Louis XIV (1638-1715) grew his own coffee beans in greenhouses on the Versailles Palace grounds. He handpicked the beans, roasted them, and ground them himself. He loved to serve his own coffee to guests of the Palace
Read more about the Kings potager (vegetable gardens) at Versailles .
Voltaire (1694-1778), a French writer and public activist, allegedly drank between 40 and 50 cups a day which he mixed with chocolate. He credited coffee for the inspiration and stimulation behind the development of his philosophies. He paid hefty bonuses to his servants who could find his favourite coffee beans.
The first merchant licensed to sell coffee in Paris was François Damame, who secured the privilege through an edict of 1692. He was given the sole right for 10 years to sell coffee in all the provinces and towns of the kingdom, and in all territories under the sovereignty of the king. Every city in France soon had its coffee houses.
In 1714, Louis XIV received a present from the Dutch, a coffee tree for Paris’s Royal Botanical Garden, the Jardin des Plantes. The Dutch had successfully grown the coffee tree on the island of Java. This inspired Louis XIV to consider Martinique for growing coffee. He gave a clipping to a young naval officer, Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu who sailed for Martinique. Pirates nearly captured the ship and a storm nearly sank it. Drought followed, water grew scarce and was rationed, but de Clieu gave half of his allotment of drinking water to his stricken cutting. Under armed guard, the cutting was planted and grew strong. In the next 50 years it yielded a whopping 18 million trees.
Coffee become the king of drinks in Paris...