One of the most interesting episodes in the history of coffee is, that
of the transportation of the plant of the coffee-tree, taken from the
hothouses of Amsterdam, given to Louis XIV., and father of the three
plants, one of which was taken to the French Antilles by Captain
Declieux, who, in a scarcity of water experienced by the ship's crew,
shared the small quantity which he had to drink, between himself and his
dear coffee-plant. It is believed that from this plant has sprung all
the coffee grown in the West Indies.
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