[Ligma123]

>I have heard that the switch from the main consumed beverage from alcohol based drinks to caffeine based drinks may have possibly contributed to the Enlightenment.

Why didn't the caffeinated beverages stimulate the advancement of science in the countries where those plants are native from?

[mr_00ff00]

It possible did. I think coffee was created in Arabia in the 900s. Weren’t the Arabic countries way ahead of Europe in terms of technology for those several hundred years?

[brokenkebaby]

Not in that way. Arabic expansion grew a new layer above cultural heritage of East Mediterranian region, and Persia, and its most important centers were exactly there, showing a lot of continuity with their "pre-coffee" roots. Which I think contradicts your theory.

[margalabargala]

Perhaps it did.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age

[brokenkebaby]

Coffee really became common beverage in Islamic world about 3 centuries after the "golden age" finished