---
name: Coffee
molecule: C8H10N4O2
compound: "Caffeine"
era: Ancient
origin: Ethiopia
archetype: Milady
ancestor: Ethiopian, Arabs, Traveller
swag_score: 5
image: "https://assets.0xhoneyjar.xyz/Mibera/traits/milady_ethiopian_arabs_traveller_coffee.webp"
date_added: "2025-01-12"
---

<div align="center">
  <img src="https://assets.0xhoneyjar.xyz/Mibera/traits/milady_ethiopian_arabs_traveller_coffee.webp" alt="Coffee" width="320" />
</div>


# Coffee

## Effects & Properties

**Effects:** Enhanced alertness, improved focus, mild euphoria, and reduced
sleepiness. It can improve cognitive performance and reaction time in low to moderate doses
(50-200mg). Physically it can increase heart rate, elevate blood pressure, mild diuresis, and in
some cases jitteriness or tremors.

**Natural Occurrence:** Caffeine is synthesized by plants as a
secondary metabolite to protect against insects and pathogens. It is present in seeds, leaves,
and fruits, with concentrations varying by species and environmental factors.

- Coffee beans contain 1-2% caffeine by weight.

- Tea leaves contain 2-5% caffeine varying by type.

- Cocoa beans contain small amounts of caffeine alongside theobromine.

- Found also in other plants such as kola nuts, guarana, and yerba mate.
**Appearance:** In coffee beans, it is part of a
dark brown, roasted seed matrix; in tea it is in dried green or black leaves, in guarana it is in
reddish seeds. These forms are not pure caffeine but contain it as a component.

## History

Coffee's origins trace to Ethiopia, where, according to legend, a goat herder named Kaldi discovered the stimulating effects of coffee berries around the 9th century CE. Sufi monks in Yemen were among the first to cultivate and brew coffee for sustained prayer and meditation by the 15th century, and coffeehouses (qahveh khaneh) spread rapidly through the Ottoman Empire. European coffeehouses emerged in the 17th century as "penny universities" where intellectuals, merchants, and revolutionaries gathered, and coffee went on to become the world's second most traded commodity after oil, with over 2.25 billion cups consumed daily.

## Connections

**Archetype:** [Milady](../../../core-lore/archetypes.md#milady)

**Ancestor:** [Ethiopian](../../../core-lore/ancestors/ethiopian.md), [Arabs](../../../core-lore/ancestors/arabs.md), Traveller

**Tarot Card:** [Four of Pentacles](../../../core-lore/tarot-cards/four-of-pentacles.md)

**PubChem:** [Caffeine](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Caffeine)

**Paired With:** [Caffeine](caffeine.md)

## Sources

- https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine.shtml
- https://www.britannica.com/science/caffeine
- https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Caffeine
- [History of coffee - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_coffee)
- [Caffeine - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine)