Tea, coffee, cocoa, and other addictive consumer goods became global commodities in a remarkably short time, driven by factors including advances in transportation and European colonialism. However, the fundamental driver was capital, which rapidly transformed these once-locally consumed goods into everyday global commodities. Capital alone was insufficient, and the most direct impetus came from its seamless integration with state power. The cannons aboard East India Company merchant ships and the company’s authority to exercise state power on the nation’s behalf exemplify this dynamic. Britain’s tea trade in the East, which turned tea into Britain’s national beverage and then a global commodity, serves as a prime example of modern commodity globalization. Though non-essential to daily life, dependence on addictive consumer goods grew stronger, closely linked to modern capitalism’s encouragement of luxury consumption.