Penn’s Village Presents: Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate: The Story of an Addiction 

Tuesday, September 30, 

Time: 2-3:30PM

Location: McColl Room,  1st Presbyterian Church

 Coffee comes from Ethiopia, tea from China, and chocolate from South America, but these plants are now consumed everywhere in the world. The reason for this is simple: they all contain addictive drugs that help us stay awake and active. I will describe the chemistry and biology of these plants, the history of how they spread around the world, and the political economy of their production and distribution. 

Bio of presenter: Dr. Scott Poethig is the John and Margaret Fassitt professor of Biology at the U. of Pennsylvania.  In addition to his research on the genetics of plant development, he teaches a course on the Biology of Food. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and received the Lindback prize for teaching from Penn.