Global Buzz: How caffeine is worth over $850bn
This article explores the history and global economic impact of caffeine, tracing its origins from ancient tea traditions to the rise of coffee. It explains how caffeine evolved independently in various plants as a natural pest repellent.
Why it matters
Understanding the history of caffeine provides context for its status as a massive global commodity worth over $850 billion.
Caffeine – in one form or another – is one of the world's oldest commodities.
Tea - one of the main delivery systems for caffeine, if you can call it that - is thousands of years old. There are claims of it being made into a drink in China as far back as 2700 BC, while there are archaeological records of cups with tea residue from a few hundred years BC.
Matcha – which is essentially a type of green tea – has also been around for a long time. There are records of it being made during the Tang Dynasty, so mid-to-late 1st century.
In many ways coffee is the baby of the group – at least as a drink.
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