History Of The World In Six Glasses

BEER

1. How is the discovery of beer linked to the growth of the first "civilizations"? Beer became socially and ritually important to hunter-gathers so in order to ensure the availability of grain, hunter-gathers switched to farming. Beer helped to make up for the decline in food quality as people took up farming, provided a safe form of liquid nourishment, and gave groups of beer-drinking farmers a comparative nutritional advantage over non-beer drinkers. 2. What does this history of beer in the ancient world tell us about the early civilizations? What it tells us really are essentially two things: first, that somehow ancient civilizations understood in some form or manner that the water was not "safe" to drink in some regions. Second, it tells us they learned in some other manner that by boiling the water and then making a "spirit" that was likely unknown to them at the time (at least at the first few attempts) that it was in fact "safer" to drink and was therefore able to quench a necessary component in sustaining life. 3. What sources does the author use to gather his information on the use of beer? Standage uses sources from the Stone Age period to gather information on the use of beer. He focuses on the transition that led to humanity shifting from hunting and gathering to agriculture. It also shows how the cultivation of grain led to fermentation. 4. What were some of the uses of beer by ancient cultures? Nourishment? Ritual? Religious? The ancient Egyptians made at least 17 types of beer and at least 24 varieties of wine. Alcoholic beverages were used for pleasure, nutrition, medicine, ritual. 5. How did beer "civilize" man, according to Standage? Beer became socially and ritually important to hunter-gathers so in order to ensure the availability of grain, hunter-gathers switched to farming. Beer helped to make up for the decline in food quality as people took up farming, provided a safe form of liquid nourishment, and gave groups of beer-drinking farmers a comparative nutritional advantage over non-beer drinkers. 6. What is the relationship between beer and writing, commerce, and health? Regarding health, the alcohol content made it less likely to harbor pathogens such as those which caused dysentery. It was said that it was better to drink beer and die of cirrhosis of the liver in your forties than drink water and die of dysentery in your twenties.

WINE

1. How did the use of wine differ from that of beer in ancient Greece and Rome? Beer was for common folk and wine for the ‘important’ people. Beer was used as a source of barter for tradesmen and was considered an important food source. 2. How was wine used by the Greeks? It was their drink of choice when the water quality couldn’t be guaranteed, a social lubricant, used in games at gatherings, and for making vinegar. 3. How and why did wine develop into a form of a status symbol in Greece? In Greece, beer was considered to be the drink of the "common" folk. Wine became the fancier, more sought after drink that eventually led it to become a sort of status symbol for those who could afford to drink it. 4. How was wine consumed? What does this tell us about the ancient Greek culture? It was the main beverage in Ancient Greece as the water was often unsafe to drink on its own so the addition of wine, helped to kill bacteria. Brewing beer had similar advantages, but grain was scarce in Greece and not to be wasted while grapes, like almonds and olives grow on otherwise useless land. The ancient tales of the coming of wine to Greece with Dionysus are full of warnings of its power, especially as women were associated with the cult. To read between the lines the message seems to be that if you let wine be your master you will be destroyed by women 5. How did the use of wine in Roman culture differ from that of ancient Greece? As Rome entered its golden age of winemaking and era of expansion, the "democratic" view of wine started to emerge in Roman culture with wine being viewed as a necessity for everyday life and not just a luxury meant to be enjoyed by a few as the Greeks believed. Romans believed that even slaves should have a weekly ration of over a gallon (5 liters) of wine a week. However the reasons was more for the dietary health of the slaves and maintenance of their strength rather their personal enjoyment. 6. What is the relationship between wine and empire, medicine, and religion. There are many complex relationships between the topics of wine, empire, medicine, and religion. Each of these is a substantial topic in itself, and the possible interconnections are endless. Wine is a part of the Catholic ritual of the Eucharist, in which wine symbolizes, or becomes, the blood of Christ. Christianity got its start in the Roman Empire and became a dominant force in Europe after the conversion of Emperor Constantine to Christianity. Wine has often been used as either a pain killer or an antiseptic, so it has two different medical uses. Religion is also used at times for medical purposes, since many people believe that their religion is a source of miraculous cures, faith healing, etc.

SPIRITS

1. What is the origin of distilled spirits? Distilled spirits were originally created by ancient Arab chemists by distilling wine and using the resulting fluid as medicine or as an alchemical ingredient. 2. What is the connection between spirits and colonization? Spirits were popular on long ocean voyages because they were both more compact and less likely to spoil than other alcoholic drinks. Additionally, many early colonies grew sugar cane. The byproducts of processing the sugar could be fermented and distilled to make a concentrated alcoholic drink. 3. How was the production of spirits connected to slavery? The African traders who sold slaves were paid in spirits (first in brandy, later in rum). 4. What role did spirits play on the high seas? Spirits were more compact and less likely to spoil than other alcoholic drinks. They could also be mixed with water to make water more palatable. 5. In the 18th century, how did spirits help Britain have a more superior navy than France? British sailors drank grog, which contained lime juice. The vitamin C in lime juice helped prevent scurvy. Since the French sailors didn’t have a consistent source of vitamin C, they were more susceptible to contract scurvy. 6. Why were spirits an important staple in Colonial America? When the colonies were founded, there was no initial source of alcohol and the colonists were left drinking water. After the discovery of rum, it soon became the drink of choice in the colonies because it was inexpensive. 7. How did rum play a role in the American Revolution? Molasses was used in rum production. The British tax on molasses drove up the cost of rum, angered the colonies, and set a precedent for the breaking of British tax acts. 8. What were the negative effects/uses of spirits? (Use entire chapter to answer this) Spirits strengthened the slave trade. The consumption of rum led to alcohol addiction in both settlers and natives

COFFEE

1. Who did Europeans get coffee from and how did it spread to Europe? Europeans smuggled coffee beans in from the Arab Port Of Mocha when they visited. From there, the popularity of coffee had spread to Italy, France and Indonesia. 2. Why was it so important to Europe’s development that many people’s beverage of choice switched from alcohol to coffee? Abandoned Turk trench lines after the siege of Vienna contained coffee beans, and the drink spread quickly throughout Europe. It proved to be much cheaper than the ingredients for alcohol. 3. Describe coffee’s effect on the global balance of power (in terms of commerce). Coffee has not only impacted the world socially, but it provides financial means for many countries who export their coffee beans. 4. How did coffee play a pivotal role in the scientific revolution? (give lots of detail) Before coffee there were two choices for hydration – water or alcoholic beverage. The water was not purified so often made people sick. The alcohol would purify the beverage but made everyone drunk. Coffee, boiling water actually, gave a new source of fluids that was not alcoholic, was not full of microbes, and the caffeine gave a little kick. 5. How did coffee play a pivotal role in the ‘financial revolution’? The new drink of coffee, and the shops in the City of London where it was sold became the furnaces of the financial revolution. Wealthy, influential men met in these coffee shops and began to trade in stock and shares, and, famously, insurance. Lloyds of London, the World’s largest insurance market, began in Edward Lloyd’s coffee shop. 6. How did coffee play a pivotal role in the French Revolution? (give lots of detail and go into the Enlightenment) People got together in cafe salons to discuss issues. In Britain the new coffeehouses of the time were called ‘penny university’, as people of poorer means gathered there to overhear discussions from students and professors; in an effort to learn very cheaply. In Paris, the equivalent would be people of poorer means, especially in the Latin Quarter, might overhear radical discussions of revolutionary ideas and revolution itself.

TEA

1. When did tea first become a mainstream drink in Asia? In Europe? Tea first arrived in Europe from Asia in 1610, when Dutch traders brought some back to the Netherlands. 2. How did the consumption of tea in Europe differ from how it was consumed in China or Japan? Tea consumption in Europe and Asia from 2000 to 2005 differed greatly from one another. In Europe: for all 5 years, it was almost level at 0.3 to 0.4 million short tons per year. However, in Asia, it climbed from 2.3 to 2.8 million short tons per year, over the same 5 years time interval. 3. If tea arrived in Europe around the same time as when coffee did, why did it not find the immediate success that coffee had? Analyst believes that the tea industry could learn from coffee. The tea industry could take a leaf out of coffee’s innovation book as it looks to target the value potential in the premium market, according to Euromonitor. 4. How did tea transform English society? Who were its main consumers and what were some of the new rituals that surrounded tea? Because of the lack of potable water in England when tea (and coffee) was introduced around the year 1650, its use forced those drinking it to boil the water – sterilizing it. It caused people to rely less on alcoholic beverages and therefore quite likely lengthened people’s lives and allowed them to have better use of their faculties. 5. How was tea an integral part of the Industrial Revolution? Tea was an integral part of the industrial revolution because it was one of the major items of trade during these revolution. Tea was widely grown in the British farms and it provided great investment opportunities which propelled the industrial revolution. 6. What was the connection between tea and politics? The tea was used to embody the power of British imperialism. This was to show the fate of tea-based economies in India and China. Tea was also the lubricant that kept the factories running smoothly. 7. How was tea connected to the opium trade and the Opium War of 1839-1842? British merchants carrying no opium would buy tea in Canton on credit, and would balance their debts by selling opium at auction. 8. What role did the tea trade and production play in the British rule over India? The tea trade and production of tea played an important role in the British rule of India because since Tea was such an important commodity to Britain they needed to get it from either India or China. The tea trade, after all, was the main reason Britain began to rule over India to begin with. Britain no longer wanted to have to rely on China for their supply of tea. Britain began to look for alternatives to China. What they found was India. They were able to produce enough tea to be able to almost completely rely on India instead of China for their tea.

COCA-COLA

1. What was the origin of coke? John Pemberton, a pharmacist, created a syrup intended for medical use. However, customers found the syrup to be particularly tasty and started to use it for non-medicinal purposes. Upon realization of this, he commercialized and marketed Coca Cola as a drink. 2. How was this beverage used medicinally and what were the additives? Word of this magic beverage, that Pemberton’s bookkeeper had named "Coca-Cola", spread rapidly throughout the city of Atlanta. But Pemberton’s health was failing, and he had also become addicted to morphine, so when Asa Candler, owner of an Atlanta drug store chain, offered him $2,300 for the Coca-Cola syrup formula, he accepted. Candler soon created a company to mass-produce the syrup in order to meet the urgent demand of Atlanta pharmacies. 3. What was the relationship of coke and World War II? By the time World War II began, Coca-Cola was being bottled in 44 countries. During the war, 64 bottling plants were set up around the world to supply the troops. 4. How was coke thought of by the communist during the Cold War? Coca-Cola was seen as ‘too American’ for Communists, Pepsi was the main exported soft drink to Europe for much of the Cold War. 5. What is meant by "globalization in a bottle"? Even Coca-Cola, widely seen as a standard-bearer of global business. It was a Coke CEO, the late Roberto Goizueta, who declared in 1996: "The labels ‘international’ and ‘domestic’…no longer apply." His globalization program, often summarized under the tagline "think global, act global," has included an unprecedented amount of standardization. 6. How did Coca-Cola materialize into an American value? How did this help and hurt Coca-Cola? (and, in some ways, America itself?) Brilliant marketing can be credited with Coca-Cola being seen as a valued part of American culture. Commercials, advertisements, etc. have all helped to bring Coca-Cola into American homes and key moments in the country’s history.

Epilogue-Water

1. Describe how the scientific advancements of the 19th century brought the history of beverages full circle. Scientific advancements in the 19th century pinpointed the causes behind contaminated water, creating the possibility of drinking water safely. 2. Which water’s quality is more tightly controlled-tap or bottled? Tap water’s quality is more tightly controlled than bottled water. 3. How many people have no access to safe water today? 1.2 billion people lack access to safe water today. 4. How has access to water affected international relations? Clean water access has both started wars and created treaties (sometimes when the countries were still at war with each other).