The kola nut (or guru nut) is the fruit of the tropical African tree, Cola acuminata of the family Sternuliaceae. The nuts are larger than walnuts, very bitter tasting and contain a large quantity of caffeine. They are eaten by the natives as a stimulant and form the basis of Coca-Cola. Research Kola Nut
Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA) is a powerful drug that acts as a stimulant and can produce hallucinations. The original designer drug, ecstasy was first invented in Germany in 1912, and later rediscovered in California during the 1970s where it was used by marriage guidance counsellors to increase empathy in clients. Ecstasy became popular as a recreational drug during the 1980's, with a single tablet in Southampton then costing around 17.50 pounds, by the end of 2005 the price had dropped to 1.50 pounds, with ecstasy tablets sold by a Southampton dealer at a New Year's Eve dance in Birmingham at the start of 2006 at 3 pounds each. While usually sold as a tablet, ecstasy is also produced as a white powder which may be smoked or inhaled. The effects of ecstasy take about 30 minutes to be felt and then last several hours, giving the patient energy and making them feel more alert, empathy is enhanced and serotonin levels in the brainsoar, though they then drop for a few days afterwards. Side effects include paranoia, vomiting, dehydration and heart attacks. In the UK ecstasy is illegal, and is often supplied mixed with dangerous, cheaper, other compounds including amphetamines or caffeine or even scouring powder. Research Ecstasy
Alkaloid is a term applied to a class of nitrogenous compounds having basic properties, found in living plants, usually in combination with organic acids. They are usually given names ending in ine, as morphine, quinine, aconitine, nicotine, caffeine, etc. Most alkaloids occur in plants, but some are formed by decomposition. Most natural alkaloids contain carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, but a few contain no oxygen. The nitrogen they contain imparts to them basic properties - they are organicbases - and hence they all form salts with acids. They all possess a pronounced bittertaste, and the poisonous nature of many plants, e.g. hemlock, yew, deadly nightshade, etc, are due to the alkaloids they contain. Although formed originally within the plant, it has been found possible to prepare several of these alkaloids by artificial means. Research Alkaloid
Caffeine (Theine or methyl-theobromine) is a white, bitter, crystalline alkaloid usually derived from coffee or tea and used in medicine as a nervous system stimulant. It was discovered in coffee by Runge in 1820, and in tea by Oudry in 1827. Research Caffeine
Sarcosine (methyl-glycoccoll) is a product of the decomposition of creatine, occurring in flesh, and of caffeine, occurring in tea and coffee. It may be obtained synthetically by the action of methylamine on monochloracetic acid, and forms rhombic crystals that readily dissolve in water. Research Sarcosine
Theine is an alternative name for caffeine, the term theine usually being given to a drug prepared from the dried leaves of certain plants. Research Theine
Theobromine (dimethyl-xanthine) is the active principal of the cacao or cocoabean. It is an alkaloid crystalline powder with a bittertaste closely resembling caffeine and sometimes used as a diuretic and has been found to be an effective cough suppressant, more effective than codeine - eating chocolate, particularly plain chocolate, or drinking cocoa can be an effective remedy for coughing. Research Theobromine
APC is an abbreviation for Armoured Personnel Carrier
APC is an abbreviation for Accelerated Provisioning Concept
APC is an abbreviation for Aim Point Correlator
APC is an abbreviation for Antenna Pattern Correction
APC is an abbreviation for Armour Piercing Capped
APC is an abbreviation for Aspirin, Phenacetin, and Caffeine
APC is an abbreviation for Automatic Phase Control
APC is an abbreviation for American Power ConversionCorporation
APC is an abbreviation for Application Performance Characterization Research APC
Coca-Cola is the trade name of a coloured, sweetened, flavoured carbonated drink, originally made with coca leaves and flavoured with cola nuts, and containing caramel and caffeine. It was invented in 1886 and sold in every state of the USA by 1895 and in 155 countries by 1987. Coca-Cola, like other carbonated, sweetened soft-drinks, has little or no nutritional value and in excess can cause dental problems, contribute towards obesity and diabetes. After initial success, Coca-Cola was imitated by numerous manufacturers who were subsequently taken to court and banned from using names similar to the trademarked 'Coca-Cola'. The only real opposition to Coca-Cola came from 'Pepsi-Cola', which in the early 1980's launched a revolutionary marketingstrategy entitled 'The Pepsi Challenge'. The Pepsi Challenge was a blind tasting conducted among the public across the USA and the world in which consumers blind tasted Pepsi against Coca-Cola. The results showed that people preferred the taste of Pepsi, and in 1985 Coca-Cola changed their recipe. This was a marketing disaster for Coca-Cola which rocked the USA and within three months the original Coca-Cola recipe was reinstated and re-branded as 'Classic Coca-Cola'. The marketing war between Coca-Cola and Pepsi rages on, with both side aiming for a total monopoly of the world soft drinks market, and in the USA both companies sponsor schools and local authorities in cynical brand awareness programs that offer schools funding in return for advertising and vending machines within the school. Research Coca-Cola
Coffee is the seed of an evergreen shrub which is cultivated in hot climates, and is a native of Abyssinia and of Arabia. This shrub (Coffea arabica) is from 4 to 6 meters in height, and belongs to the Rubiaceae. The leaves are green, glossy on the upper surface, and the flowers are white and sweet-scented. The fruit is of an oval shape, about the size of a cherry, and of a dark-red colour when ripe. Each of these contains two cells, and each cell a single seed, which is the coffee as we see it before it undergoes the process of roasting.
Great attention is paid to the culture of coffee in Arabia. The trees are raised from seed sown in nurseries and afterwards planted out in moist and shady situations, on sloping grounds or at the foot of mountains. Care is taken to conduct little rills of water to their roots, which at certain seasons require to be constantly surrounded with moisture. When the fruit has attained its maturity cloths are placed under the trees, and upon these the labourers shake it down. They afterwards spread the berries on mats, and expose them to the sun to dry. The husk is then broken off by large and heavy rollers of wood or iron. When the coffee has been thus cleared of its husk it is again dried in the sun, and, lastly, winnowed with a large fan, for the purpose of clearing it from the pieces of husks with which it is intermingled. A pound of coffee is generally more than the produce of one tree; but a tree in great vigour will produce 3 or 4 lbs.
The best coffee has its name from Mocha, on the Red Sea. It is packed in large bales, each containing a number of smaller bales, and when good appears fresh and of a greenish-olive colour. Next in quality to the Mocha coffee may perhaps be ranked that of Southern India and that of Sri Lanka, which is strong and well flavoured; but comparatively little coffee now comes from Sri Lanka. Indonesia and Central America produce large quantities of excellent coffee. Brazilian coffee, though produced more abundantly than any other, stands at the bottom of the list as regards quality. Liberian coffee may also be mentioned. American coffee holds in the judgment of all Orientals the very last rank.
The Dutch were the first to extend the cultivation of coffee beyond the countries to which it is native. About 1690 some coffee seeds were brought to Java, where they were planted and produced fruit. By 1718 the Dutch planters of Surinam had entered on the cultivation of coffee with success, and ten years after it was introduced from that colony by the English into Jamaica, and by the French into Martinique. It was not until 1774 that the planters of Brazil, now the greatest producers of coffee in the world, commenced its cultivation.
Coffee as an article of diet is of but comparatively recent introduction. To the Greeks and Romans it was wholly unknown. From Arabia it passed to Egypt and Turkey, whence it was introduced into England by a Turkeymerchant named Edwards in 1652, whose Greek servant, named Pasqua, first opened a coffee-house in London. In 1671 an Armenian named Pascal set up a coffee-house in Paris. The excellence of coffee depends in a great measure on the skill and attention exercised in roasting it. If it be too little roasted it is devoid of flavour, and if too much it becomes acrid, and has a disagreeable, burned taste. Coffee is used in the form either of an infusion or decoction, of which the former is decidedly preferable, both as regards flavour and strength. The fine aromatic oil which produces the flavour and strength of coffee is lost by boiling. The best mode is to pour boiling water through the coffee in a biggin or strainer, which is found to extract nearly all the strength; or to pour boiling water upon it and set it upon the fire, not to exceed ten minutes. Prepared in either way it is fine and strong.
In the Asiatic mode of preparing coffee the beans are pounded, not ground; and though the Turks and Arabsboil the coffee, they traditionally boil each cup by itself and only for a moment, so that the effect is much the same as that of infusion. In Arabia some additional spicing, generally of saffron or some aromatic seeds, is considered indispensable; but neither Turks nor Arabians use sugar or cream with coffee.
Coffee acts as a nervous stimulant, a property which it owes mainly to the alkaloidcaffeine. It thus promotes cheerfulness and removes languor, and also aids digestion; but in some constitutions it induces sleeplessness and nervous tremblings. Research Coffee
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Kola Nut
