THIS drug permeates every level of society. Around the world people are gathering mornings, lunchtimes and afternoons for the consumption of the stimulant in brown, socially acceptable, liquid form. People drive, work and play under the influence. It’s found in factories, hospitals and even schools. It’s caffeine, of course. The chances are that you, reading this, are either about to have a cup of tea or coffee, or have just had a cup. The seeming ubiquity of the drug has not stopped further growth in coffee culture. The coffee shop has enjoyed a recent surge in popularity, repopulating the high streets of the UK, making us all familiar with the difference between a latte and an espresso, a cappuccino and a frappuccino. In the 1990s global sales of coffee leapt from $30 bn to $50 bn. (Although, we should note, the money received by growers dropped from $12 bn to $8 bn; see www.oxfam.org.uk.)
Coffee contains the stimulant caffeine, which has neurophysiological and cognitive effects, but buying and drinking a cup of coffee happens within a wider social context. The resurgence of coffee shop culture might have major civic, social and interpersonal consequences far beyond just meaning that I can get a nice cup of Java pretty much anywhere I want.
That feel...
So what is in your cuppa, and how does it work? Tea and coffee both contain caffeine. By weight tea contains more caffeine, but when prepared into drink form coffee will usually have a higher concentration. Tea also contains a small but significant amount of theophylline. Theophylline is
an isomer of caffeine and has similar stimulant properties, but is also known to increase the area of the lungs used in oxygen absorption.