Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Meth Coffee Now The Coffiest
Meth Coffee, an edgily-named coffee company based in San Francisco, opened for business yesterday with its own special brew of super-caffeinated coffee.
Meth Coffee, described on the company website as "a volatitherapeutic beverage," is a blend of Arabian and South American coffee beans with a "dusting" of yerba mate. Yerba mate is a natural stimulant made from Ilex paraguariensis, a species of holly native to subtropical Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. Mate is prepared by steeping the dried leaves in hot water; its flavor is compared to that of green tea.
Mate contains xanthines, which are alkaloids in the same general family as caffeine, theophylline and theobromine (well-known stimulants also found in coffee and chocolate). Mate seems to have physiological effects that are different from coffee; it appears to create a mental state of wakefulness and alertness, but without some of the negative effects of caffeine (like heart palpitations and anxiety).
(Yerba Mate leaves)
Science fiction enthusiasts may recall coffiest, the wonderfully profitable beverage from the prescient 1952 novel on the future of advertising - The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and CM Kornbluth. It also contains a special alkaloid:
"...here's what makes this campaign great in my estimation - each sample of Coffiest contains three milligrams of a simple alkaloid. Nothing harmful. But definitely habit-forming. After ten weeks the customer is hooked for life..."
(Read more about coffiest)
Hmmm, there might be more to this Meth Coffee than meets the eye...
If you are interested in futuristic beverages, consider
- Synthehol Sought By Psychopharmacologists
A substitute for alcohol predicted by mainstream sci-fi. - Programmable Soda in Choice-Enabled Packaging
Six flavors of soda - in a single bottle; you pick the flavor, or any combination.
Read more about Meth Coffee here and at the Meth Coffe website; more details about yerba mate are also available.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/11/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Lifestyle ")
Amazon Blimp Parent Drone Concept
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...' - Daniel Suarez, 2012.
Tortoise Mobile Smart Stores
'... all round the city dozens of cars have rented out their trunks, which contain cigars and scotch and stuff.' - Karl Schroeder, 2019.
Sony Pocket Air Conditioner Is Phil Dick's Idea!
'... he went to the hall closet to get his pith helmet and his mandatory cooling-unit.' - Philip K. Dick, 1965.
ROAM Robotics Skiing Exoskeleton
'The real genius in the design is that you don't have to control the suit; you just wear it...' - Robert Heinlein, 1959.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
California Fireman Arrested For Starting Fires
'Fire is bright and fire is clean.'
Robots Need A Better Sense Of Touch
'First, it rubbed my arms...'
MouthPad Supports Head And Tongue Tracking
'The operation that had transformed half his body... had located the control switchboard in his teeth.'
REALLY Remote Control Excavators
'It takes over a second for the signal to get to the Moon...'
Disney Helping Robots Dance
Dance, Robots, Dance.
Kolors Virtual-Try-On Predicted, And TRIED, By Harry Harrison
'Bill blinked at his own face under the plumed helmet...'
Detecting Drones In Ukraine With Candy (Sukork)
'...a robot detector circuit closed, activating a bell."
Nevada Will Use AI To Decide Worker Benefits
'They had screwed up and been blacklisted by Manna.'
Tether Cryptocurrency Flow Rate US$190Bn Per Day
'Alex did not find it surprising that people... were electronically minting their own cash.'
First Trips To Mars Announced By Elon Musk
'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.'
WaPOCHI Micro-Mobility Robot Follows Like A Pet With Your Bags
To follow the user like a pet while carrying their cargo!
Ultra-Realistic Robotic Arowana Robo-Fish
'Deveet unhooked his catch and laid it on the bank beside him. It was a metal fish.'
GITAI R1 Lunar Rover Like NASA Robonaut Centaur
'...waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
Meshworm Soft Robot, With Peristaltic Crawling, Is Getting Better
'Seen close it was not completely flexible, but made instead of pivoted and smoothly finished segments.'
Mushroom 'Robot' Is Just A Start
'Some unknown race ... decided to help them out.'
Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany
'...the cars are wedge-shaped at both ends.'
