Chapter 2: The Arrival of Coffee - An Oriental Luxury

Coffee arrived in France like an exotic ambassador from the East. In 1644, Pierre de la Roque brought the first coffee beans to Marseille from Constantinople, but it wasn't until 1669 that coffee truly captured Parisian imagination. That year, Suleiman Aga, the Ottoman Empire's ambassador to the court of Louis XIV, introduced the elaborate Turkish coffee ceremony to Parisian high society.

The Sun King himself initially resisted coffee, preferring his chocolate, but Parisian society was entranced. Wealthy hostesses began hosting coffee parties, complete with Oriental décor and servants in Turkish dress. Coffee became a symbol of sophistication and worldliness, a way to demonstrate one's cultured tastes and international connections.