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Top Coffee Towns in France

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Photo credit: Midnight in Paris



In a country where espresso is the coffee de rigueur, it’s astonishing how long it’s taken the French to acquire a taste for serious coffee. Given their innate passion for fine food and wine, you would imagine them to be right on the frontline reveling in the heady highs – cocoa, caramel, almond, pepper, floral nuances et al – of an aromatic, specialty-grade espresso crafted from the finest artisan-roasted beans money can buy.

Not so.

Coffee in France can be disappointing: traditional cafes complacently serve the same caf̩, aka an espresso cup filled to the brim with dark bitter coffee of low-grade Robusta beans, safe in the knowledge that French caf̩ culture Рthe glorious pavement terraces the woven bistro chairs, the vintage zinc bars and glittering literary heritage Рis hallowed.




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Photo credit: Midnight in Paris

Those all-too-often wretched Robusta beans are a legacy of the 17th and 18th centuries when France turned to its Asian and West African colonies for coffee beans. Which leaves the pursuit of specialty coffee in France down to handful of nouvelle generation coffee shops and crafts roasters, predominantly run by well-travelled baristas with foreign-honed or inspired savoir faire. Traditional brewing methods, including the French Press or cafeteria patented by French designers Mayer and Delforge in 1852, are still respected. But it is the careful sourcing – from small independent coffee farmers around the globe – and roasting of exceptional beans by craft roasters such as Brittany’s homespun Caffe Cataldi and Parisian pioneer and boutique-roaster La Cafeotheque that are ensuring a serious cup of coffee can at last be found in France.

If you are heading to France, we recommend that you add these coffee towns in your itinerary, take a moment, put down your smartphones and enjoy every sip.

Bordeaux

Where to try it:
L’Alchimiste, 12 rue de la Vieille Tour, Bordeaux; www.alchimiste-cafes.com 
MAP HERE


The Bordelais are accustomed to a quality tipple – some of the world’s finest vineyards cocoon their graceful city on the banks of the River Garonne in France’s hot southwest. Enter the Alchemist, the roaster who introduced speciality coffee to Bordeaux: Arthur Audibert – former management consultant, world traveller, devout Bordelais – learned the business from Antoine Netien at Coutume Cafe in Paris in 2013 and now crafts his own artisan coffee like a fine wine, playing with different beans, blends and roasts to transform raw green beans into coffee gold with bags of notes and nez. He roasts at Magasin General (87 quai des Queyries), a post-industrial space in converted army barracks with organic lounge-bar and grown-up play zone. Ultimate don’t-miss at his cafe-boutique on cobbled Rue de la Vieille Tour in town? Espresso with a cream-stuffed Dune Blanche cake.





Lyon

Where to try it:
La BoÃŽte À Café, 3 rue l’Abbé Rozier, Lyon; www.cafemokxa.com
MAP HERE



Eminently beautiful, soft-green packets of Café Mokxa coffee stand sentry by the entrance, each labelled with the farm of origin, altitude, year of harvest, roasting date and tantalising tasting notes – marzipan, honey, Tonka bean, apricot, jasmine – clearly designed to throw coffee-lover tastebuds into instant ‘I want!’ mode. This is La Boite a Cafe in Lyon’s edgy Croix-Paquet ’hood, vitrine for speciality coffee roasted each week by the country’s most significant roaster outside Paris, Café Mokxa. The brand was ahead of the French curve when it opened in 2011, and its commitment to personally sourcing beans from farms in Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador, among others, and roasting them in its own roastery to create the finest pure-origin coffee is unfaltering. Frenchman Sadry Abidi and New Zealander Rosamund Morris James are the bean nous behind Cafe Mokxa. The creative husband and wife team lived in Barcelona, trained as baristas in New Zealand, and then wisely plumped for the gastronomic capital of France in which to open their coffee shop, roastery and barista school. Their ongoing mission? To marry speciality coffee with quality food. It would seem to be working – while baristas deftly work the La Marzocco Linea PB espresso machine, hip flasks of cold-brew chill in the glass cabinet next to squat bottles of organic peach juice and generous plates of peanut cookies, blackberry cheesecake and cinnamon-spiced banana bread by sister bakery Konditori.




Paris

Where to try it:
Belleville BrÛlerie, 10 Rue Pradier, 19e, Paris; https://cafesbelleville.com
MAP HERE

« La Fontaine de Seattle », @LaMarzoccoCafe. — D’ici quelques jours, le temple de @LaMarzoccoHome à Seattle accueillera un peu de Belleville dans son café durant 1 mois. 4 semaines de fêtes aux couleurs de Belleville et de @lafontainedebelleville où seront servis une sélection d’assemblages et d’ « origines » de @cafesbelleville. RDV dès le 10 Octobre à @LaMarzoccoCafe ! — In a fews days, @LaMarzoccoHome’s FlagShip will host a part of Belleville during 1 month. We’re proud to be part of their #RoasterInResidence program as their first French Roaster. You will be able to taste our special « Assemblage » and cafés during those 4 special weeks in Seattle! Rendez-Vous on 10/10! — #Seattle #SpecialtyCoffee #Roastery #Belleville #JeBoisDuBelleville #Paris #RoasterInResidence #LaMarzocco #LaMarzoccoCafe
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Powerhouse of Parisian roasters since 2013, Belleville Brulerie is a hub of coffee excitement. Hidden behind an understated steel-grey facade in staunchly working-class, multicultural Belleville in eastern Paris, this artisan roastery requires dedication to track down and only opens its doors to the public one day a week. Professional Saturday-morning dégustations (cuppings) – please don’t wear perfume – allow groups of eight to swirl, smell, slurp and spit the week’s freshly roasted beans around a large bespoke table hand-crafted in Serbia for the occasion. Cuppings are led by celebrity torréfacteurs (roasters) David Flynn and Thomas Lehoux, whose nouveau French Roast turns the popular French Roast style – a dark roast typically slammed as bitter and burnt – on its head. Taste fruit, sugar, spice and prepare to be smitten.





Coutume Café, 47 rue de Babylone, 7e, Paris; www.coutumecafe.com
MAP HERE



Coutume stands out from neighbouring chic Rive Gauche boutiques. Its innovative cafe-roastery is an airy industrial space, with retro furniture, tropical plants and a long coffee bar where baristas describe their coffee beans with the same enthusiasm as a wine sommelier. The cafe is a pioneer of digital detox, with laptops and tablets banned to encourage conversation over coffee. The back of the space has a state-of-the-art roasting machine surrounded by sacks of coffee beans from plantations across the world, and Coutume supplies cafes and restaurants across Paris. Open through breakfast and lunch, the kitchen proposes healthy organic produce such as beetroot carpaccio with tabbuleh, while for your coffee, choose between a V60, latte, cortado or the espresso of the day, hand-pulled on a Synesso Cyncra. The choice of beans changes regularly, and includes Ethiopian Demisse Endema or Finca Deborah Gefha from Panama.


Lomi, 3ter rue Marcadet, 18e, Paris; www.cafelomi.com
MAP HERE



Tourists rarely wander into this gritty corner of Montmartre, but Lomi is always packed with a mix of colourful neighbourhood locals and coffee enthusiasts drawn by its reputation as one of the most exciting craft roasters in Paris. The cafe section looks like an old abandoned factory, with rusty metal girders, peeling paint on the walls, simple wooden tables and old leather couches. A glass wall at the back separates the roastery and lab area for testing the seasonal beans that are imported from more than 20 countries, as well as a space for cuppings, barista workshops and espresso classes. The food is simple, tasty and freshly cooked, and includes the challenging Cafe Fromage, a spoonful of tangy Bleu d’Auvergne cheese dipped into an espresso. The more traditional option would be a Gisuma, Chemex-filtered coffee from Rwanda; a lively, buttery, taste with hints of black tea.



Loustic, 40 Rue Chapon, 3e, Paris; www.cafeloustic.com
MAP HERE



With a sassy name (‘Smart Alec’ in old Breton) and sharp interior by hotshot Parisian designer Dorothee Meilichzon (think vintage-print Hermes wallpaper and exposed stone), Loustic is the good looking espresso bar of London barista Channa Galhenage. When he opened on backstreet Rue Chapon in Paris’ 3e arrondissement in 2013, Loustic was resolutely new wave: Paris had a dozen-odd specialist coffee shops at the time, compared to the 40 or so today. Beans arrive fresh from Antwerp roaster Caffenation and European guest roasters, and fans can sample a range of espresso and filter coffees (AeroPress, Chemex or V60). The fashion set’s coffee of choice? A Loustic latte glace, aka ice, maple syrup, cold full-cream milk and a double espresso mixed in a 250ml glass beaker.

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For more discoveries about the famous coffee towns around the world, you might want to have a copy of the latest Lonely Planet’s Global Coffee Tour book.


Where’s your favorite café in France?


xoxo, Blair




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30 comments :

  1. What lovely and chic coffee places to choose from. I think my favourite is Cafe Moka, with the couple from Barcelona. I live in Italy half the year, and caffe moka is very big here! I feel very French just reading this!

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  2. I'm not really a coffee drinker, but I think I will go with Loustic and Coutume Café in Paris because that's how the coffee looked like when I had one. :-)

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  3. I am dying to try Cafe Mokxa! I love when places put a new twist on something classic!

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    Replies
    1. I know right! And its in France another reason to visit the city and experience every sip.

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  4. You have listed great coffee junctions in France. Coutume Cafe looks great with beautiful interiors and good to know they change their choice of beans. Though Lomi is not located at touristic places, but it also looks great with hints of black tea.

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  5. Oh my! Had I known about all these specialty coffee wonders I would have definitely changed my plans to go Paris and chosen one of these places instead 😜 while visiting Paris I kind of given up on coffee because of all the bad experiences 😒 but I am glad to see that not everything is lost 🙈 I love the name of one of the cafes, L'Alchimiste... It's definitely very inspiring ❤️❤️

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  6. Oh, definetly. I love good coffee and this comes very useful to me. Will keep a bookmark until I am in France.

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  7. I’m more of a tea person but when you see cafes like Moka you feel like getting the taste of a perfect coffee. Never expected the French to be great coffee fans but these cafes surely take it to another level. Live the visuals and the choose you have provided. A great post to discover the best of cafe and coffe culture. Amar. Singh.

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  8. Wow! didn't know about these top coffee shops in France! gottta try them all when I'm there next :)
    Anna

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    1. You must Anna, and please share us your fabulous experience.

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  9. Wow I totally had no idea that it was hit or miss when it comes to coffee in Paris. I would so have thought that Paris being the capital but so much quality food and beverage, you would be able to easily get a very decent coffee. Lomi totally sounds so cool and I do love that you could see into the lab as they experiment. Belleville Brulerie also sounds so quaint and a lovely place to spend the early afternoon enjoying a cup of good ol' coffee.

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    Replies
    1. Oh next time grab a coffee in one of these cafes and share your experience :)

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  10. This was a very interesting post, thanks for sharing! I need to check out your suggestions next time whenever I'm in France

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  11. This is great, thanks. I love a good cup of coffee, so knowing where to go to get one is very helpful. Cuppings at Belleville Brulerie sound amazing.

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    1. I agree, this makes more reason to explore the city.

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  12. I adore your interest in coffee and the recommendations. I wish I knew your blog back when I was visiting Bordeaux frexuently. I would definitely visit those places for a coffee experience.

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    1. Thank you Anita!
      Well, maybe you'll visit Bordeaux next time.

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  13. Those re pretty cafeterias. I think I will go to France just to enjoy the old streets and coffee.

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    Replies
    1. That is awesome! Can't wait to read your Paris coffee experience.

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  14. I have never been to Paris before and would like to drink coffee there. After watching the photo and reading the blog post, I will take a cup of coffee now :)

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    1. When in Paris enjoy the local community, it is not all about Eiffel Tower :D

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  15. I'm more of a tea gal than coffee, but love me a cute cafe to just sit and spend an afternoon at. Maybe even people watch. These are some awesome suggestions and ughh now I just wish I'd known these when I was still in France!

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    Replies
    1. You can always comeback and enjoy your time bird-watching :D

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