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12,000 BCE
The Neolithic Revolution (Beer 12000 BC)
The Neolithic Revolution was the large scale change from hunting and gathering to farming and domestication of animals. This change occurred after the discovery of grain in the Fertile Crescent. At first, the people would just eat grains when it was the right season but they eventually started to farm it and turn it into bread, beer and more. This change allowed for people to do more than just survive, it gave them time to make discoveries and advances in technology. -
10,000 BCE
First Permanent Settlements (Beer 10000 BC)
The first permanent settlements were estimated to be around 10000 BC. This change from nomadic to a stationary life is one of the largest changes in human history. The first settlements were in the Fertile Crescent, where wheat for bread and beer was abundant. This change in lifestyle would mark the start of the Neolithic Revolution. It is important that the wheat was there because it supplied a stable food source and it could be turned into beer. Beer was safer and healthier than local water. -
6000 BCE
Creation of Pottery (Beer 6000 BC)
The creation of pottery is an important piece to civilizations expanding. Pottery not only looks good but it was used in religious ceremonies. But its true use came in with the storage of food, beer and grain. With the ability to safely store food, a society can have a surplus of harvest and prevent its waste and have supplies when needed. Pottery also helped in the creation of beer, because one could make large amounts at once. Pottery recovered from long ago is also used to help date cities. -
3200 BCE
First known Writing (Beer 3200 BC)
The first piece of writing ever found was a clay tablet with inscriptions of payments. They payments included grain, bread and beer. Beer was an especially important payment because it was the safest drink to consume. One of the most common marking in the tablet was a jug, symbolizing beer. Writing is the first stepping stone for the advances in technology because it more accurately creates a way of recording information than word of mouth. -
1550 BCE
The Ebers Papyrus (Beer 1550 BC)
The Ebers Papyrus was a document that contained medicines and herbs. This is one of the first know recipes for medicines. This is the start of the medical field and many of the medicines that were mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus involve beer. Just like in a document of recipes from Egypt that is even older, it has beer as a main ingredient. Some of the herbs and medicines even had a description of what they cured, and this calls for the knowledge of diagnoses and how the body works. -
500 BCE
Greek Golden Age (Wine 500-300 BC)
The Greek Golden Age was an age of democracy, science and philosophy. Democracy, one of the many achievements of the Greeks, is the current day government of most world powers. Greeks also created a very stable economy and expanded on the ideals of being human through its many philosophers. One remarkable thing the Greeks made was wine. They used wine for everything: medicine, drink and more. Wine was suck a large part of their lives, both social and professional, that they had wine parties. -
381 BCE
The Rebublic (Wine 381 BC)
The Republic is a book written by the philosopher Plato. The book combats the ideas of democracy and equal power. Plato asked "Why should a son respect his father if they are equals?" He also said that democracy turns into anarchy. Plato believed that wine was a good way to test a person. Wines alcohol puts you in a better mood to be tested and answer honesty, so this is what Plato did. He used wine parties to test men on the consent of love. -
27 BCE
Roman Empire (Wine 27 BC-476 AD)
The Roman Empire is thought to be one of the greatest in history due to its luxuriates, advancements in science and its longevity as an empire. At its peak the Roman Empire controlled most of Asia and the Mediterranean by population. Rome was the center of the empire and the people in the city, and most of the population drank wine. Wine was a way to represent your social status and power. -
30
Wedding Feast at Cana (Wine 30)
According to the Bible, Jesus of Nazareth attended a wedding with his mother. At weddings in these times, people drank jugs of wine because the ceremony would last days. It was custom that the best wine was served first. At the wedding Jesus attended, they ran out of wine, so he allegedly turned water into wine so the ceremony could continue. It was noted that his was better than the first wine that was served. This is credited to be Jesus first miracle, at the start of his religious journey. -
570
Muhammad's Life (Wine 570-632)
Muhammad was born in the year 570, and felt a calling to become a prophet. He traveled and taught his ideals and created his own religion. As he did this he gained large amounts of popularity and became the Buddha. One of the rules the Buddha made is that Islamic people, the people of his religion, are not to drink alcohol. This put a large strain on the wine industry, having lost thousands of potential buyers. The European Catholics also thought that the reason was they are unworthy of wine. -
618
Tang Dynasty (Tea 618-907)
The Tang Dynasty was considered to be the Golden Age of China. Massive leaps in technology, arts and government all came out of this Dynasty, as well as paper and silk. During this time people took to drinking tea. It didn't spoil because it came in leaves and it was not intoxicating. Tea bricks, large quantity of packet leaves, were better for trading. They stayed at a constant value whereas the value of paper money lowered the farther from the imperial capital you were. -
622
Islamic Golden age (Coffee 622 - 1258)
The Islamic Golden age was an age of economic, political and scientific advancement. The Islamic golden age happened mostly in the Middle East, with some nations on the Mediterranean and Caspian sea. Some of the advancements in this age are the creation of Algebra, Astronomy and Physics, although there are many more, these were the most advanced finds. Islamic people could not drink alcohol, so all of this was fueled by their invention of coffee. -
1279
Mongol Invasion of China (Tea 1279)
The Mongols invaded and took control of many lands in their time period, one being China. The invasion happened during the Sung Dynasty, and they eventually took over. With this change they brought a change in drinks too. Mongols drank koumiss, an alcoholic milk. With the introduction of this drink, and the fact that the Mongols didn't recognize tea as the drink of the Chinese, tea lost popularity. It regained popularity with the rise of the Ming dynasty, marking the end of the Mongols in China. -
1440
Slave Trade (Spirits 1440-1863)
Sugarcane that was being grown in the Americas, and other places required lots of working hands to make sugar. To get all the work done, for an affordable price, plantation owners bought slaves. The slaves came from Africa. The African traders who sold the slaves to be shipped around the world were paid in many ways, but the most common was strong alcoholic drinks. Companies would use the molasses that the slaves made, to make rum, to buy more slaves to make more sugar. -
1492
Discovery of the Americas (Spirits 1492)
In 1492, an explorer named Christopher Columbus caught sight of what he thought to be the East Indies, but in fact was North America. Upon arrival he did not find gold or silk, but declared it ideal for growing sugarcane, a plant he knew well. On his second visit, one year later he brought sugar cane to grow. This introduction of sugarcane into the Americas allowed for more production and more molasses. Molasses was used primarily for making rum. -
1543
Scientific Revolution (Coffee 1543)
The Scientific Revolution was a time were large advancements in technology and science took place. Some contributors of this era were Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei and William Harvey. All of these scientists, and their contemporaries contested and challenged their knowledge, leading them to experiment and discover new things. Where they had these discussions was in the coffeehouses over cups of coffee. Great works have also come out of this era, and all of them are due to coffeehouses. -
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Coffee 1687)
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, or just Principia Mathematica is a collection of the mathematic works of Sir Isaac Newton. Isaac Newton was a scientist who frequently visited coffeehouses. In fact, a coffeehouse dispute between Mr. Hooke, Mr, Halley and Mr. Wren was one of the motivations for the creation of the book. Principia Mathematica explained theories that modern day science still uses. For example, the laws of gravity were first explained in this book. -
The Molasses Act (Spirits 1733)
The Molasses Act put a sixpence per gallon tax on molasses imported to the colonies that was not made by Britain. Britain put this act in place not only to collect more money but to stop colonist from making rum with French molasses. At that time the French and British were in a war, so their colony funding the enemy was betrayal. This act did not stop the distillers from making rum, because they smuggled molasses and the act was not strictly enforced -
First Encyclopedia (Coffee 1751)
The first encyclopedia to appear is the "Encyclopédie," created by Jean Le Rond d'Alembert and Denis Diderot. The book contained a collection of works from The Enlightenment. These books authors, as well as the creators of the theories in the book were all influenced by people at coffeehouses. This Encyclopedia would eventual grow, and new ones would be made all thanks to the people who gathered at the coffee shops. -
French and Indian War (Spirits 1754 – 1763)
The French and Indian War was fought by the American colonists and the British to keep the French out of the New World and from gaining land. The French allied with the Native Americans. At the time, colonists were selling their rum to the French. The British, because they were in war, enforced a major tax on the imports to the colonies, including the needed ingredient, molasses. The British won the war, but later had to deal with revolt from colonists. -
Creation of Carbonated Water (Coca Cola 1767)
Carbonated water, or soda water, is water infused with carbon dioxide that creates bubbles, which are appealing to the drinker. It was created by Joseph Priestly, a clergyman in 1767. It first was created to be a medicine. This was especially evident when they tried to use mineral water. Soda water continued to grow in popularity and in 1797 Nicholas Paul created an efficient way of producing it. Many years later Coca Cola would fuse this drink with coca and kola essence. -
British Industrial Revolution (Tea 1771-1840)
The Industrial Revolution was a time period of great advances in manufacturing throughout the world. It started in Britain, with Richard Arkwright's invention of the "Spinning Frame." Large machines in this era increased efficiency and lowered cost. The operators and workers who managed these machines needed a drink to keep them awake, so they turned to tea. Tea improved their attention span and eliminated drowsiness. It became so popular that tea breaks were added to factory works hours. -
The Boston Tea Party (Tea 1773)
The Boston Tea Party was an attack on ships carrying tea. The local people raided the ships, spilling gallons of tea into the Boston harbor. This all started as a rebellious act against the imposed tax by Britain. The East India Company got permission from Parliament to ship tea from China to America, skipping some fees. This also led to the passing of the Tea Act. The Tea Act put a tax on tea, and colonists were angry because they were being taxed and had no say in political matters. -
The French Revolution (Coffee 1789)
The French Revolution was the overthrowing of the monarchy and the establishment of a new government in France. The Revolution would consist of a series of beheading, changes in power and defending invading countries. This whole ordeal was started in a coffeehouse by Camille Desmoulins. He was outraged by the Monarch's failed attempt to solve their country's problems. The Revolution ended with Napoleon as the monarch of France, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man. -
The Whiskey Rebellion (Spirits 1794)
The Whiskey Rebellion was the response of some colonists after the government passed a law that taxed whiskey. Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the Treasury, thought by taxing the whiskey makers he could pay off the debt caused by the Revolutionary War. The people did not like this change, and claimed that it targeted inland people more, because being near the ocean you could get rum. One farmer really flared up and shot at the marshal's house. -
The Opium War (Tea 1839-1842)
The Opium War was fought between China and Britain over trade laws regarding opium and seizing ships with opium. It began by the British trading opium for silver to pay off their debt for tea. Once China banned opium, British merchants were outraged and demanded to have open trading with China. On the battlefield the British swiftly took over, forcing China to sign a peace treaty. The repercussions were China was to pay Britain for all the opium destroyed. China also opened to trade. -
Prohibition Act (Coca Cola 1920-1929)
In 1920 the United States approved the Prohibition Act, which made all alcoholic drinks illegal. This act helped Coca Cola, as well as other nonalcoholic drink makers, because it eliminated a large portion of the competing market. Not everyone benefited from this act. Many taverns and bars revolted and rioted for the right to sell alcoholic drinks. This act was revoked in the 1929, opening the market to new beverages and increasing competition. This resulted in lowers prices for consumers. -
The Great Depression (Coca Cola 1929-1939)
The Great Depression was an era of great economic hardship for the United States. All though many businesses were failing, Coca Cola managed to stay afloat and continue business. At the same time Pepsi Co. was on the rise. This competition was good for the overgrowing demand for the drinks as it lowered the price. Coca Cola did take legal actions against Pepsi that eventually ended three years later. By the end of this era "cola" had become a term for soda and both Pepsi and Coke benefited. -
World War II (Coca Cola 1939-1945)
World War II was fought in Asia and Europe between the Allied powers and the Axis powers. The United States joined the war after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Joining the war the U.S. brought troops, vehicles and Coca Cola. Coca Cola was the fuel of the American troops as they fought the war. Military officers in the war ordered for Coca Cola to make soda fountains and soldiers who liked the drink wrote letters to the company, explaining their appreciation and need for it. -
The Cold War (Coca Cola 1947–1991)
The Cold War was an arms race between the Soviet Union and the United States. As both sides competed in building the largest nuclear arsenal, they both despised the others' culture. Soviets saw that Americans drank Coca Cola, and related the drink to capitalism, there worst enemy. As the war continued, the feud continued, and created this idea that Coca Cola was a large sign of capitalism. In 1965 Coca Cola tried to expand into the Soviet Union but the operation was stopped after backlash.
