Overview

Caffeine (kaf-EEN) is an organic base that occurs naturally in a number of plant products, including coffee beans, tea leaves, and kola nuts. It occurs as a fleecy white crystalline material, often in the form of long, silky needles. It usually exists as the monohydrate, C₈H₁₀N₄O₂·H₂O, although it gives up its water of hydration readily when exposed to air.

Scientists believe that humans have been drinking beverages that contain caffeine for thousands of years. The first recorded reference to a caffeine drink can be found in a Chinese reference to the consumption of tea by the emperor Shen Nung in about 2700 BCE. Coffee is apparently a much more recent drink, with the earliest cultivation of the coffee tree dated at about 575 CE in Africa.

Key Facts

Other Names:

Methyltheobromine; theine

Formula:

C₈H₁₀N₄O₂

Elements:

Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen

Compound Type: