| By the 17th Century, with the popularity of | | | | Sri Lanka. Very soon coffee plantations |
| coffee ever increasing in Europe, the | | | | spread all over Sri Lanka and into Southern |
| interest of the then World Superpowers - | | | | India. Then, in 1699, the Dutch started |
| Britain, France, Netherlands, Portugal and | | | | production in Indonesia, when cuttings were |
| Spain - also grew. Up until this point, | | | | successfully transplanted from Malabar |
| coffee imported into Europe had come from the | | | | (India) to Java.Without help from the Dutch, |
| Arabian Peninsula, over which none of these | | | | the other Superpowers would not have got out |
| nations had any control. The Europeans had | | | | the starting blocks. By 1706, the first |
| sample coffee and liked it, and now they | | | | coffee beans from Java had reached Amsterdam, |
| wanted to start producing it for themselves. | | | | along with a coffee plant for the Botanical |
| The race was on to establish their own coffee | | | | Garden. From this plant, a number of |
| plantations in their respective colonies.It | | | | successful cuttings were made. These new |
| was the Netherlands who took an early lead in | | | | plants soon found their way into various |
| this race. In 1616, Dutch spies successfully | | | | botanical gardens throughout Europe as they |
| managed to smuggle a coffee plant out of | | | | were given as gifts to visiting |
| Mocha (Yemen). Although, to begin with, they | | | | dignitaries.One such plant was given to King |
| were only involved in small scale | | | | Louis XIV of France in 1714, by the |
| cultivation. This changed in 1658, when they | | | | Burgermeister of Amsterdam. The plant was |
| defeated the Portuguese to take control of | | | | re-homed in le Jardin des Plantes in Paris. |