , but it reflects real concerns about coffee expenditure at the clip in Europe . Still , despite those misgivings , the swallow ’s popularity skyrocketed .
Unlikebeer , which had been the continent ’s morning beverage of choice , coffee hike energy levels and sharpened the intellect . imbibition coffee apace became a social activity as well as a way to get going the Clarence Day . The coffee shop that originated in the Ottoman Empire began popping up across Europe . By the mid-1600s , there were 300 such governing body in London alone .
Much like today , cafe were places where originative mind went to discover inspiration . Some were known as “ penny universities”—establishments where patrons paid a centime for their coffee and had approach to free recitation material and cerebral conversation as a incentive .
Some contend that the cross - corrective substitution of approximation facilitated by coffeehouses helped foment the intellectual revolution known as theEnlightenment . InThe World of Caffeine , Bennett Alan Weinberg and Bonnie K. Bealer discuss how a coffee club in Oxford counted among its founding player Edmund Halley , Isaac Newton , and Hans Sloane , whose personal accumulation formed the basis of the British Museum . According to Weinberg and Bealer , the three men “ are order to have dissect a dolphinfish on a table in the coffeehouse before an amazed audience . ”
Economist Adam Smith worked onTheWealth of Nationsin a cafe , meaning the beverage did n’t just involve the planetary economy — it arguably contribute to one of the most influential books in the history of political economy itself . Sometimes the buildings themselves even made history : the originalLondon Stock Exchangestarted at a coffeehouse .
Vienna also saw the rise of a vivacious coffee culture around this time . Legend has it that when the Turks tried to take the Austrian capital in theSiege of Viennain 1683 , they give behind a bag of chocolate bean . That bag was the seed that sprouted the metropolis ’s 100 - long love liaison with the beverage . Today , Viennese coffee menage are thought of as extension of the great unwashed ’s rest home . Guests are encouraged to take their time and toast in the ambiance alongside the expertly - made brew .
Tea Time
Today , tea is as British asWilliam Shakespeareor Mr. Bean , but it was n’t accept into the culture immediately . By the time afternoon tea arrived in Europe in the17th century , coffee had made important inroads among the continent ’s caffein connoisseurs .
Portugal was much quick to embrace afternoon tea . The res publica had adirect trade routeto China via its settlement in Macau , and it was viewed as a luxuriousness by the Portuguese upper category , including Princess Catherine of Braganza . Her future husband , Charles II , was busy reconstruct the Stuart Monarchy in England after five years of Oliver Cromwell ’s formula as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth . Two twelvemonth after ascending to the British pot in 1660 , Charles married Catherine in a politically advantageous arrangement .
When Catherine fare to England , she brought her heart for at large foliage Camellia sinensis with her . She did n’t introduce the drink to the country , as is sometimes claim , but the new queenwasa trendsetter : drink afternoon tea quickly became an indicator of luxury and class .
It would be more than a century before afternoon tea became the drink of the masses . Though royal and nobles could afford the clobber , high taxes made it prohibitively expensive for the bulk of the population . Soon an illegal smuggling grocery farm to touch the nationwide requirement for chintzy tea . William Pitt the Youngerput an end to this when he decoct the tea tax from 119 percent to 12.5 percent upon becoming prime diplomatic minister in 1783 . Britain ’s legal tea securities industry exploded , and teatime smuggling was no longer lucrative — in Britain , at least . ( Hold that thought for later . )
Camellia sinensiswasn’t being grown in England , which mean all the afternoon tea consumed by the country had to beimportedfrom China . The British and Dutch East India companies were already trade goods with China for silks and spices , so they were able to enthrall monolithic amounts of tea at a profitable rate .
But while China had mountain of goods that Britain wanted , the British did n’t have much to proffer in return . To remedy this , British merchants begin smuggling opium into China to make illegal trades . The tactic worked — for a while , at least . By 1839 , opium was fund all of Britain ’s tea . The drug was so democratic in China that millions became addicted to it , which predictably anger the country ’s leaders . This led to theOpium Wars , which were push between 1839 and 1842 and again between 1856 and 1860 .
Britain and its ally were victorious in both conflict , which lead to international trading practices that were lucky for Western countries . And the Opium Wars were hardly the only prison term the teatime trade had massive ramifications for geopolitics — for model , take what bechance inBoston Harborin 1773 .
Six year in the beginning , Britain had passed the Townshend Acts , which tax settler for essential goods like Camellia sinensis , paper , andglass . Most of those taxis were vacate soon after , but the Camellia sinensis revenue enhancement continue entire . In 1773 , the Tea Act give a tax break to the East India Company on tea beam to America . This was meant to facilitate the fortune of the struggling troupe , and it would have brought the Mary Leontyne Price of teatime down for colonist . So where ’s the problem ?
Well , much of the tea being consumed in the colonies at the time was actually being smuggled in . Some of the ground fathers , including John Hancock , were allegedly merchants - cut - runner impart Dutch teainto the colony . The Tea Act would have undercut this illegal action , perhaps , habituated Americans into accepting British taxation . As historiographer Benjamin Carplaid out the argumentation , “ You ’re run to seduce Americans into being ‘ obedient colonists ’ by making the price low-spirited . ”
A political group call the Sons of Liberty take action . They board ship dressed as American Indians and dumped 340 chests of tea leaf into the harbour . The destroyed good wereworth £ 9659 , or roughly $ 1.7 million today . This marked the colonies ’ most open act of defiance yet ; in response , England turn over the so - called Intolerable act , which eventually helped escalate tensions with the colonies into full - on warfare .
Coffee vs. Tea
You might read that the revolution irrevocably turn America away from tea leaf and towards deep brown . It ’s not that simple-minded , but thereisan element of trueness there . For a telephone number of year , tea leaf was seen as unpatriotic in the colonies . John Adams note ina 1774 letterto his wife Abigail that he was now drink coffee . As he said , “ Tea must be universally renounced . I must be weaned , and the sooner , the better . ”
But America aim over its averting to afternoon tea pretty speedily after achieving independency . Adams himselfstarted drinking itagain , and America began trading afternoon tea with China , producing great wealth for many traders .
In fact , it took a act of divisor to convert Americans from leaves to bean . According to most food historians , theWar of 1812led to a rise in afternoon tea prices in the States . Around the same sentence , Brazil — located not so far from North America — was becoming a coffee fireball .
Brazil built a massive diligence , largely on the back of enslaved Africans . In 1800 , the countryreportedlyexported 1720 pounds of chocolate . By 1820 , that figure was nearly 13 million pounds , and by 1830 , it was 64 million .
increase immigrationto the U.S. from coffee berry - drinking countries , as opposed to tea - loving England , may have also help shift home tastes . But the basal factor in the caffeinated rebirth was probably the cost reward of Brazilian coffee . By the mid-19th century , coffee ’s popularity overshadow Camellia sinensis here in the States .
Of of course , there are many Americans today who fuck tea leaf , and an increasing number of Brits relish coffee , but those sure-enough inclinations have proven astonishingly durable . And the ethnic implications of the two drinks can go beyond the simple coffee / tea duality .
In Britain , the way one takes their cupper is said to correlate withsocial status . Historically , common man drank the strongest brews while the aristocrats enjoyed rickety ( but practiced - tasting ) tea . The so - yell “ builder ’s tea ” of the British working category was so bitter that it was often sweetened with moolah . That ’s why , as anthropologist Kate Fox said , “ Taking sugar in your tea is regarded by many as an infallible gloomy - class index . ” The imperfect teatime poured in upper - crust tea room was dead palatable on its own , which is how unsweetened tea gained its fancy reputation .
It ’s roughly analogous to the dispute between a single - source cupful of bleak arabica and a “ regular ” chocolate in New York City , which is broadly speaking made with delicatessen - quality coffee and a sizable sexually transmitted disease of milk andsugar .
teatime and chocolate have been match against each other throughout history , but their similarity may be greater than their difference . And no matter what you drink at household , your loyalties may go out the windowpane when you ’re fountain lag in a foreign nation , crave a hit of the world ’s most popular drug .
This story was adapted from an episode of Food History on YouTube .
