A cup of coffee was once a luxury. Now it is quick, cheap and widely available — a daily essential for many.

How did this happen? Today on Patented, Jonathan Morris walks us through the evolution of coffee: from how people first figured out its psychoactive properties, to the transformations in roasting, processing and preparation that resulted in a coffee shop on every high street.

Listen to the History of Coffee podcast here.

Find Jonathan's book, Coffee: A Global History here.

This episode was produced by Emily Whalley

The senior producer is Charlotte Long

Edited and mixed by Seyi Adaobi

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

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