Stimulating Beverages

Secondary Plant Products

What are secondary products?

Alkaloids Essential Oils Glycosides

Caffeine

Alkaloid with physiological effects on people

Stimulates CNS Promotes alertness and endurance Constricts blood vessels Increase heart beat

Caffeine Content of Common Products

Drip coffee...115 mg Tea..................40 mg Cocoa..............13 mg Coca Cola.......46 mg Diet Coke.......46 mg Dr. Pepper......40 mg Mr. Pibb..........41 mg Mt. Dew..........54 mg

Pepsi...............38 mg Surge...............51 mg Jolt Cola..........71 mg Excedrin.........65 mg Anacin............32 mg NoDoz...........100 mg Vivarin..........200 mg Midol.............600 mg

Coffee - the beverage

Made from seeds of Coffea arabica Seeds occur in coffee berries

(cherries) Fruit pulp is fermented to free seeds Roasting and grinding bring out

essential oils Caffeine and essential oils contribute

to properties and flavor

Flowers and berries of Coffea arabica

Coffea arabica cherries ready for picking

Coffee cherries are picked by hand by worker in Columbia

Coffea arabica native to Ethiopia

History of coffee drinking

Long history of use in Arab world Introduced to Europe in 1615 By 1700 coffee houses popular

throughout Europe Especially popular in England -

often called “penny universities” and “seminaries of sedition”

Coffea arabica Plantations Dutch established plantations in East

Indies late in 17th century Trees taken to Botanical Gardens in

Amsterdam and Paris From here plantations started on

Caribbean islands and S.A. early in 18th century

Today Brazil and Columbia are world’s leading producers

Tea

From tip leaves of Camellia sinensis Shrub or small tree native to Tibet,

India, China, and Burma. Still largely grown in this region of

the world Caffeine, theophylline, tannins and

theol contribute to flavors and stimulating properties

Botanical print of tea plant, Camellia sinensis

Workers at tea plantation in the Darjeeling region of India

History

Introduced to Europe early in 17th century about same time as coffee

Became very important in England before the end of the 17th century

Important in history of US because of the Boston Tea Party and its involvement in Revolutionary War

Two “inventions”in 1904

Chocolate and cocoa Seeds of Theobroma cacao Confection as well as a beverage Native to tropical Central and South

America Today Ivory Coast and Brazil lead the

world in cocoa bean production Other tropical countries in West Africa

and South and Central America are also major contributors

Early History

According to Aztec mythology the god Quetzalcoatl that gave cacao beans to the Aztec people

The cacao beans were offered as gifts to the gods and also used to make a beverage consumed by noblemen and priests on ceremonial occasions

Quetzalcoatl - Aztec god

Chocolatl - spicy bitter beverage From roasted and coarsely ground

beans Various spices including chili

peppers and vanilla beans. Boiling water was added and the

mixture was whipped to a foamy consistency

Ancient Chocolatl Vessels from Central America

European discovery

Columbus in 1502 encountered cacao beans in Caribbean islands

Natives used these beans as money and also for a spicy beverage

Mexican Conquest

When conquistador Cortes invaded Mexico in 1519, found Montezuma drinking chocolatl from a golden goblet

Aztecs believed Cortes a reincarnation of Quetzalcoatl, Cortes was showered with riches and offered chocolatl

Cortes encounters Montezuma

Introduction to Europe

Cortes introduced beverage to Spain in 1528

Spanish court added sugar Spanish had monopoly on cacao for many

years By 1650 a recognizable cocoa was served

throughout Europe Competing with coffee and tea but never

equal because of high fat

Nineteenth century

High fat problems were solved in 1828 when a Dutch chemist developed a process to remove some of the fat or cocoa butter

In 1847 an English company, Fry and Sons, added cocoa butter and sugar to the ground beans to make chocolate

This was the creation of the first chocolate bar

Cacao trees

Theobroma cacao is a small tree

Football-shaped pods that form directly on the main trunk

Inside fruit are 20 to 40 seeds or beans surrounded by a white sweet sticky pulp

Processing

When pods are ripe the pulpy seeds are removed and allowed to ferment

The chocolate taste and aroma develop as the beans ferment

Beans dried either in the sun or mechanically and shipped to processing centers where the beans are the roasted

Further processing

Seeds are cracked open freeing the large cotyledons, or nibs

Nibs are crushed to produce a dark brown oily paste, the chocolate liquor

Liquor can be solidified into squares of baking chocolate

Cocoa butter can be removed to produce cocoa powder

Uses of cocoa butter

Added to the chocolate liquor to produce chocolate candy

Main ingredient for white chocolate Suntan lotions, soaps and

cosmetics

Recipe for chocolate candy

Chocolate liquor; sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, and often milk

Conching process involves a mechanical kneading and stirring that gives chocolate its smoothness

After conching liquid poured into molds

Coca Cola From seeds of the kola tree Cola nitida Native to west Africa Relative of the cacao tree, bears pods

with 8 seeds In Africa the seeds used as stimulant and

as an appetite depressant In addition to the caffeine, small

quantities of kolanin, which act as a heart stimulant

Processing

Fleshy seed coats are removed and the seeds are allowed to ferment

Seeds dried and pulverized

Coca-Cola

Developed in 1886 by Dr. John Styth Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist

Contained carbonated water, caramel coloring, an extract of coca leaves, an extract from the powdered kola seeds, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and lime juice

Exact formula is a highly guarded secret Coca extracts are still used - since 1903

the cocaine is removed

Other caffeine beverages

Throughout world native populations consume other caffeine containing beverages

Summary

Caffeine and caffeine-like alkaloids have a stimulating effect on the mammalian central nervous system

Coffea arabica, Thea sinensis, and Theobroma cacao long use in stimulating beverages and historically have played an important role in human affairs

Today coffee, tea, chocolate, and cola are consumed globally