The author, Murray Carpenter, is a freelance radio and news reporter from Maine with a background in psychology and environmental science who has written for the New York Times, Boston Globe, and National Geographic. A self-described happy addict of caffeine, Carpenter states that he decided to research the substance that stimulates him daily. In the book’s acknowledgements, Mr. Carpenter thanks “the bitter white powder that inspired this book and provided the focus and stamina to write it.” According to the book, a tablespoon of caffeine powder will cause cardio-toxic effects and death, yet powdered caffeine can be purchased online by practically anyone. This journalistic account uses statistics, first-hand accounts, made-up units of measurement, and quirky facts to take the reader through the history, cultivation, dangers, and delights of caffeine throughout the world.
The physiology, psychology and commerce of the stimulant are discussed at length. The book is divided into four parts: Traditional Caffeine, Modern Caffeine, Caffeinated Body/Caffeinated Brain, and Corralling Caffeine. Beginning with the traditional and most popular forms, coffee, tea, and chocolate derived from plants in different regions of the world. Caffeinated claims that caffeine emerged independently on four continents as an insecticide. The buzzworthy plants inspired complex routines in the cultures that used them. A spicy and dark cacao elixir used by South Americans dates back thirteen hundred years ago, the earliest recorded use by humans that has been found. Caffeine is now consumed by billions daily as described in the second part of the book. Most of the caffeine that is used today as an ingredient in soft drinks, energy drinks, and headache medicine comes in a powdered form that can be purchased by the pound. Carpenter travels to coffee farms in Guatemala, a synthetic caffeine factory in China, and an energy shot bottler in New Jersey to show to research the manufacturing process.
Pure caffeine was traditionally extracted from used tea leaves or the decaffeination process of coffee. A little known fact is that much of the caffeine powder we use today is not pure caffeine derived from plant sources, but is synthesized in pharmaceutical plants, primarily in China using chemicals including urea and chloroacetic acid. The synthetic substance is sold as caffeine, has the same effects, and is not distinguished on labels, in marketing, or in the media as anything other than regular caffeine. FDA regulations do not impose much restriction on caffeine due to wording and legal loopholes used by big companies such as Coca Cola. Carpenter tells us that 1.7 billion Coca Cola products are consumed daily around the world.
It is used as a performance enhancer in sports and military training and is even included in drug testing in certain amounts in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Caffeine works by blocking the uptake of adenosine, which tells the brain we are drowsy, thus keeping us feeling awake. That simple blockage makes caffeine America’s favorite drug. Manipulations on the body are also described, as are the negative side effects that follow. For more facts, figures, and methods regarding the most widely used drug in the world, pick up Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us at your Lafourche Parish Public Library.