Concentrated sunshine

The chemical compound 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine known as caffeine, is probably the most commonly consumed psychotropic substance in the world. Not only humans, but in the entire animal kingdom it enjoys enormous popularity. The natural supply is also more versatile than is generally assumed: Caffeine is found in the plant parts of coffee, cocoa, guarana, tea and cola nuts, as well as in the flowers and nectar of some citrus fruits. 

Once Alexander von Humboldt described a cup of coffee as concentrated sunshine, thus vividly illustrating the importance of the drink and its effect on people. 

It was primarily this effect and certainly not the taste that was responsible for its worldwide spread. Just as it is the case with other drugs: they are rarely consumed because of their taste! But what is the adaptive advantage of a plant that becomes a caffeine producer?

Plants utilize the effect of caffeine on the consumer's nervous system in two different ways:

On the one hand, there is the defense function - the production of caffeine serves to protect the plants from predators. Due to the bitter smell and taste of caffeine and the toxic effect on the organism that occurs at higher doses, the plants are generally avoided by the animals. For a long time, this protective mechanism served as sufficient and sole justification for caffeine's raison d'être. 

But as scientists have been able to prove in the last 10 years, the plants have gained another advantage for selection: through the loyalty function.

Caffeine is a psychoactive substance which, in the right dosage, can have a stimulating effect on the consumer's perceptual apparatus. The stimulant increases attention, memory, concentration, motivation and confidence - in short, it makes you alert and invigorates you. 

This is nothing new and certainly the reason why millions of people visit our cafés every day. But humans were not the first caffeine addicts!

Bees. A scientific study from 2013 was able to show that some plants were able to attract bees, in particular thanks to the caffeine content in their flowers. The bees are guided by the scent of the flowers and prefer to visit plants that have already rewarded them with nectar for pollination. 

If the nectar also contains caffeine, it induces increased concentration and memory performance in the bees. This means customers return to the same plants even more frequently. By turning the bees into reliable regulars through caffeine production, the hosts benefit from increased pollination and thus an increase in their population. Business is booming. 

The analogy between this second evolutionary strategy and the relationship between roasters and café operators and your customers is obvious. We relentlessly tempt you with the same drug in different guises of roasts, blends, exotic specialties and beverage creations to manipulate your habits. There's also no denying that the complex and subtle taste of the drink has become more convincing in recent decades, contributing to its popularity. But when you look at their faces in the morning, there's nothing to hide the fact that it's all about the stuff - the kick, the capture of the spirit and the drop of concentrated sunshine, that puts things in their proper place. 

Of course, this is written by a junkie and dealer who is highly addicted himself and is committed to this path of no return. Because life wants to be lived. 

But we also have something delicious on the passenger shelf for the teetotallers, the clean ones and the dreamers. Or for some, it may be a completely new experience without hesitation, a change of perspective: PASSENGER COLOMBIAN SUGAR CANE DECAF! Disenchanted by its psychotropic effect. Its taste alone is convincing. Warning: it can also be addictive! 

Cheers to the power of plants. 

References:

1. Pollan, Michael This is your mind on Plants Penguin Books, 2021.
2. Wright, G.A., et a. „Caffeine in Floral Nectar Enhances a Pollinator’s Memory of Reward.“ Science339, no.6124 (March 8, 2013): 1202-4.