Mmmmm... Caffeine. *nervous coffee fueled buzzing*
The history of coffee
How many people does it take for you to get you're daily cup(s) of coffee? Well, you may be thinking, it's just you when you walk to your kitchen and make a cup of that deliciously bitter and complexly incredible elixir of life.. But it's tons more. If you want to see how many people it takes for you to get your cup of coffee, take a look at this video:
But how did this wonderful drink that -let's be honest- most of us survive on become so famous? And where did it come from? Well, this bean is a lot more adventurous than you may think; it's travelled all across the world for centuries, been smuggled into restrictive cities and countries, stolen from royalty, changed entire continents- and it's only 10 millimeters long. Think about that as a role model, next time your family or school asks you who or what your role model is; maybe you can say a coffee bean.
But essentially, coffee originated in Ethiopia, and there's a pretty fun story as to how it was discovered: the story of Kaldi and his goats. It sounds ridiculous- I know, but it's a fun way of learning the history of it. This story begins in Ethiopia in 700 A.D with a man named Kaldi.
So one day, Kaldi had woken up and went to his goats to find that they were acting in quite a peculiar manner. THEY. WERE. DANCING. So obviously he wanted to see what was wrong with them because goats dancing definitely wasn't natural (you may want to get your goats checked if they dance on a regular basis but do your research before doing so). Kaldi found that the difference from their normal routine was that they were eating red berries so he deduced that those berries were the cause of their behavior. After discovering the beautiful berries -that would turn out to be something incredible- he went to a monk to tell him his findings, and the monk was over the moon about it because it would allow him to pray all night. There's another adaptation of the story where the monk hated it and threw the beans into the fire to create that sweet, enchanting aroma that we're all well-acquainted with and wake up to on Saturday mornings. The roasted beans were then ground and boiled to create my -and many others'- reason for waking up in the morning: coffee.
This is the gist of the beginning to a post from Homegrounds about the history of coffee. If you want to read further, I'll link the article below.
How coffee keeps us awake
As most of you know, coffee has this thing called caffeine, which is basically the reason why coffee wakes us up. Coffee makes us feel like we have energy, it makes us feel happy due to the fact that it releases endorphins like serotonin and dopamine. But, make sure that you get this in your head.
Drinking loads of coffee does not make up for lost sleep.
If you want to learn more about sleep, refer to the post 'Ah sleep.' to find out more information.
Some people think that coffee is the most amazing thing ever for some respectable reasons, those reasons being:
it makes you alert
it makes you feel energy
you feel happy after you drink it
it keeps us awake
And some reason why people don't:
it can raise our blood pressure
it can make us feel anxious
it can give you diarrhea if consumed in large amounts
it keeps us awake
Yes, the fact that it keeps us awake is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Caffeine acts as a stimulant for the central nervous system but the reason as to why it keeps us awake is because it blocks the body's sleep-inducing chemicals: adenosine. So you know how when you were in Year 7 you learnt about vaccines and the antigens and antibodies and how the antibodies were perfectly tailored and fit to the antigens? Well, the same thing happens but it's with molecules and receptors in your brain's neurons. Both caffeine and adenosine have a similar molecular structure, or put simply- the caffeine molecules are similar to the shape of the adenosine, but they're slightly smaller so that they block the receptors but don't activate them. Normally, when the adenosine receptors are filled, an entire system of triggers are set off and the body starts 'winding-down.' Due to this, consumption of coffee before bed can also cause insomnia and sleep-deprivation so have your last cup of coffee or tea about three and a half hours before bed.
Sometimes caffeine and dopamine receptors come paired in one, so when the molecules fit into the receptor, you feel happy and awake, in essence. But when the adenosine molecules wedge their way into the receptor it stretches and contracts; so adenosine fits and blocks it, replacing caffeine, and dopamine can't fit in.
Health information
Along with this, caffeine can help burn fat. Some sports companies think that athletes who consume coffee or caffeinated drinks have an unfair advantage over those who don't, which makes sense seeing as their energy is higher and they can burn fat easier. This gave such an unfair advantage that they had to limit caffeine consumption in order to compete in competitions. Some studies done have said that after the age of 20, drinking coffee regularly can reduce the risk of contracting neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
If you love coffee like me, keep in mind a relatively healthy amount to consume daily is 100 milligrams in order to maintain consistent growth and prevent a caffeine addiction.
The next time you take sip of coffee think about the people who were involved in bringing it to you, what it can do, and how many hours it is before you intend on going to sleep. See you next time,
-thestudentsblogger
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