Gustav III of Sweden's coffee experiment facts for kids
The Coffee Experiment of Gustav III of Sweden was a special test. It was supposedly ordered by King Gustav III to see how coffee affected people's health. This event might not have happened exactly as told. The simple health study, said to be from the 1700s, did not prove that coffee was a dangerous drink.
Why the Experiment Happened
In Sweden, coffee was banned by kings many times. This happened in five different periods between the 1750s and the 1820s.
Coffee first came to Sweden around 1674. But it wasn't very popular until the 1700s. Then, rich people started drinking it a lot. In 1746, a royal rule was made against coffee and tea. This was because people were thought to be using too much of them. High taxes were put on coffee. If you didn't pay the tax, you could get fined. Your coffee cups could even be taken away. Later, coffee was completely banned. But people still kept drinking it.
Gustav III's father, King Adolph Frederick, also disliked drinks that made people feel more awake. He signed a rule about this in 1760. Both Gustav III and his father had read a book from 1715. It was by a French doctor. The book talked about the dangers of a substance in tea and coffee. This substance is now called caffeine.
King Gustav III thought drinking coffee was bad for everyone's health. He really wanted to prove it. So, he ordered a science test to be done. Some people have called this the first ever clinical trial.
How the Experiment Was Done
The king ordered the test to be done using two identical twins. Both twins had been found guilty of crimes. They were supposed to be put to death. But their punishment was changed to life imprisonment. This was on one condition: one twin had to drink three pots of coffee every day. The other twin had to drink the same amount of tea every day. They had to do this for the rest of their lives.
The twin who drank tea passed away first. He was 83 years old. This was many years after King Gustav III himself died. The king was killed in 1792. We don't know how old the coffee-drinking twin was when he died. This is because the two doctors watching the study died before him.
What Happened After
In 1794, the government tried to ban coffee again. This ban was brought back in 1799 and 1817. But it never stopped people from drinking coffee. When the ban was finally lifted in 1823, coffee became very popular in Sweden. Since then, Sweden has been one of the countries where people drink the most coffee in the world.
See also
In Spanish: Experimento del café de Gustavo III de Suecia para niños
