Tea, coffee and chocolate play an important part in the modern British diet.  Most people may not know that tea originated in China, coffee was allegedly discovered by a goat herder in Yemen, and chocolate plantations were cultivated in 400 BC by the Olmecs in South America. but did you know that these exotic beverages all arrived in London between 1650 and 1657, causing immense anxiety and debate?  This lively talk explains why Europeans were at first so terrified of these drinks: pregnant mothers feared their babies would turn brown if they drank too much chocolate, men claimed tea-drinking caused women to become peevish with their husbands, whilst women felt hard done by in the bedroom if men drank coffee: it supposedly caused their ‘ammunition to be wanting’.  We will also learn about some of the ingenious ways they were consumed in the eighteenth century.  All Melanie’s talks are related to research undertaken for books published by Bodleian Library Publications, amongst others.  This talk is one result of Melanie’s extensive experience.