Coffee was first discovered and became popular among the people of Arabia. When it' was first introduced into Europe during the second part of the seventeenth century, there was a great deal of controversy about it. Many doctors announced that coffee was a strong poison and should be prohibited. Others insisted that it a good thing to drink coffee, and coffee-houses sprang up was everywhere Coffee can actually act as a poison when it is given in large doses to animals in laboratory tests. It can also produce toxic effects in small children. But for adults who drink it in moderation, it is definitely not a poison. The coffee bean contains one per cent of a substance known as caffeine. Most people believe that it is the caffeine which produces all the effects that coffee has on the body, but the other substances in the coffee bean are involved too. 156