Coffee History
Coffee conquers EuropeIn 1615,
Venetian merchants brought back the first sacks of coffee to western Europe. Its delicious aroma and
invigorating effects rapidly established it as a favourite beverage, and coffee houses were soon springing
up throughout Europe. Their minds never far from business, the bourgeoisie were soon singing the praises
of coffee's sobering effects, which turned drunkards into reliable workers. Dutch and Englisch seafarers
exported the plant to their colonies all over the world. When the Turks were
forced to break off their siege of Vienna in 1683, they left behind them 500 sacks of coffee. An enterprising
Polish businessman used it to open the city's first coffee house. The spread
of the beverage was accompanied by huge growth of coffee tree cultivation. As early as the end of the
17th century, successful efforts were made to grow coffee trees in greenhouses. One of these plants
was sent to Louis XIV in Paris as a gift in 1714. This single plant is thought to have been the ancestor
of millions of coffee trees. » more
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