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The discovery of beer occurred sometime after 10,000 BCE due to the settlement of farming communities and discovery of grain. Beer was earliest discovered in Mesopotamia and Egypt. This allowed for these earliest societies to develop a sedentary lifestyle due to the fact that fermentation of grain into beer slightly decontaminated the water and allowed for earlier civilizations to develop.
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In 10,000 BCE, humans settled down and formed farming communities, contrary to their previous hunter gatherer lifestyle. Which in turn led to the discovery of grain.
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Pottery in this era was found to have red residue left behind, this was first discovered in a neolithic village, thereon the knowledge of wine was spread Greece and Turkey, as well as many other areas.
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Distillation was invented by the Mesopotamians in the fourth millennium BCE, the Arabs, however, used it to make stronger wine.
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Beer is mentioned in text as far back as the third century.
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When King Scorpion I, was buried, several hundred jars of wine were imported to be put in his tomb. Wine making scenes were very popular in tomb paintings, giving the appearance that wine was a common beverage. However, as tombs were exclusive to only the wealthiest Egyptians, the paintings are not indicative of Egyptian society as a whole. Most Egyptians and Mesopotamians drank beer instead.
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In the earliest civilizations beer was seen as the common drink for the civilized citizen. This is seen in the "Epic of Gilgamesh" where Enkidu unfamiliar with civilized life, is given beer to acclimatize him to society.
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Tea is thought to first have originated in China. The first to have brewed tea is one of China's emperors, Shen Nung. The story says that Shen Nung was fueling a fire using a wild tea bush, when some of the leaves fell into the water he was boiling. He drank the water and said the resulting beverage was energizing, and "gladdens and cheers the heart".
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Documents from the reign of Sargon show that beer was often used as a bride price, beer was also used as payment in this region.
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Around 870 BCE King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria had a great feast where an extravagant amount of wine was served, while beer was also served the appearance of such a vast amount of wine was an extreme show of wealth. This is due to the scarcity of wine.
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during the reign of Ashurnasirpal, wine had improved and become more widespread.Wine production as a whole increased and led to a general loss in value (relatively) at least as a tribute item.
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The first symposium it known to have occurred around 600 BCE. These drinking parties often cultivated talk of philosophy science and literature. The Greeks held these parties to show how much more sophisticated their culture was
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The trading of tea had become a major staple of Chinese economy. In fact the trade of tea was so successful that it required the creation of a new form of currency: paper money
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Coffee was known for a long time in the Arab world (where it comes from) before it was introduced in Europe.
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The spread of distillation techniques increased in the 15th century due to the invention of the printing press. While previously distillation was majorly used as a form of medicine but at this time it began to be used recreation-ally.
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The first printed book about distillation was written by an Austrian doctor named Michael Puff von Schrick.
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Muslim scholars often argued that while it had no alcohol, it still had an intoxicating effect.The rule to restrict coffee was officiated in Mecca in June 1511.
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Christopher Wren is known to have had a hand in creating the Royal Society Since he was a scientist he helped in founding the Royal Society, a scientific institution. Meetings would be held in coffeehouses As a result, more old ideas were challenged and many more discoveries were made in coffeehouses.
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The enlightenment era was largely aided by the prominence of coffee.Voltaire for example worked with Isaac Newton and John Locke in coffeehouses.
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When Catherine of Braganza married Charles II she received a chest of tea. Her devotion to tea drinking then caught on within the royal court. This allowed the impact of tea to reach England for the first time.
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In 1652, Pasqua Rosee opened the first coffeehouse in England. These locations would soon become the hub for discussion and the collections of businessmen and intellectuals alike.
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During the 17th century the availability of brandy and the convenience of it led to it slowly replacing beer on naval ships.
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England had enacted a policy of its colonies that required them to pay tariffs for tea, which greatly displeased the American. The Act largely failed and it motivated the colonists to gain independence from England.
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The whiskey rebellion itself shows the impact of the drink. The rebellion itself reflected the difficulties faced with the balance of power between federal law and state law.
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George Washington is the only one of our founding fathers to have owned and operated a commercial distillery.In the 18th century Washington opened to distilleries Spirits as a whole were incredibly popular in colonial and post revolution America.
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In 1797, Joseph Priestly invented carbonated water.
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John Stith Pemberton, originally a pharmacist founded coca cola. This began a business that took off from being a 'medicine' to a globalized drink.
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The first coca-cola advertisement appeared in a newspaper, and during this time of prohibition, cola to alchohols place.
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During World War II the military was enthusiastic about Coca-Cola. So much so that General Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered three million bottles in 1943. During the war Coca-Cola esentially embodied the idea of America.
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In 1966, Israel accused Coca-Cola for not doing business with them in order to keep their market in the Middle East. The company was then forced out of the Arab market.
