A Podcast Of Unnecessary Detail cover image

Fuel

A Podcast Of Unnecessary Detail

00:00

Why Do Coffee Plants Produce Caffeine?

Why do coffee plants have caffeine in to start with? The falling leaves contaminate the soil around meaning that it kills the competition. Coffee plants lace their nectar with tiny amounts of caffeine which gives bees a buzz. It also helps the plants pollinate by being more attractive to pollinators. And there's some research recently looking at the DNA of coffee plants and caffeine is the same molecule as you get in cocoa, cacao plants or tea but it was evolved differently.

Play episode from 12:02
Transcript

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app