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9000 BCE
How Beer Helped with the Commencement of Settling
It's believed that there a multiple reasons as of why nomads decided to settle down to farm instead of hunting & gathering. But beer definitely helped tip the scale. When drinking beer, less people got sick (at the time they didn't know why, but now we are aware that some water may have been contaminated). In order to have beer, you have to have grain/barley, and you had to be there to harvest it every year; so it was just easier for them to live next to a field than to come back every year. -
4000 BCE
Distillation of Wine
Distillation of wine is the process of boiling the alcohol into vapor, then returning it to a liquid state. Water has a higher boiling point than alcohol, so the alcohol will turn into vapor and leave the water part behind, when it is put back into the liquid state it doesn't have the water. Thus making it be purer alcohol, making it taste stronger. The higher the alcohol level,the easier it is to get drunk off of. -
3400 BCE
Beer's Influence on the Invention of Writing
Writing first started to emerge in the form of Sumerian wage lists and tax receipts. The symbol for beer was "a clay vessel with diagonal linear markings drawn inside it". They were drawn on clay tokens or tablets. Common symbols included beer, grain, textiles, and livestock. Writing was originally invented for the record of collection and distribution of products such as grain, beer, bread, and other goods. This new writing system that was developing was called "cuneiform". -
3000 BCE
How Beer Effected Religion
Whether it was the Sumerians or Egyptians, beer was thought to have come form the gods. Egyptians believed Osiris (god of agriculture & afterlife) accidentally unearthed it by making a mixture of water & grain, he forgot about it and it was left out in the sun. When he returned to find his mistake, he decided to try it, he was pleased and passed it to humans. In addition, "cheers" used to be people raising their glass towards the gods but as time went on it turned into just clinking the glasses. -
2500 BCE
Currency and Wage of Mesopotamia and Early Egypt
Taxes were in the form of grain and other goods. Barley and wheat (the form of bread and the form of beer) became more than just foodstuffs, they were also convenient and widespread currency. The lowest ranking members of the work force earned one sila of beer a day, whereas junior officials were given two, higher officials and ladies of the court 3, and the very highest officials earned 5 silas of beer each day. A few days working at the temple resulted in 2 sila for women and 1 for children. -
2100 BCE
Medicinal Uses of Beer
Both Mesopotamians and Egyptians used beer medicinally. A cuneiform tablet was found containing a pharmacopoeia (list of medical recipes, based on beer). It is the oldest surviving record of alcohol in medicine. Beer could be used as a sedative, but also (because it wasn't as contaminated as water) it could be used to mix herbs or help to dissolve ingredients. For example, half an onion mixed with frothy beer was said to cure constipation, just as saffron and beer was prescribed for labor pains. -
800 BCE
Symposions and Conviviums
Greeks had symposions while Romans had conviviums, but both were of the same nature. People would attend these events and drink wine and talk. They are very similar to modern day dinner parties, where people can drink wine but shouldn't get really drunk, and just talk. Modern day dinner parties and symposions and conviviums are all events where people go to have a good time drinking good wine, and just talking whether it be about politics or one's family. -
600 BCE
From Buddhist Monks to the Chinese
No one knows just how/when tea was spread to China, but Buddhist monks played a big part in said transition. The fact of how tea amplified concentration and banished fatigue made it thought of as an crucial aid to meditation by Buddhists and Taoists. Neither knew why tea gave off such a power, but is now recognized as the caffeine that is naturally found in tea. Due to this lack of understanding, Lao-tzu (the founder of Taoism) believed that it was an essential ingredient in the elixir of life. -
500 BCE
How Wine Helped Countries Grow and Obtain Power
The Greek deemed themselves superior towards other "barbaric" countries, because they not only had wine, but the best of it. The Greeks made profits by trading said wine to countries lacking such a plant that creates it. With this profit, it allowed them to grow and have more vineyards, to create more wine, thus creating even more profit and repeating this process. Similarly, (later on) the Romans held control of most of the wine industry and shipped it out to be sold and profited from. -
100
How Wine Effected Social Statuses
In Rome, only those of the highest status could have the "good" wine, they were the only ones who could afford it. The coarser, cheaper wines were "tainted" with additives serving as preservatives or to hide the fact that it was spoiled. Below that was a type of wine named "posca" was made by mixing sour wine and water. Before Christ was crucified, a Roman soldier offered him a sponge dipped in wine which historians believe to have been posca. Lastly, there was lora, which was served to slaves. -
170
Medicinal Uses of Wine
One of the greatest wine tasting to ever occur took place in the imperial cellars in Rome. One man who happened to be there's name was Galen. Galen was the emperor, Marcus Aurelius, 's personal physician. He was there in search for the bet wine in the world, because he believed that wine could treat illnesses, the better the wine, the better better it would work. He traveled and learned remedies/medicine from Egypt, India, and Africa. He learned Hippocrates' ideas and read books from Alexandria. -
618
Chinese Golden Age
China was at a golden age from 618-907, it was the largest, wealthiest, and most populous empire in the world. The population tripled between 630 and 755, and ended up exceed the amount of fifty million people, the capital (Changan) hosting about two million.It thrived of off trade, especially along the silk rode and by sea. They exported silk, tea, paper, and ceramics. They imported clothing, hairstyles, the sport "polo", foodstuffs, musical instruments, dances, wine, and goatskin bags. -
780
"The Classic of Tea" -Lu Yu
The book "The Classic of Tea" by Lu Yu was written about a Taoist poet, and for merchants whom sold tea. It explains the cultivation, preparation, and serving of tea. More books of tea were written by Lu Yu. He described how to make the perfect tea: how long to boil water, when to add leaves, and much more. His word for the perfect tea was trusted, especially since it was said that his palate was so sensitive that he could tell where water was from simply by a taste, even what part of the river. -
1000
Wine & Christ
Jesus Christ's first "miracle" was turning water into wine, and stated "I am the vine, you are the branches" talking about how the vine depends on the branches and with their help turns into this "heavenly" drink. Christ also offered wine to his disciples at the last supper. It is said that bread and wine are his body and blood, showing just how much of a significance their was of wine in the Christian religion. Even at his crucifixion, a Roman soldier offered him a sponge dipped in wine. -
1300
Medicinal Uses of "Aqua Vitae"
"A mixture of pure and very strong wine with three parts salt, distilled in the usual vessel, produces a liquid which will flame up when set on fire," said alchemist Michael Salernus. Wine was widely used as medicine, so being concentrated just enhanced those effects. Aqua vitae was believed to be panacea, it was thought to preserve youth, improve memory, treat brain/nerves/joints diseases, revive the heart, calm toothache, cure blindness/speech defects/paralysis, and protect against the plague. -
1300
Koumiss
Tea was the official drink of China for years on end, but once they were overruled by the Mongols, the love of tea began to dissipate. Under the mongols rule the new official drink was koumiss. Koumiss was "made by churning and then fermenting mare's milk in a leather bag, to transform the lactose sugars in the milk into alcohol. When famous traveler Marco Polo spent many years at the Chinese court, only mentioned tea once while talking about the tradition of the tea tribute to the emperor. -
1386
"Charles the Bad"
Charles II of Navarre, also known as "Charles the Bad" because he suppressed a revolt with cruelty, fell terribly ill with a fever and paralysis. Aqua vitae (distilled wine and salt) was thought to be able to cure anything via ingestion or applied externally. Charles II's doctors believed that if they soaked their king's sheets in aqua vitae it would heal him. Their light source to see what they were doing was a candle, it eventually got knocked over, and both he and his bed were set ablaze. -
1500
Slaves and Sugar
The sugar industry's production rate increased excessively with the use of slaves. It took a lot of manual labor to grow/harvest sugarcane. Columbus had originally tried to force the indigenous people of the Caribbean and Brazil to do it, but they died of diseases from the Eastern hemisphere. He got African slaves to do it instead. Slaves were traded for textiles, shells, metal bowls, jugs, copper sheets, and alcohol. Majorly brandy, for it was so strong, it was the most reputable thing traded. -
1510
Muslim Coffee Controversy
Coffee was a social drink, there were coffeehouses where people could go, sit, talk, & drink coffee. It was thought of as an alternative to alcohol (for the consumption of alcohol was not permitted in the Muslim religion). Because of coffee's affects (alertness/stimulation) some Muslims believed that it could be counted as "intoxicating" and should be banned, while others disagreed. In 1511 Kha'ir Beg put the first (known) ban on coffee. This ban was later rejected by Cairo's higher authorities. -
Medicinal Uses of Tea
Nikolas Drix was a Dutch doctor who opposed those who thought the tea had too many negative affects and should not be drank. Drix believed that tea had many positive affects. Stating that "Nothing is comparable to this plant. Those who use it are for that reason, alone, exempt from all maladies and reach an extreme old age." Another advocate of tea was Cornelius Bontekoe, another Dutch doctor. Bontekoe wrote a book recommending the consumption of multiple cups of tea every day. -
First Coffeehouse in London
Pasqua Rosee, an Armenian servant of an English merchant named Daniel Edwards who enjoyed coffee, opened the the first coffeehouse in London in 1952. Daniel introduced his friends to coffee, which Rosse would be the one to make. Daniel helped Rosse open a coffeehouse of his own. Tavern keepers and vintners did not like this though, for it took away some of their business and made claims of how coffee was poison. They eventually said that it should not be allowed, for Rosee wasn't a freeman,. -
Proclamation for the Suppression of Coffeehouses
King Charles II issued a "Proclamation for the suppression of Coffee-houses." For he believed that they "have produced very evil and dangerous effects...for that in such Houses...divers False, Malitious and Scandalous Reports are devised and spread abroad, to the Defamation of His Majestie's Government, and to the Disturbance of the Peace and Quiet of the Realm; His Majesty hath thought it fit and necessary, That the said Coffee-Houses be (for the future) Put down and Suppressed." -
Coffeehouses' effects on Sir Isaac Newton
In a coffeehouse, 3 men (Hooke, Halley, and Wren) were having a discussion of whether or not "the elliptical shapes of planetary orbits were consistent with gravitational force that diminished with the inverse square of distance." Hooke strongly believed that this was the case, while Halley was not as certain. A few months later, while Halley was at Cambridge with Newton, he proposed this theory to him. Newton was determined to find the answer and had years worth of work put into this query. -
Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu and his Coffee Plant
Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu was a Frenchman who wanted to bring coffee to the French West Indies. King Louis XIV had a coffee tree in the royal garden, but did not enjoy coffee. De Clieu (who couldn't just waltz up and take part of the tree) was in association with a young aristocratic lady and the royal doctor. The doctor obtained it and passed it to the lady, who then gave to de Clieu who took it back with him on his treacherous journey home. He even shared his water rations with the small plant. -
The Molasses Act
The Molasses Act was instilled in New England to have them buy molasses from the British instead of the French, so that he British could make the profit. But the British sugar islands could not provide enough molasses to support all of New England with Rum. So no one listened, everyone still bought (or more accurately, smuggled) molasses from the French. In 12 years the number of distilleries went from 8 (1738) to 63 (1750), 5/6 of the rum still being made from smuggles molasses. -
Inspiration of Soda
Joseph Priestly was an English clergyman who lived next door to a brewery and was fascinated by "fixed air" (the gas that bubbled from the fermentation vats). He held a candle just above the fermenting surface of the beer and noted that the flame went out and that the smoke ran over the sides of the vat then fell to the floor, thus proving that the gas was heavier than the air. He continued experimenting with the brewery as his "lab" and ended up inventing carbonated water. -
Medicinal Uses of "Soda Water"
Joseph Priestley believed that fixed air was an antiseptic, and could be used as medicine. Priestley published his findings to the Royal Society in London and published a book Titled "Impregnating Water with Fixed Air". Priestly, though, never fully commercialized his findings, so a chemist and apothecary who lived in Manchester maned Tomas Henry was the first to sell carbonated water as medicine. -
Soda Syrups
In the 1830s, syrups containing different flavorings were added to soda water to give it more of a flavor. Originally, syrups were handmade from raspberries, mulberries, sarsaparilla, pineapples, and strawberries. Dispensers were added to soda fountains, these dispensers held the syrup so that one could have flavored soda water if they pleased. Blocks of ice were even added to keep not only the syrups, but also the soda water itself cold so the drink became more refreshing. -
Coke's Myth of Origin
Although not true, for the longest of times, it was believed that Coca-Cola was invented by John Pemberton, a pharmacist and tinkerer. Pemberton supposedly accidentally found the combination of ingredients. It was said that he mixed ingredients in a three-legged cauldron type pot and the mixture was a caramel colored liquid. He went to his nearest pharmacy bought soda water and combined them to create what we now recognize as Coca-Cola. -
Coke's Actual Origin
Pemberton was a pharmacist and kept trying to sell his new products, but eventually went bankrupt, after that and two fires that destroyed his stock, he kept trying to find the one thing that would make him rich. He eventually created a drink called French Wine Coca which was coca (a plant that contains cocaine) was infused into wine. Just as this drink became popular, the ban of alcohol in 1886 occurred. He quickly went back and mixed coca, kola, sugar, and soda water. Thus the name "CocaCola"
