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Many
cultures around the world have sources of caffeine which reach far into
their histories. Coffee originated in Ethiopia, spreading throughout the
east sometime during the fourth century AD. While coffee is certainly the
best-known source of caffeine today, there are many other sources
throughout the world. Aztec records show that Montezuma was a great lover
of a cacao drink (made from the same plant used to make chocolate today),
consuming up to 50 glasses each day of the drink. Cacao grows as a
tropical tree, with its fruits being used in a number of ways to yield
cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and many other products. Various teas also
contain caffeine, making China another locus of caffeine in history. The
leaves from these shrubs have become well-known throughout the world, and
formed a major trade item throughout history. West Africa was home to the
kola nut, now immortalized in our culture as the origin of cola drinks.
These nuts were often chewed upon for their stimulant effects. The ilex
plant, which can be found in Brazil and Paraguay, has been used to make a
drink known as mate. This plant belongs to the holly family (the source of
the tea’s other name – evergreen tea) and is made from the leaves and
young shoots. It notably also contains much more caffeine than most
teas. North America also has a native caffeinated plant known as cassina,
youpon, the Christmas berry tree, or the North American Tea plant which
grows from Virginia, south to Florida, and westward along the Gulf coast
into Texas. During the Civil War, when coffee and tea was scarce due to
blockades, and also after World War I coffee was scarce, cassina became a
popular substitute and was the focus of Department of Agriculture projects
to cultivate a domestic caffeine source. |
