Summaries of A History of the World in 6 Glasses

Beer

In the chapters “A Stone-Age Brew” and “Civilized Beer” from the book A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage describes how beer affected the lives of the first humans who lived in year-round settlements and later in the first civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Beer played a significant role in turning the first humans from hunter gatherers to farmers. Beer was discovered in the Fertile Crescent around 12,000 years ago, when gruel derived from gathered grains (a staple food) that was in storage fermented. These ancient groups of hunter-gatherers found this beverage “slightly fizzy and pleasantly intoxicating” (Standage 15) and realized it was more easily made than other alcoholic drinks. Over time, the quality and variety of beer increased by trial and error.

The first written records of beer came from the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians. From the beginning, beer was a social drink, as it could be drunk communally from one container. Beer's intoxicating quality made it seem magical to its early drinkers, and it was used in many religious ceremonies. Also, the discovery and popularity of beer may have played a small but important role in the start of the transition from hunter-gathering to agriculture in the fertile crescent. Beer contributed by increasing the amount of grain that needed to be cultivated, by replacing meat as a source of vitamin B (which allowed hunting to decline), and by making liquid nourishment safe. These early societies' precious beer was stored in communal storehouses, which helped during food shortages. The adoption of farming eventually led to the beginning of civilization, and humanity's love for beer.

The first cities of the world, in Mesopotamia, were full of beer drinkers. Beer was referenced in early literature as well: “That beer drinking was seen as a hallmark of civilization by the Mesopotamians is particularly apparent in a passage from The Epic of Gilgamesh, the world's first great literary work” (Standage 26) In this epic, a person was primitive if they did not know of bread and beer. The ancient Egyptians also valued beer, as it was drunk as far back as 2650 BCE, and was even credited from saving humankind from a god's wrath. Almost everyone, even children, drank beer in both civilizations, but being drunk was frowned upon in Egypt but accepted by the Mesopotamians.

When the first writing was introduced in Sumeria, beer was very important, as the symbol for beer was one of the most commonly used symbols. Writing was originally used for the distribution and taxation of goods, including beer. The writing evolved over time, and the symbol for beer evolved from being a direct representation of a beer to a more abstract form. Lists of wages were commonly written down, and modern researchers now know that Sumerian workers were payed in beer. The higher the rank of the Sumerian worker, the more sila (containers of beer) the worker would receive. The workers that built the Egyptian pyramids were also paid in beer. Beer was so important to these first civilizations that common phrases derived from it, it was used for medicine, and it was buried with Egyptian people to accompany them in the afterlife. The surplus of grain created a love of beer that ancient people in the world's first civilizations had for their whole lives. This love of beer, and customs such as toasting for someone in a special occasion, lives on. Beer was very important in starting agriculture and the very first human civilizations.

Wine

In the chapters “The Delight of Wine” and “The Imperial Vine” from the book A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage explains the importance of wine the city-states of Greece and the empire of Rome. Wine, which is made from fermented grape juice, was first invented or discovered in the mountains of today's Armenia and Iran around 9000 BCE. Knowledge of wine spread to surrounding areas, and was at first a luxury drink for the elite. The wine trade started, and small-scale production began in early nations so the rich could drink this new and flavorsome drink.

The beginnings of modern Western thought in politics, philosophy, science and law can be traced back to ancient Greece and symposia, which were venues for competitive ideological discussions and wine drinking. The Greeks also thought drinking wine in their way made them better than other cultures, such as the Persians: “The formal, intellectual atmosphere of the symposium also reminded the Greeks how civilized they were, in contrast to the barbarians, who either drank lowly, unsophisticated beer or—even worse—drank wine but failed to do so in a manner that met with Greek approval” (Standage 52). Ideal conditions and improvements in viticulture helped wine become widespread in Greece as a commercial product, and everyone, even slaves, drank it Wines of different ages and from different places had distinct tastes, with older and more exotic wines being more desirable.

Because the Greeks believed that only the wine god could safely drink pure wine, it was mixed with water. Wine and water were also mixed to make sure drinkers did not overindulge. In the symposia, where only rich men were allowed, wine was drunk from a decorated shallow bowl. The men had all kinds of social interactions, and sat on fashionable couches while doing so. Wine drinking was seen by the Greeks as a way to expose truths of reality and to test the character of the person drinking it, and thinkers like Plato used it as a model for their philosophies. Wine was important in the social lives of the rich Greek men who founded western thought, and was traded by the Greeks far and wide. Greeks spread the drink and their culture and ideas to many other empires around them.

One of these cultures, Rome, became powerful enough to conquer Greece, and in turn Greek culture came to Rome, where the love of wine was already present. Roman wine eventually surpassed Greek wine in popularity, as the Romans welcomed Greek wines and ways to make wine. Roman wine became commercialized, and was shipped around the empire and from the reaches of the empire back to Rome. All Romans drank wine, but the social divisions in their society had the rich citizens get the best wines and the slaves get the worst ones, with other members of society getting wines of an in-between quality. Wine was so popular that it was used as a medicine and to wash down antidotes.

Rome weakened after 180 CE and split into eastern and western parts, but eventually the western half fell. Although some former Roman outposts went back to drinking beer: “One example of continuity was the widespread survival of Mediterranean wine-drinking culture, which was deep-rooted enough to survive the passing of its Greek and Roman parents” (Standage 85). One reason for this is that Christianity, a religion that had wine in many of its stories and services, spread. However, another growing religion, Islam, banned wine and all alcoholic drinks for cultural and spiritual reasons. Greek and Roman wine culture influenced today's views that wine is the most cultured drink and is the drink most closely associated with variety and social differentiation.

Spirits

In the chapters “High Spirits, High Seas” and “The Drinks that Built America” from the book A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage states that the process of distillation and its results, spirits, played a pivotal role in the Age of Exploration, the slave trade, and the formation of the United States of America. Distillation (evaporating and re-condensing liquids to split and remove impurities from their components) is ancient, but the Arabs improved the technique, leading to its popularity around 1000 CE. The distilled liquids were much more alcoholic than regular beer and wine and were used for medicine and alchemy in the Arab world and later Europe. Distilled wine, called aqua vitae or brandy, was known as a miracle cure before it became so popular that it was recreationally drunk.

The rise of distillation in Europe happened at the beginning of the Age of Exploration. Slaves were taken from the African mainland to African islands and eventually to the recently discovered New World to work on sugar plantations. Africans that sold slaves to Europeans were rewarded with brandy. In the 1600's a new distilled drink, rum, began to be created from the leftovers of the sugar-making process, molasses. Rum was the drink for both slaves and sailors, and African slavers were payed in it: “Its immediate significance was as a currency, for it closed the triangle linking spirits., slaves and sugar. Rum could be used to buy slaves, with which to produce sugar, the leftovers of which could be made into rum to buy more slaves, and so on and on” (Standage 110). The rum trade was an achievement of global connections, but was connected to the tragic slave trade.

Alcoholic drinks in colonial America started out as scarce, as the environment was unexpectedly too harsh to grow vines or cereal crops and the only way to get drinks was to expensively import them. The colonists did try to make alcoholic beverages out of out of local crops until rum was introduced in the colonies in the late 1600's and quickly became very popular (as it was very strong and cheap to import). Distilleries in New England opened and imported molasses from the West Indies to make even cheaper rum. These distilleries were prosperous, but they bought their molasses from from French territories. This fact angered the colonists' British overlords, and a tax was imposed on rum. The tax was largely ignored, and a huge black market started. The colonists became extremely agitated with the British for taxing them but not letting them have a say in Parliament. Eventually, after more taxes, including another on molasses, were imposed, the colonists rebelled and the Revolution started in 1775. The USA owes its independence partially to the early colonists' love for rum.

During the move of settlers of the USA westward, whiskey became the main drink instead of rum. Many of these settlers were Scots-Irish grain distillers who grew grains easily farther from the coast. Whiskey, a staple in what was then the western USA, was taxed by the US government. This tax angered farmers, whiskey distillers, and whiskey drinkers. They thought the new US government was no better than the British by taxing its constituents. Some angry people in western Pennsylvania rebelled and planned to secede. The military was sent to quell the rebellion, but: “The nascent rebellion was, however, already crumbling” (Standage 125). The rebellion was quelled, and the tax was payed. By ending the rebellion the US government showed its power. Distilled drinks were also sadly used to intoxicate Native Americans, and helped Europeans conquer the Americas. Spirits helped Europeans dominate the Americas and oppress colored peoples, and later helped in the USA's independence.

Coffee

In the chapters “The Great Soberer” and “The Coffeehouse Internet” from the book A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage writes about how coffee was spread from one small area to all around the world, and about how coffeehouses sparked the Age of Reason and advances in science, philosophy, literature, and other fields. Coffee was the new, stimulating, and sobering drink that fueled the thinkers of the Enlightenment, and it still fuels workers today. Coffee, a caffeinated drink which is made by drying berries from the coffee plant and boiling them in water, originated in Arab lands, specifically Yemen, in the mid-1400's. Coffee started out as a religious drink for Sufi Muslims, but eventually became a social drink. Coffeehouses sprung up across the Islamic world, and was embraced by some as a legal alternative to alcohol. The coffeehouses were filled with good people discussing important matters who were stimulated by the drink, their supporters said. Religious leaders thought that coffee should be banned because all intoxicating drinks were illegal under Islamic law and coffeehouses were filled with government opponents. Over time, coffee's proponents won the argument and coffee spread all the way to Europe. In Europe, coffee was originally used for botany and medicine, but was approved for recreational use for all Christians by the Pope.

The first coffeehouses in London in the 1650's fit the city perfectly. Coffeehouses became centers of political discussions and business transactions. Coffee was so popular that: “By 1663 the number of coffeehouses in London had reached eighty-three” (Standage 143). However, some people thought that the discussions in coffeehouses were wasteful or against the government or that coffee tasted awful. When the king banned coffeehouses for the second reason, the public outcry was so great that the ban could not hold. Coffee production was held as a monopoly by the Arabs at first, but was later smuggled out by the Dutch and the French, who grew the plants commercially in the East and West Indies. Brazil would eventually rule the coffee industry, putting Arabia in the back seat.

In Europe, and especially in London, coffeehouses became important places places for business, news, rumors and ideological discussions. Different coffeehouses appealed to different types of people by displaying information on there wall about their clients' (who were all men) topic of choice. Quickly after coffee's arrival, Londoners drank more coffee than people in any other place in the world. Coffee, which was thought to be a distraction for learners, was drank at loose but intense academic discussions and structured lectures where important information was exchanged between the brightest scientists of the day. New financial models and the first stock markets started in London's coffeehouses.

In France, enlightenment thinkers that were disliked by the government could work and talk safely in coffeehouses (if they were careful and used writing for more controversial matters, as coffeehouses were under government oversight). The government, as it was realized by the thinkers and eventually the general population, controlled the country too much and were not willing to accept change. Eventually, in 1789, the country reached a breaking point: “Ultimately, it was at the Café de Foy...that a young lawyer named Camille Desmoulins set the French Revolution in motion” (Standage 170). The start of the French Revolution was fueled by events at coffeehouses. Today, we take coffee for granted, but in the past coffee and the houses it was served in sparked ideas and discussion that changed out understanding of science, business, politics and other important fields.

Tea

In the chapters “Empires of Tea” and “Tea Power” from the book A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage describes how tea was important to the empires of China, Japan, and the British, and shows how the latter became the first global superpower. The British gained hold on a huge empire, fueled the workers of the Industrial Revolution, and defined their national identity all in part with tea. However, tea, a caffeinated drink made from a bush's dried parts boiled in water, originated in China around the first century BCE. In China's golden ages, tea's antiseptic properties helped the population rise and stay healthy. Tea also drove the trade market. Complex tea-preparing ceremonies became common in China and Japan, where by 1200 AD tea was also very popular.

When the first European trading ships reached China in the early 1500's, China was self-sufficient, so it took a while for Chinese tea to reach Europe in bulk. Tea started out as a luxury drink for Europeans for this reason. Europeans drank an almost entirely different drink than the Chinese, as China exported black tea that they did not drink and Europeans added sugar and milk to the drink. Over the course of the 1700's, tea became very popular in Britain: “almost nobody in Britain drank tea at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and nearly everybody did by the end of it” (Standage 187-188). These numbers do not show all of the tea consumed because they do not include smuggled tea or adulteration (adding of more ingredients) of tea after export. Tea became popular after the British East India Company gained a monopoly on trading between the British Isles and East Indies. The company started trading for a lot of tea because there was no domestic production of it. Tea became available to even poor British residents and became an important part of British culture.

The Industrial Revolution and the division of labor that came with it changed the way work was done and improved production greatly in Britain, as tea stimulated the great amount of workers needed to make Britain an industrial power. Tea's medicinal helpfulness kept British industrial workers from getting sick in crowded, dirty conditions. The British East India Company, who controlled the trade of tea, gained vast power and controlled much of the British government. When colonial American smugglers threatened its business, the company got its government to pass the Tea Act, which gave the company a monopoly on the colonies' tea market and allowed the company's tea to compete with smugglers. This just enraged the future Americans and helped fuel the fire for the Revolution.

The company was able to rid of smuggling when the tax on tea imports was cut, but it was growing too powerful in many eyes. The company lost its monopoly on trade and had to focus on India, which it governed. However, the company stayed afloat because of the elicit trade of Indian opium to China for tea. After the emperor sent a representative to stop the illegal trade, a series of events happened that led to the Opium War of 1839-1842, which was: “a victory for the British merchants and utterly humiliating for China” (Standage 212) because of the superiority of the British weapons. However, the end of the monopoly in China caused the company to start tea production in India. Tea turned out to be native in the Assam region of the country, and many startups went into the tea business there under the helm of the East India Company. India eventually took China's place as the leading producer of tea, and China descended into a period of instability. Tea showed both the finest and darkest moments of the British Empire that have changed history, and people still drink it around the world today.

Coca-Cola

In the chapters “From Soda to Cola” and “Globalization in a Bottle” from the book A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage notes the origins of fizzy drinks and Coca-Cola, and explains how the Coca-Cola company has mirrored the growth of America to the biggest world power, and the success of consumer capitalism and representative democracy around the world. The first carbonated soft drink was produced in 1767, and was first marketed in the 1770's as a medicine (as similar natural mineral waters were healthy). Soda water (which was named from the fact that sodium bicarbonate was in some brands of it) became popular for medical use in Europe and eventually America. It became even more widespread and was marketed commercially in the USA as a refreshment in the early 1800's.

The soft drinks started to become flavored with lemonade, wine or syrups and the process of making them became industrialized (with the poor now being able to drink them). Soda fountains became popular. John Pemberton, one of many inventors of patent medicines (“miracle remedies” which were pretty much scams that showed the power of advertising), invented Coca-Cola in 1886. The two main ingredients in the new drink were from the coca plant (which cocaine is derived from (Coca-Cola had cocaine in it into the 1900's)) and the cola plant (which contained caffeine). One of Pemberton's business associates, Frank Robinson, marketed the drink to new heights (by saying it was a refreshing drink instead of a medicine) with another patent medicine maker, Asa Candler, after Pemberton's death. This happened just as patent medicines were deemed dangerous by the public and a tax was put on them. The rebranded Coca-Cola, which had started out as a syrup that would be sent to soda fountains, started to be bottled, and this was lucky: “Bottled Coca-Cola took off just as public concern was growing over the dangers of patent medicines” (Standage 244). After winning a legal battle against the assumption that caffeine was really bad, Coca-Cola was not to be called a medicine ever again.

In the 1930's, Coca-Cola survived the challenges of the end of Prohibition, the Great Depression, and the forming of Pepsi by clever marketing and lasting appeal as a familiar drink for almost any time or situation. Coca-Cola went around the world with the soldiers of World War Two as America was becoming a global superpower, and became a symbol of patriotism: “Coca-Cola had established itself on every continent on Earth, carried on the coattails of the American military” (Standage 255). Coca-Cola as a company represented the American ideals of free-market capitalism and democracy, and it was brought with those ideals to the USA's allies (More and more of the company's sales were happening outside the USA). During the Cold War, Coca-Cola stayed out of Eastern Bloc countries (including the Soviet Union) so it would not be seen as supporting America's enemies, and when those countries' communist governments fell in the late 1980's and early 1990's, their citizens were greeted with Coca-Cola. Pepsi and Coca-Cola took opposite sides in Israeli/Arab relations, and Coca-Cola wound up on the American side of the issue. Coca-Cola has become a truly global drink that still represents the sole world superpower (the USA) and its values, and has sparked a world debate abut if globalization is good or bad.