Wordwide, the main source of caffeinne is Coffee, which is obtained from the beans of the
coffee bush, which looks like this when it's in flower, and like this when the beans are growing.

Coffee grows in a variety of places around the world, particularly Africa and the Middle East, each part of the world producing beans with their own distinctive taste, in much the same way as grapes for wine. In this country we tend to drink our coffee blended, however.

Tea is another source of caffeine which originates from China. It was first introduced into Europe at about 1600 and arrived in the UK about 60 years later.

Caffeine History
The first historical record of Caffeine use was from Aztec records from the time of the Aztec leader Montezuma. Caffeine was taken in the form of a hot drink made with cacao (the 'chocolate' tree) leaves and various herbs and spices. Montezuma was said to have drunk up to 50 cups a day. Chocolate in the form of the chocolate bar was first introduced by the Bristol company Fry & Son in 1847.

Coffee proved to be a far more popular form of caffeine intake. It is mentioned in the "Koran". It was introduced into the UK originally as a medicine but became extremely fashionable between 1670 and 1730 when there was a massive increase in the number of "coffee houses".

Caffeine Effects and dangers - such as they are!

To be frank, Caffeine is a pretty safe drug - we used it lots as we worked on this site! The standard dose is only 200mg (about 2 cups of strong coffee or 3 cans of caffeinated soft drink) per day. Many people exceed this dose (in fact I pass it by 8:45 in the morning!)which has been found to cause "withdrawal symptoms" if intake is suddenly reduced. It is likely that physical or psychological "dependence" may occur and many people would be considered to be addicted to, for example, coffee. As many as 29% of coffee drinkers admit they 'couldn't do without it'.

Can you over-dose on coffee? ("Answer")

There has been some evidence linking caffeine to diabetes in some people as well as an increase in aggression. It has also been linked to smaller and later developing babies when large amounts are taken during pregnancy.

"Tolerance" may also develop quickly, where the user may have to drink, for example, more and more coffee to get the same 'kick' from it.

It won't surprise you to know that pretty well this entire website was written under influence of this drug...........

Third World Issues
Caffeine is a big issue for countries in the third world. It may sound silly, but the cup of coffee you drink may be a life-or-death decision for someone else. To find out what the problem is, click here.

Caffeine law
The only law I know about in this country relating to caffeine, is this: