coffee

The State of Coffee in Paris (and what is Cafe Richard, anyway?)

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“So anyway, that’s part of why I think France has more of a cafe culture than a coffee culture,” I concluded, having just explained how much I appreciated the growth of specialty coffee in Paris.

We were dining outside of the cathedral at Chartres and I was enduring the prison coffee so often served in many otherwise lovely restaurants in France. One of the Baby Boomers in the party heartily disagreed with my sentiment. “I think this is very good coffee,” he sniffed. I wasn’t sure why he felt the need to defend the general state of coffee in France, but I certainly feel no such need, despite loving life here.

The General State of Coffee in France

The coffee in France in general and in Paris in particular is, at best, average. At worst, it’s dire, reminiscent of the strange brew you would find inside a Shell gas station in America in the late 1980s. No love, no care, just some grounds and hot water. And why have the French been okay with this? Because, as I contend, coffee in this country is, like a cigarette, more of a ritual. It’s about what is going on when you have a coffee, not the quality of the coffee itself. This isn’t to say that the French don’t know good coffee when they taste it. They just aren’t going to go out of their way to find it.

The Coffee Ritual

Coffee ticks so many boxes in France. Many Parisians push a button on their Nespresso machines every morning before going to work. That first sip of the hot, dark beverage helps to wake them, and if they are so disposed, to enlighten them about the possibilities of the day. At 10h00 and 14h00, coffee is often taken with colleagues: outside if the weather is nice, in a lounge area if not. Here the coffee is a lubricant for the conversation. It allows the French to hold something hot and comforting in their hands while they share the difficulties of their jobs. If you’re out during the day to meet with a friend, that coffee is a shared understanding — we’re here to talk about important details of our lives, and coffee often accompanies those conversations, whether those details be light or grave. After a coursed meal, coffee helps to summarize a culinary experience, and perhaps give you just what you need in stimulus to make it home on the métro before collapsing into a (lovely) food coma. In none of these circumstances is good coffee required, and hence, the French have never really asked for it.

Here you might reasonably argue, “Why are you being such a snob, Stephen…not everyone needs a V60 or a particular type of bean from Ethiopia.” It’s not about that. We have never had access to so much good coffee from around the world and so more and more people are getting to taste this good coffee and when they go back to the prison swill we so often experience (even in our favorite restaurants) the difference is palpable.

Add in the ever-growing number of places in Paris that care about coffee, and often, there’s no going back to the bad stuff, often made from robusta (instead of Arabica) beans. You’d rather just have a chocolat chaud or nothing.

What is Café Richard?

I’m sure I had my very first Café Richard coffee somewhere in Montmartre in 2009, when I first visited Paris as a tourist. I was starry-eyed, and at the time, not that interested in coffee, so I was enjoying the ritual of sitting on a Parisian terrasse, taking in the crowds, and feeling like everything was right in the world. That’s where Cafés Richard (pluriel for the corporate name) comes in.

This (still) family-owned business was founded in 1892 and is probably the single largest supplier of coffee in Paris. The thing is, they don’t just supply the coffee, they supply the whole infrastructure to deliver it.

There’s the machine. The cups. The saucers. The tools and implements. The beans. And if the machine breaks, they have someone who can come out right away to fix it.

Do you know how much that would cost if you had to cover it all yourself? As if starting a cafe or restaurant wasn’t already expensive enough? Cafés Richard knows, and they are very happy to solve this problem for you by letting you lease their machines and everything that goes with them. No upfront cost in tens of thousands of euros, no big bill when the machine goes bust. You pay one fee each month which correlates to all the services you might ask for.

Many a restaurateur gladly takes on this arrangement. Most French don’t care about good coffee and Cafés Richard has nourished a good reputation over the years such that the name is recognizable all throughout Paris. And, since the French don’t really care about the quality of the coffee, can we blame Cafés Richard for delivering a mediocre product? Non. They deliver a product and services that both restaurateurs and guests appreciate. Who am I to interfere?

The Particular State of Coffee in Paris

I first moved to Paris in 2013 and the specialty coffee scene was still quite new. All coffee lovers in Paris will know that many specialty coffee roads here in the capital lead back to le Cafeotheque near Notre-Dame and that many of the people who have continued on in coffee in Paris first got their start there. Here is a very short (not exhaustive) list of places (which reflects my unapologetic rive droite bias) where you can get excellent coffee in Paris. Please feel free to add more in the comments section.

  • 1er Kitsune — right by Palais Royale if I want to take a cup “to go” and sit by the fountain there.
  • 1er Kawa — if you want to feel totally out of your depth, surrounded by people very knowledgeable about coffee, and are willing to learn and try something you have likely never tried before, come to Kawa.
  • 3eme Maison Plisson — come for the amazing cheese and lovely comestibles, stay for the coffee and pastries? 🙂
  • 3eme Fringe — if you’re wandering around the Marais and need your coffee fix, duck into this lovely spot.
  • 4eme la Cafeotheque — does it get any more serious than this place for coffee in Paris? Not sure. 🙂
  • 4eme le Peloton — not too far from la Cafeotheque is the Peloton Cafe, which often has delicious baked goods for the sweet of tooth.
  • 5eme Shakespeare and Co Cafe — don’t let the swarm of tourists scare you off: the coffee is good and the view of Notre Dame is probably the best of any public cafe in the city.
  • 7eme Coutume — I know they have lots of locations, licensed and otherwise, in the city. I happen to like this (relatively) quieter location on rue Babylone.
  • 9eme KB — amazing coffee + lovely neighborhood = can’t miss (they also operate Back in Black just a few steps from Bastille, I think).
  • 10eme Holybelly — Craig Carlson (owner of Breakfast in America) and I were at some expat meetup years ago and someone complained to us about the lines outside Holybelly. “I enjoy eating at Craig’s,” I said, “but Holybelly might be the best breakfast in Paris.” Craig humbly nodded his assent. They make good coffee too. (fair disclosure: I’ve worked for Holybelly in the past)
  • 10eme Ten Belles — it’s a location that’s so cute some may squeak when they see it for the first time.
  • 11eme Passager — when I want a breakfast bagel sandwich and a V60 and people-watching on a quiet weekday, I come here. Too busy on the weekends.
  • 11eme The Hood — there’s so much I love about this place (and, fair disclosure, I’ve worked for them in the past as well) but apart from getting exposed to some foods you may have never tried before, you’re always going to get good coffee, made with love, here.
  • 14eme Hexagone — look, I’m never, ever, down this far south, but if I happen to be, I’ll be here.
  • 18eme Hardware Societe — you’re probably coming here for the food first, but if it’s a less busy time, stop in for the coffee.
  • 18eme Cafe Lomi — brightly lit, filled with friendly staff and attractive patrons, and so much good coffee.
  • 18eme la REcyclerie — I love this place for many reasons not just related to coffee, but they also offer a menu item that allows you to anonymously buy a coffee for someone in financial need (note that they are only open Fri-Sun).

Well, what if you’re not a coffee person? There are plenty of other options, and perhaps that’s an article for another time (and another writer). For now, I’ll just leave you with Plaq, on Rue du Nil (my favorite food street in Paris), which is a bean-to-bar chocolate shop that has some of the best chocolat chaud in the city (pace Angelina, which is an experience on its own).

Photo on Rue Reaumur near my old apartment in the 2nd.

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Why So Serious: French Advertising

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More and more American audiences are getting used to something that has happened in French movie theaters for some years now: advertising that has nothing to do with movies, but is cinematic (and often quite serious) in scope.  The challenge is that it’s hard not to laugh at any of these pleas for you to buy stuff.  Sometimes it’s just so over the top.  As I’m often the only one laughing when this stuff comes on I try to laugh quietly so as not to be the obvious American who finds it ridiculous.  Take, for example this ad for Dior Sauvage starring Johnny Depp, which plays on all the mysterious and bad-boy tropes that the French love.

Depp manages to be Captain Jack Sparrow while fearing and loathing Las Vegas.  Oh, yes, and I’m supposed to want Dior after all this dark mystery.  Is this aimed at me or the ladies?

But, Dior has a diverse portfolio, and for the vampire types who like Led Zeppelin, you can watch Robert Pattinson.

Dior is playing the “get the girl” card that you normally associate with these male cologne ads.  Along with this, it’s now the mode to use English in your ads.  Witness this hilarity in which an advertisement designed for the French marketplace ends with a subtitle for the English catchphrase at the end of it.

Diesel ups the “get the girl” ante with Thor’s brother, Chris Hemsworth, in this ad.

Yes, buying cologne is now an act of bravery.

I understand I’ve only been focusing on the obvious (yes, Stephen we get that the French are into their cologne). But, coffee is also a pretty serious thing in La France.  When I was first in France the famous (now long past) campaign of George Clooney for Nespresso was part of my introductory French language class, as it featured some simple subtitled text for us to translate and practice. I found the campaign to be funny, intelligent, and perfect for Nespresso. Unlike the other commercials I’ve shown so far, the series that Clooney did was all about poking fun at himself — he always thinks the women know who he is (and desperately want him), but they are always interested solely in the coffee.  For the record, this is my favorite one.

This campaign introduced an expression that’s part of pop vernacular now. Clooney says, “What else?” and in French this translates to “Quoi d’autre?” You can use this expression in situations and almost everyone knows what you are alluding to (the expression, as its equivalent in English, obviously stands alone apart from this ad, but the intelligence of the writers was in co-opting it).

The French take their advertising seriously. So, promise me not to laugh too hard when you watch it with them. 🙂

This story also appeared on Medium.

Photo by Alexis Fauvet on Unsplash

Did you enjoy this article? TAIP is 100% reader-supported through tipping. If you want to leave us a tip of any amount it would be highly appreciated. These tips help support our efforts to keep TAIP an ad-free environment. Just as at a cafe, the tips are split evenly among the team.

cafe paris

7 Tips for the Paris Café Experience

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One of the most famous aspects of Paris is the café culture.  Keep in mind, this is not the same as a coffee culture (to be discussed in the future).  There are some unwritten rules that you learn over the years.  Here are a few I’ve compiled to help you the next time you find yourself at one of these treasures.

1) Be polite

In the States, as well as Anglo-culture in general, there is a traditional belief that the French are generally stuck up and rude. The reality is exactly the opposite. The French are very polite, provided that you are polite to them to start with. When entering a café, do not get agitated if you are not served right away. Eating is a totally different culture here. It’s not meant to be a time to stuff your face and run on to the next activity. It’s meant to be a passage. An enjoyment, a respite, culminating in good, peaceful digestion. Appreciate this difference and be patient, be sure to be polite to the waiter (who is not your slave, rather he has condescended to assist you… for a price), beginning with “Bonjour.” This auspicious start will help provide good service.

2) Know what you want

Many French cafés do not have menus, since they more or less serve the same thing. Coffee, naturally, bread and cheese, sandwiches, pastries, and small savory offerings. The local café is not a full-service restaurant. You should already know what you want before you go to order, because it is very inconsiderate of you to make your server stand there while you mutter, “Ummmm…. nah. Hmmm… maybe… nah.”

3) Drink what you want

A café in Paris does not only serve coffee. Here in Paris, as in most of Europe, a café serves coffee, mineral water, beer, or wine. The waiter will most likely take your drink order first. Be prepared for what you want (see above).

4) Blend in

Whether you stand or sit, there is a certain level of decorum with which the French conduct themselves in cafés which it would be good to observe. It is cheaper, price-wise, to stand at the bar to eat or drink than to sit down at a table, but if you do sit, you should not sip your coffee loudly, nor chug your beer like you were back in college.  Enjoy your food and concentrate on enjoying it. Chew softly, maybe while reading a book. This is leisure time!

5) Take your time

If you sit down, plan on taking your time. You aren’t just buying food, you are buying an experience, an atmosphere. Plan on hanging around for a while, the staff expects you to take your time. They are not trying to frantically turn tables to get as much money out of the clientele as possible. You are invited and encouraged to take time, read a book, do nothing, people-watch, write out some postcards to family back home, etc.

6) Perpetuate the gentle hum of conversation

It’s best to keep the quiet atmosphere of the café: set the ringer on your phone off, laugh more quietly at jokes. When you are ready to go, the normal signal that the French use here is to place their fork and knife on their plate, or, one can use the symbol which works just about everywhere in Europe, to pretend to write on your palm when/if you can catch the eye of your waiter.  You’ll want to ask for the bill 10-15 minutes before you really want it. 😉

7) Be graceful

Gratuity is already factored in, therefore leaving another 15% tip immediately identifies you as a tourist. A little extra for outstanding service would not be out of place, however.

If you do not speak French very well, the French are appreciative of those who try to use basic polite phrases without asking if they speak English. Once the initial effort is made, more often than not, they will kindly offer to speak to you in English if you begin in French.

The Paris café experience has been memorialized in books, films, poetry, and art.  Take the chance to insert yourself into those narratives in a harmonious way.

Photo by Alex Harmuth on Unsplash

Did you enjoy this article? TAIP is 100% reader-supported through tipping. If you want to leave us a tip of any amount it would be highly appreciated. These tips help support our efforts to keep TAIP an ad-free environment. Just as at a cafe, the tips are split evenly among the team.