Nowadays, tea, coffee, and cocoa are regarded as the three most prevailing commercial crops worldwide. According to Beijing Tea Website, there are more than 160 tea-drinking countries and regions, which also means almost one third of people worldwide drink tea. And in recent four years from 2017-2020, the world coffee consumptions are never lower than 160,000 in thousand 60kg bags (statistics from International Coffee Organization). Moreover, in 2015/2016, about 7.3 million tons of retail chocolate confectioneries were consumed worldwide according to Statista Website. After all, these beverages have significantly large consumers’ demand compared with other drinks. The reason behind it is due to their long histories.
Tea first started in Asia and is originated in Yunnan, China from existing evidence.
In fact, it is one of the most ancient beverages so far. Archeologists have discovered that over 6000 years ago, people in Mount Tianluo, Zhejiang province had already planted tea artificially. From then on, people regarded tea as beneficial drink and gradually integrated it into their daily lives. The long drinking history forms the traditional Chinese tea culture. From ancient China, there has been custom of drinking tea to welcome their guests. In addition to reception, tea also contributes to marriage in ancient China. According to Chashukaoben, written by Xu Cishu in Ming Dynasty, ancient Chinese used to think tea can only grow from seed and will wither if it is grafted, therefore there is a folk adage that one household cannot drink tea with two other households. The status of tea is significantly prominent in all ages.
Coffee came from Africa and originated in the southwest plateau of Ethiopia over 1,000 years ago. The reason behind its high popularity is because coffee represented social interaction over its long history. At the end of 16th century, coffee was introduced to Europe by merchants of Venice and the Netherlands. Rapidly, coffee was strongly desired by Europeans, especially by wealthy aristocrats before its large-scaled cultivation. Thus, the price of coffee also skyrocketed accordingly. In the 15th century, coffeehouses appeared as an occasion for people to drink coffee together and became popular in the 16th century. In coffeehouses, people not only drink coffee, but also play board games, have conversations and listen to music. The function of coffeehouses is more than social hubs, but artistic and intellectual centers. As a result, coffee was not only a kind of beverage, but also stood for social activity.
Cacao, which is famous for making chocolate, stems from Amazon rainforest in Latin America and was first domesticated by human about 5,300 years ago. Over its long history, the tradition of drinking cocoa took shape and this is the reason behind the high popularity of cacao. In the early 16th century, cacao was first introduced to Spain and became extremely popular because of its delicious taste and medicinal benefits during the first half of the 17th century, especially for the aristocrats. Thus, it underwent a similar story as coffee, which is a sign of authority during a certain time period. Owing to globalization of cacao production, cacao became exceedingly prevailing, available for common households. The tradition of drinking cocoa continues to present days.
Because of the centuries-old histories of tea, coffee and cocoa, people have already formed the habit and the tradition of drinking them. They have already become part of our daily lives. Thus, they became the three most popular commercial crops. When it comes to the popularity, it is crucial to think of how long it can last, which is its continuity. In fact, scientific research has shown that they not only possess delicious taste, but also have beneficial effects on health. These advantages also contribute to the sustainability of the three commercial crops that people can always benefit from. Moreover, the long history of them also has already gave the evident proof for the eminent continuity of their popularity that these beverages could prevail over thousands of years. From previous experience, it is obvious that the popularity of tea, coffee and cacao will not decline at least in short future. But nowadays, there has been many other novel kinds of beverages both with impressive tastes and health benefits, such as fruit tea, coconut milk and milk shake that are popular as well. By the rising of the various new drinks, it is still unclear whether tea, coffee and cocoa could maintain their domination over other beverages, though they will definitely remain their popularity.
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