Prior to the 16th century Europeans mainly drank alcoholic fermented beverages, such as beer, which were the safest form of water consumption with fermentation making the water safe even in polluted cities. Coffee first moved to Europe in the mid 16th century, and coffee and tea quickly replaced beer in Europe as a most common beverage to keep people hydrated. But these drinks also proved a conduit for caffeine which, as a milder drug than alcohol, had sobering and concentrating boosting effects, and arguably focussed the skills and cognition needed for the new tasks and way of thinking of the first industrial period, for example the skilled task of operating looms would be much easier after a coffee than a beer. could coffee have caused the Industrial Revolution?
