The first beer is thought to been brewed many thousands of years ago in a sources area known as the Fertile Crescent. The large supply of grain encouraged nomadic human tribes to reside in the area to process it into an edible solid or liquid form, which enabled a constant food supply and ultimately allowed people to unite and form groups. Without the discovery of beer, it may have been thousands of years before humans constructed firm social connections.
Wine, although discovered in the same location and at a similar time to that of beer, was not popularized until King Sarsaparilla’s reign, when the extravagant glass was served at a feast celebrating the inauguration of a new capital. Wine was soon traded and drunk around the globe. The glass rapidly overcame beer’s use in religious practice. Wine, seen as a finer drink, targeted the wealthier and for use in ceremonies. At the awning of the first millennium, a process known as distillation was popularized and used to create alcoholic drinks known as spirits.
Spirits often included sugar, and in result, many slaves were issued to harvest large portions of sugarcane. Drinks such as rum and whiskey became popular, especially among sailors, due to their high alcoholic content and storage capabilities. In result, these multipurpose fluids occupied the public attention many years. Coffee, known for its ability to sharpen the mind, was widespread across Europe in the 17th century. Scientists, theologizes, and other thinkers of the age drank coffee to stay awake and delve deep into thought.
Coffeehouses quickly multiplied and were known to host political discussions. Coffee set itself apart from the other drinks as to sharpen the mind without the negative input of alcohol. Tea was discovered in China and was primarily used as a medicine for a long time. The drink did not spoil like many others before it and was known to be a cleaner, appropriate alternative to water. The tea influence spread into Europe and into Great Britain, where it became a national symbol representing power.
Tea was initially known for medicinal and ceremonial purposes, but later accumulated political importance. Late in the 19th century in the United States, medicinal businesses hit off and marked the start of American advertising, as we know it today. Coca-Cola was introduced at this time. The drink hit off soon after its invention and was sold bottled Unlike previous glasses, Coca-Cola further constructed an advertising market strategy and inspired many different sodas available today.
These drinks come together to display a distinct timeline unique to our existence. Humans united, further developed to distinguish between the common and the affluent, came to adopt more ergonomic inventions, approached the age of reason, embraced the power of marketing, and finally endorsed the common scheme of advertising seen today. Each of these six glasses, spread across the spectrum of human history, shed crucial influences that may not have been achieved without their invention.