A History Of The World In 6 Glasses Analysis

The Drink of reason, coffee, seems to not have changed much culturally to this day, as when it is brought to the table over 250 years ago (pg. 170). Coffee remains to be the drink over which people meet

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage is about six drinks (beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and coca-cola) and how they have affected the world in the past and the present. All of these drinks were invented in different eras, and the inventions of these drinks were affected by what had occurred in the time period.

Coffee makes the drinker more alert and, therefore, more productive. It sharpens the mind and focuses the drinker. Alcohol has the opposite effects.

The author wants to show that beverages had a great impact on history. He wants to tell his

When the Americas were just beginning to form, spirits accelerated their colonialism. At first, sugarcane production was introduced to the Western Indies or Caribbean Islands by Christopher Columbus. The West Indies land was not suitable to grow wine vines or grains for beer, instead Columbus introduced sugar canes to the Indies, creating a major sugar plantation in the West

Coffee quickly became the drink of intellect and industry being known to sharpen the mind. Taverns were replaced with a more sophisticated meeting place, the coffeehouse. These “led to the establishment of scientific societies and financial institutions, the founding of newspapers, and provided fertile ground for revolutionary thought.” [4]

The history of the world can be viewed through six drinks, beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola, as told in the book A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage. However, focusing on three drinks in particular, rum, coffee, and tea, an enormous story can be told. Those three drinks impacted the world in many ways, especially the cultures that consumed or traded them. In order to produce Rum, many Africans were brought to the Americas to work in servitude. This caused a culture shift, because now you had two very different cultures working closely together, but one was considered superior to the other. Coffee sparked the emergence of enlightened thinkers, whose conversations and writings profoundly shaped European culture. Tea helped Britain retain the colossal empire they are often credited with. This is because of a secondary effect of tea as it helped to create the British Empire, which in turn impacted the world colossally. Coffee, tea, and rum catapulted the world into major cultural shifts.

Coffee increases awareness, and gives you energy. Also, the production cost of coffee was lower than the production cost of alcohol.

Water is believed to be the most quintessential and contributing drink towards the progress of the human race. While that may be the case, water was aided by many beverages that were developed over time. People were destined to eventually make, invent, find or discover these universal beverages, as described in A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage. He writes about six different beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola, which were all blown up to influence lifestyles, customs, cultures and more. While the six important beverages have not necessarily had a positive influence, they still demonstrate the different themes that define the progress of world history.

The caffeine in coffee become an ethical increase over alcohol and have become a fashionable social beverage. It was interesting to see how it started off as this very exotic drink only for the upper class and then turned into what it is now. Coffee is a very fashionable drink that does not cost much that many have led their days with in today’s society.

Beer started out as gruel, and as the gruel fermented it turned into beer. Now it was not the first form of alcohol, but it was an important kind of alcohol. Beer was made from cereal crops, which were very abundant, and because it was so abundant it could be made whenever it was needed. They then found an even easier way to make beer by using beer-bread. Beer bread is basically everything needed to make beer in a loaf, making it convenient to store the raw beer materials. Beer started as just a social drink but then blossomed into a “hallmark of civilization”, as seen by the Mesopotamians. Grain was the basis of the national diet, it was

1. The author’s main thesis in setting up this book is that many drinks have built and brought together human history in to what we know about it.

Coffee is a beverage that is globally consumed, but also a product that has different values in different parts of the world. The role coffee plays in society differs around the world, from the farmers who grew the crops to the people who constantly consume them. Social theoretical perspectives are capable of showing the different roles coffee has in different societies. Symbolic interactionism, functionalism, and Marxism are three theories which show coffee’s role sociologically. These theories show how coffee affects people physically, how it affects them emotionally, how it leads them to have interactions, how it connects different parts of society, and how it’s economically controlled by a select few.

The two books " A History of the World I Six Glasses," by Tom Standage and " A People's History of the World," by Chris Harman both talked about ancient world history. Agriculture was a big party in ancient civilization. Before agriculture civilization started with hunters and gatherers. But, after the domestication of plants and animals it helped with the economy. This period was called the Neolithic Era. After that human society began to evolve, creating an easier life style.

As colonization began in different continents colonist used the drink to get them through the torments of the new world. Rum may even be responsible for the start if the independence movement of America. Hard liquor played a role in the economy,trade,spread of technology and disease along with other ties to history. Whiskey became a symbol of triumph and freedom because everyone of all ages drank it. Then came the enlightenment period where ideas and new philosophies were being spread and shared, Coffee was introduced as a drink that sharpened and cleared the mind.Coffee was associated with intellectuals and the modern world. Coffee was an alternative to alcoholic beverages, "anti-alcohol" some may even say, coffee became very popular in London where many coffee houses rose,these coffee houses encouraged the sharing of new philosophies,politics, and many debates.Coffee made an impact on comerce and was very welcomed in the 18th