Shen Nong, the father of Chinese
agriculture and medicine, documents
Lingzhi (Ganoderma Lucidum) as the
most valuable herb (second is
Ginseng) in The Four-Canons. He is
also said to be credited with one of
the earliest discoveries of tea.
The Olmec Indians are
believed to be the first
to grow cocoa beans as
a domestic crop.
The first emperor of the Chin
Dynasty sent 500 men and
500 beautiful women in
search of Lingzhi said to be
located on a mysterious
island - they never returned.
Legend says it was these
people who colonized Japan.
The Shen-Nong Bencaojing or the
Classic of Herbal Medicine was written.
It is said to be the earliest reference of
the complete Chinese pharmacopoeia
and was considered one of the most
important medical books of its time.
Lu Yu wrote the first definitive book
on tea, the Ch'a Ching, that discussed
the cultivation and preparation of tea
becoming an integral part of
Chinese society and culture.
Chocolate drinks became popular
among the Aztec upper classes. The
Aztecs were the first to tax the beans
and called it "xocalatl" meaning warm
or bitter liquid.
The fully researched works
of Li Shi Zhen, a medical
scholar during the Ming
Dyansty (1368-1644), were
republished, documenting
the indications of the six
species of Ganoderma,
differentiated by colors, as
originally noted by Shen
Nong.
Arab traders brought coffee back to
their homeland and cultivated the
plant for the first time on
plantations. They also began to boil
the beans, creating a drink which
they called "qahwa" - the literal
translation being "that which
prevents sleep".
The Boston Tea Party
made drinking coffee
a patriotic duty in
America.
As a result of
Prohibition in the
United States,
coffee sales boom.
French naval officer Gabriel Mathieu de
Clieu stole a coffee bush seedling from
Louis XIV and transported it to Martinique.
It is said that 90% of the world's coffee
proliferated from this plant.
Cocoa powder is introduced by CJ Van
Houten, a Dutch chocolate master. This
revolutionary process also helped to
reduce the price of chocolate and bring
it to the masses.
Researchers from
Kyoto University in
Japan found a way to
cultivate Ganoderma
in large quantities.