All About Caffeine: History, Science, and use

I can't live without caffeine! I have both said and heard this. Many people (including myself) have therefore wondered what is the best way to get caffeine? Where did coffee and tea come from? Does chocolate really have caffeine? Where did it come from? Is caffeine even healthy? Today I hope we can find the answers to all these question as we start with the origins of these 3 main sources of caffeine and work up to the present day recommendations, and studied benefits.

Origins & Spread

It's important to note that historians believe humans may have chewed on plants that contain caffeine during the Stone Age. Arguing that hunter-gatherers would have noticed and appreciated their influence on fatigue and focus. This is made more plausible when you consider that unrelated plants evolved independently to produce the compound as a defense mechanism, such as with the cacao tree and tea plant.

Tea was first drunk around 3000 BCE in China, with legend attributing the discovery to Emperor Shennong. However, the earliest physical evidence was discovered in the mausoleum of Emperor Jing of Han dated to 141 BCE, indicating its consumption by the Chinese as early as the 2nd century BCE. At this time, it was used for medicinal and ritual purposes, but during the Tang (618-907 CE), drinking tea became a social activity. By the 9th century, tea had reached Japan, Tibet, and the Middle East. However, it wasn't until the 1600s that tea reached Europe, and even more recently, the late 19th century, that it would reach Africa. By the 21st century tea cultivation had spread to Latin America and become well-established in Africa, completing its global reach.

Cocoa beans, which comes from the cacao tree, was first used around 2000 BCE in Mesoamerica according to the earliest evidence, and was featured in Mayan, Olmec, and Aztec mythology. The Olmecs are thought to have pioneered the process of making chocolate from cocoa beans, but it was drunk in a bitter water mixture called xocolatl before that. When the Spanish arrived in the 1600s, they immediately took it back to Europe and began large-scale cultivation in Latin America. The British and French in their Caribbean colonies in the mid-1600s. At the same time the Spanish introduced the trees to the Philippines, which then spread into Sri Lanka and Indonesia. They were then introduced to Africa in the latter half of the 1800s, which has become the dominant cocoa produce (particularly West Africa).

According to legend, coffee was first discovered around 850 CE by a goat herder who noticed his herd becoming more energetic after eating berries from a certain plant. By the 15th century, cultivation and trade of coffee had become well established in Yemen, from which its popularity spread through the Islamic world, giving rise to coffee houses as centers of social and intellectual life. It would then reach Europe in the 16th century through the Mediterranean, giving rise to coffeehouses throughout its major cities during the 17th century. During which The Dutch East India Company brought the plant to Southeast Asia. Then in the early 18th century it was brought to the Caribbean and South America, which became the world's largest producer.

I think it is safe to say caffeine has been consumed for a long time. Generally speaking, when something is consumed consistently for such a long period of time, it provides great benefits. Yet, this has been done through different sources, so let's explore what studies in the last few hundred years have taught us about these differences before we explore current concerns regarding cultivation being so widespread and still on the rise.

Scientific Discovery & Study

In 1819 & 1821 caffeine was isolated, separately, by chemists in Germany & France. This was done by Friedlieb Ferdinad Runge who named it "Kaffebase" (or "coffee base"). Meanwhile it was isolated from tea in 1827, but wasn't known to be caffeine until 1838, and was originally named "theine" by the Chemist Oudry who isolated it. Cocoa beans were found to contain caffeine in the 1920s but like tea wasn't known to be caffeine until later, both discoveries made by the same chemist Pierre Joseph Pelletier. And, between 1895 & 1902 Hermann Emil Fischer made significant advancements in our understanding of caffeine for which, in part, he was awarded the 1902 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

More recent studies have concerned health benefits (which we will discuss in a moment) and content. Caffeine content in all sources can be affected by source location. This is due to variations in soil composition, climate, and cultivation practices. Content is further effected by processing techniques, such as roasting and grinding. Finally lets not forget that in recent years some products have added caffeine. With this in mind here is what studies have found:

1. 8oz cup of coffee has around 95mg of caffeine; espresso shot has around 63mg; cold brew between 155-360mg per 12-30oz serving.

2. Tea depends on the type and we will discuss here only the 2 most popular, black and green tea. 8oz of black tea has 25-48mg of caffeine, while 8oz of green tea has 25-29mg.

3. Chocolate has the lowest of all with 3.5oz of dark chocolate having around 70mg, while milk chocolate of the same amount has only 12-21mg of caffeine, and 8oz of hot chocolate a mere 9mg.

Benefits and Current Recommendations

There are a plethora of benefits we get from consuming the appropriate amount of caffeine. Cognitive and mental health benefits include enhanced attention, vigilance, reaction time, and mood while reducing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. It also assists in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and all-cause mortality. It also improves performance through enhanced endurance, strength, and power output. Plus, all 3 main sources (coffee, tea, and chocolate) contain antioxidants.

Moderate intake rarely causes any serious health concerns, but high intake is a different story. With high intake, you may notice elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate or palpitations, anxiety, restlessness, jitteriness, disrupted sleep patterns or insomnia, upset stomach, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, headaches, dizziness; in the long term, it can cause osteoporosis (bone thinning) or reproductive issues. So limit intake to 400mg/day for most individuals, and avoid consuming a large amount within a single sitting. This is important to keep in mind because a tolerance can be built with caffeine. ALWAYS RMEMBER, If at any dosage you experience adverse effects you should consult a medical professional ASAP.

Environmental Concerns

Let's quickly discuss the implications of the expanded cultivation of all the wonderful plants on the environment. Substantial reductions in coffee and tea growing areas and yields by the year 2050 are expected. The effects of climate change, such as rising temperatures, humidity levels, drought, and extreme weather (i.e., hailstorms), are causing increasing difficulty in current yields. However, efforts are underway to create more resilient varieties of these plants. This would not solve the increasing displacement of local wildlife in many of the major cultivation regions around the globe, however. And so, I think we would all do well to consider our source of caffeine and how much we consume.

Why We Know All About Caffeine

We have seen that caffeine has been part of the human diet for millennia in most parts of the world, with the exception of Europe, and that it's quite possible to have been as far back as the Stone Age. And it's safe to say that it gives significant benefits in nearly every dimension of our health. But like all things we have to exercise restraint to consume it in moderation, but that this can be on a daily basis (to the joy of us daily coffee and tea drinkers). Thankfully science has investigate caffeine for over two hundred years giving us plenty of evidence to support our historical observations. So don't worry too much about drinking your favorite morning beverage.

Wishing your progress on your path and good health throughout the day.