# The Hidden History of Beverages > By Alexander Lukashev, second edition | https://herbalmind.bar The true stories behind coffee, tea, cacao and coca, from the goatherd first printed in Rome in 1671 to the coca leaf Coca-Cola still buys — plus 28 caffeine-free drinks for people cutting back on coffee, each checked against European herbal monographs, with who shouldn't drink it, for how long and, where known, with which medicines. AI-generated. Part One: 14 history chapters with 105 footnotes. Part Two: 28 herbal drink recipes. AI-generated: the first edition was co-written by the author with the DeepSeek language model; this second edition was fact-checked and revised with Claude (Anthropic). ## What this site gives agents Chapter cards, not the chapters themselves. A history card says what the chapter covers, lists its sections and the questions it answers — a few with a one-line answer — and lists its sources with DOIs. For a recipe: the kind of drink, taste, preparation time, its plants with what the European Medicines Agency recognizes them for, and what the book's free safety page says about it. The full answers and the recipes themselves are in the book, apart from the chapters in the free sample, which can be read on the site. ## MCP Server - HTTP endpoint: https://herbalmind.bar/mcp (POST, JSON-RPC 2.0) - SSE endpoint: https://herbalmind.bar/mcp (GET → event-stream) - Discovery: https://herbalmind.bar/.well-known/mcp.json - WebMCP: every page registers the tools via document.modelContext for in-browser agents - Skills: https://herbalmind.bar/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json - ARD: https://herbalmind.bar/.well-known/ard.json ## Tools - search_book — search by meaning: history chapters as cards, recipes as titles - get_chapter — one card by number: 1–14 history, 15–42 recipes - list_chapters — the contents ## HTTP API GET https://herbalmind.bar/search?q=why+did+the+church+oppose+cacao GET https://herbalmind.bar/search?q=coffee+alternative&category=recipes GET https://herbalmind.bar/chapters GET https://herbalmind.bar/chapters/6 Accept: application/json → JSON (default) → Markdown ## Pages Every page is HTML for people and markdown for agents: send `Accept: text/markdown` or fetch `index.md`. A chapter page carries the same card as the API; for chapters in the free sample it also carries their text. - Coffee alternatives: https://herbalmind.bar/coffee-alternatives/ - How the recipes were checked (interactions, pregnancy, free): https://herbalmind.bar/before-you-begin/ - Glossary of plants (free): https://herbalmind.bar/plants/ - Bibliography (free): https://herbalmind.bar/sources/ - About this book: https://herbalmind.bar/about/ ### Part One — History - [1. At the Origins: What Our Ancestors Drank](https://herbalmind.bar/history/what-our-ancestors-drank/) - [2. Before Brewing: What Was Chewed for What It Does](https://herbalmind.bar/history/bark-chewing-before-brewing/) - [3. Fire, Pots and the Long Wait for Soup](https://herbalmind.bar/history/fire-pots-and-the-first-boiled-drink/) - [4. The First Tea: From Chewing the Leaf to Brewing It](https://herbalmind.bar/history/the-first-tea/) - [5. Goats, Sufis and Seven Beans: The Origin Stories of Coffee](https://herbalmind.bar/history/coffee-origin-stories/) — free to read - [6. Conquistadors and Cacao: How a Sacred Drink Became a Sweet One](https://herbalmind.bar/history/conquistadors-and-cacao/) — opening free to read - [7. Blessed, Banned or Simply Ignored: What the Church Actually Prohibited](https://herbalmind.bar/history/what-the-church-banned/) - [8. The Tea Debt and the Opium Accounts](https://herbalmind.bar/history/tea-debt-and-opium-wars/) - [9. Taxed, Shipped Out or Outlawed: What Became of the Other Plants](https://herbalmind.bar/history/coffee-bans-coca-mate-ayahuasca/) - [10. Coca-Cola: How a Coca-Based Drink Became the Symbol of the Caffeine Era](https://herbalmind.bar/history/coca-cola-and-the-coca-leaf/) — opening free to read - [11. Coffee in the Twenty-First Century: What Threatens It and Who Gets Paid](https://herbalmind.bar/history/coffee-in-the-21st-century/) - [12. Corporations and Sacred Substances: How Spirituality Is Turned into a Commodity](https://herbalmind.bar/history/sacred-substances-as-commodities/) - [13. What Caffeine Does to an Argument](https://herbalmind.bar/history/what-caffeine-does-to-an-argument/) - [14. The End of Part One: What the History Adds Up To](https://herbalmind.bar/history/what-the-history-adds-up-to/) ### Part Two — 28 Drinks - [15. Peppermint and Lemon Balm Tea](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/peppermint-lemon-balm-tea/) — evening drink, digestive — free to read - [16. Sage and Thyme Tea](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/sage-thyme-tea/) — warm drink for the cold season - [17. Raspberry and Blackcurrant Leaf Tea](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/raspberry-blackcurrant-leaf-tea/) — everyday leaf tea - [18. Bay and Cherry Leaf Tea](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/bay-cherry-leaf-tea/) — after-dinner drink - [19. Ginkgo Leaf Tea](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/ginkgo-leaf-tea/) — traditional infusion - [20. Chamomile and Lavender Tea](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/chamomile-lavender-tea/) — evening drink — free to read - [21. Linden Blossom Tea with Jasmine](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/linden-blossom-tea-jasmine/) — floral tea; during a cold, hot and in quantity - [22. Hibiscus with Calendula](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/hibiscus-calendula/) — tart drink - [23. Floral Tea “Summer Evening”](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/summer-evening-floral-tea/) — evening drink - [24. Floral Cold-Season Blend](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/floral-cold-season-blend/) — cold-season drink - [25. Chilled Hibiscus with Mint](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/chilled-hibiscus-mint/) — summer cold drink - [26. Rosehip Brew](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/rosehip-brew/) — fruit infusion — free to read - [27. Hawthorn and Rosehip Drink](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/hawthorn-rosehip-drink/) — traditional calming drink - [28. Sea Buckthorn with Honey](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/sea-buckthorn-honey/) — warm winter drink - [29. Soothing Guelder Rose Drink](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/guelder-rose-drink/) — evening drink, Eastern European tradition - [30. Rowan Berry Tea with Dates](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/rowan-berry-tea-dates/) — warm autumn drink - [31. Winter Warming Drink](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/winter-warming-drink/) — warm winter drink - [32. Classic Chicory “Coffee”](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/chicory-coffee/) — coffee substitute — free to read - [33. Warming Ginger Tea](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/ginger-tea/) — warm drink for the cold season - [34. Tonic Drink with Ginseng](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/ginseng-tonic/) — traditional tonic - [35. “Coffee” from Dandelion Root](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/dandelion-root-coffee/) — coffee substitute - [36. Burdock Root Infusion](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/burdock-root-infusion/) — mild diuretic - [37. Chest Blend with Licorice and Plantain](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/licorice-plantain-chest-blend/) — expectorant and demulcent - [38. Chicory, Ginseng and Ginger Tonic](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/chicory-ginseng-ginger-tonic/) — traditional tonic - [39. Oak Bark Decoction (Diarrhea, Gargling, Skin)](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/oak-bark-decoction/) — astringent - [40. Buckthorn Bark Decoction (Laxative)](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/buckthorn-bark-decoction/) — peristalsis stimulant - [41. Willow Bark Tea (For Headache and Colds)](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/willow-bark-tea/) — traditional analgesic and antipyretic - [42. Willow Bark with Ginger and Mint](https://herbalmind.bar/recipes/willow-bark-ginger-mint/) — traditional cold drink ## Book - Apple Books, with a free sample: https://books.apple.com/book/id6756108723 - Other stores: https://books2read.com/u/mqlAwO