The Café, delicacy of the Court
According to legend, coffee was born in Ethiopia. Over the centuries, it crosses the borders of the countries of the Orient, to reach Europe in the 17th century.
Coffee arrived at the court of France and on the lips of Louis XIV in 1669. It was the Turkish ambassador Soliman Aga who introduced the sovereign to the beverage.
The king loves coffee and when the king loves…everyone loves it!
Coffee is quickly becoming fashionable, but it is very expensive. He becomes a social marker, between the nobility and the rest of the population.
Voltaire drinks 12 cups a day and declares "if coffee is a poison, it is a slow poison".
In the 17th century, coffee had its supporters and its detractors. Some speak of it as a rather tyrannical habit, it is even feared that it will abolish the use of wine...
Others speak of its therapeutic virtues: “It immediately soothes those who are not drunk to the last degree. »
Madame de Sévigné, columnist at the time, said “Racine will pass like coffee”. She got it wrong for both it seems...
Coffee is becoming more democratic in the kingdom. It gradually becomes the drink of freedom, of conviviality.
From coffee to coffee, there is only one step. The drink became the name of the tasting place and in 1686, the famous Café Procope opened its doors.
Montesquieu will say “Coffee gives spirit. If I were the sovereign, I would close the cafes because those who frequent them are annoyingly getting their brains out there”.
