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10,000 BCE
Beer
Humans began to abandon the hunter-gatherer methods of their ancestors, and started to harvest wild cereal grains. They built small huts to live in, allowing them to guard their food. They would harvest and store extra grains to eat during the winter. -
Period: 10,000 BCE to 2500 BCE
Beer
Regions Effected: Mesopotamia and Egypt -
9000 BCE
Beer
People eventually began to learn they could plant and grow their own cereal grains. They would grow and harvest more for their families, and eventually started to form villages, living closer together for protection. These were the first civilizations. -
Period: 9000 BCE to 4000 BCE
Wine
Wine, just like beer, was discovered on accident, but evidence implies wine production in the Zagros Mountains began between 9000 and 4000 BCE -
Period: 9000 BCE to 200
Wine
Regions: Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire -
Period: 7000 BCE to 5000 BCE
Beer
As more people grew their food, the practice spread throughout the Fertile Crescent. This region was perfect for farming because it had regular wet seasons, and rivers tended to flood during them, providing more water to grow the grains. -
6000 BCE
Wine
Pottery was invented, which allowed wine to be fermented and stored more easily. -
4300 BCE
Beer
With the practice of farming spreading like wildfire, and the need to defend it and members of villages grew, more villages banded together, resulting in city-states all throughout the Mesopotamia region. -
4000 BCE
Beer
Because writing in any form wasn't used until 3400 BCE, it's unknown when exactly beer was created, but around 4000 BCE it became a staple beverage all throughout the Near East -
2500 BCE
Beer
The construction of the Great Pyramids of Giza was done by many laborers, and because money wasn't really a thing during that time, the laborers received payment in beer. Beer was literally the fuel of the construction of the pyramids. -
2500 BCE
Wine
Crete, a small island, began growing grapevines. They vines, didn't grow on their own, though, they were introduced by people that brought the vine from its birthplace in the Zagros Mountains. -
Period: 1387 BCE to
Spirits
Regions Effected: America and the West Indies -
800 BCE
Wine
Viticulture became the main occupation, and was so ingrained in Greek culture, many books were published about the profession. One being "Works and Days" by Hesiod, which gave advice about the process of growing and harvesting grapes, and turning them into wine. -
500 BCE
Wine
Greek wine became the center of the economy. It was imported all over the Mediterranean Basin; from France to Egypt, the wine was everywhere. -
250 BCE
Wine
Eventually, the Greeks lost their grip on the powerhouse of the Mediterranean, and in their place, the Romans. They were a large empire that carried on the Greek wine culture. -
100 BCE
Tea
The first written records of tea emerge in ancient China. There are claims that the second emperor of China discovered it, but it is highly unlikely, due to an earlier version of the book where the story was, in which the story wasn't present. -
Period: 100 BCE to
Tea
Regions Effected: East Asia and Western Europe -
200
Wine
After Septimius Severus took power of North Africa, their wine began to outsell any other wine. Trade spread far and wide, much like it had for the Greeks and Romans. -
Jan 1, 1387
Spirits
Because liquor was considered to have stronger medicinal properties than wine, it was used on many monarchs and emperors. One of them being Charles II of Navarre. His doctors soaked him in a sheet of distilled wine, hoping it would cure his ailments. Unfortunately, someone tipped over a candle, and set him on fire. -
1440
Spirits
As sugar production in the West Indies grew into a more profitable industry, it needed more laborers. This led to the Portuguese kidnapping people off the West African coast, until rich Africans began to just sell people for profit. -
1478
Spirits
As liquor became more widespread worldwide, a Puff von Schrick wrote a book about the process of liquor productions. -
1511
Coffee
Due to a debate over whether coffee alters one's mind, religious leaders put coffee (yes, the actual drink) on trial, in attempt to ban it. -
Period: 1511 to
Coffee
Regions Effected: Western Europe and the Near East -
1557
Tea
China had rather small-scale tea cultivation until Europeans arrived. At first they had to pay tribute to the emperor to buy tea, but eventually a port was opened for free trade between the Portuguese and the Chinese. Afterwards tea production became larger to meet a growing demand -
Coffee
Pasqua Rosee, an Englishman's servant, opened the first coffeehouse in London. It immediately took off, and began the rampant spread of coffee through Europe. -
Tea
Tea, due to it being imported from China, was a luxury drink in Europe. It caught on first with the monarchy when Catherine of Braganza married into the British Royal Family. Eventually, it spread throughout all levels of the social structures. -
Coffee
The Great Fire of London came around during the rise of coffeehouses, and destroyed many of them. As a testament to their popularity, after the fire, they were rebuilt, and in a greater number than before. -
Coffee
Coffeehouses in London perpetuated coffee, and eventually led to the first one in France opening in Marseilles. This popularity of coffeehouses led to many people congregating and ended up producing a lot of change in the world. -
Coffee
King Charles II was the first king to be reinstated after the monarchy was temporarily done away with. Coffeehouses and discussions within them are credited with having an effect on his reinstatement. Afterwards, he realized their political influence, and made a statement issuing coffeehouses were to be done away with. It ended up being ineffective, and coffeehouses prevailed. -
Tea
Throughout history, misogyny was prevalent everywhere. One example being woman weren't allowed in coffeehouses. When tea caught on in Britain, Thomas Twining took advantage of this, and opened a tea shop. Marketed towards women, it made them feel included, and became an instant success. -
Spirits
The waste product from sugar production is called molasses, and can be used to create rum. France banned rum, so they happily sold molasses at dirt cheap prices. This angered Britain, because they had recently fought a war with France, which hurt their economy, and their colonies were putting money in the enemy's pocket. -
Coke
Joseph Priestly was a scientist who was fascinated by the carbon dioxide that came off of brewing vats. He eventually found a way to incorporate it into water, creating soda water, the predecessor of all soda. -
Period: to
Coke
Regions Effected: United States and Communist Europe -
Tea
The Tea Act, an act that cheated the British government and established a monopoly on the tea industry for the B.E.I Company in America, passed Parliament on this date. This led to tensions growing between the British and the Americans. Ultimately, fed up Americans boarded three tea ships dressed as Native Americans, and dumped all the tea into the Boston Harbor; known as the Boston Tea Party. -
Coffee
In France, the aristocracy led the government, and ruled corruptly. In response, coffeehouses became places of political discourse, in which tension grew. A breaking point was reached when a lawyer hopped up on a coffeehouse table and called citizens to arms, setting a revolution in motion. -
Spirits
Beer was common on British ships, but when rum hit Europe, it became the new staple drink. To make it more palatable, lime and sugar was added to it, and declared mandatory by Admiral Edward Vernon. That saved lives, by preventing scurvy, with the lime juice in vitamin C. -
Tea
The only competition with the British East India Company in the tea industry was the Dutch East India Company. This competition eventually led to all out war, ending in Dutch defeat. British victory granted the B.E.I. Company a full monopoly on the tea industry. -
Coke
Coca-Cola was first created as a syrup to be added to soda water machines in pharmacies. It had many supposed medicinal benefits, but through its ineffectiveness, it powered on. Today, ads for Coke are everywhere, but the first one to ever appear was in the "Atlanta Journal" on this date. -
Coke
With any corporate giant, a logo is necessary; something to identify their product from the rest. Coke's classic cursive script "Coca-Cola" is the logo of one of the biggest corporations on Earth. It made its first cameo in a newspaper ad on this date. -
Coke
The creator of Coke, John Pemberton, was reluctant to bottle Coke, and wanted it to remain a medicine. Luckily, before he died on this date, he sold 2/3 of his shares to two other men. These two men took over, pulled Coke out of pharmacies and made it a normal, everyday beverage. They gave Coke a push towards the road to success it still travels down today. -
Coke
With the death of Pemberton, Coke became a bottled beverage. It being bottled unknowingly gave the owners a huge advantage. The bottlers of Coke decided to distribute the bottling rights to plants all over the country, spreading the reach of Coke. This led to Coke becoming a nationwide success. -
Coke
Coke is packed full of sugar. During WWII, everything was rationed to make sure everyone had enough to eat. One of the main rations was sugar. Coke, seeing this would be a problem claimed that Coke was part of American life, and was necessary for the war effort. The government actually bought it, and allowed Coke exemption from the sugar ration.