Coffee shops in Paris: 5 places for a tasteful kawa break

in Paris, it has become the neighborhood business par excellence. It's the place to meet up with friends, the place to warm up on a frosty Saturday, and the place to telecommute for a few hours. Even top pastry chefs like Cédric Grolet and Christophe Adam have added this concept to their portfolio of addresses: the coffee shop. " It's a place that's synonymous with conviviality and reassurance. All over the world, we find the same codes," analyses Alice Quillet, co-founder of Ten Belles Bread.

at a time when coffee beans are gaining in popularity and becoming a real alternative to capsules, more and more coffee shops are setting themselves apart from the competition by the selection and quality of their small black coffees. Their promise is in line with the new expectations of serving a tasty and ethically respectable coffee. They are often recognized for their roasting expertise. And the same notions of terroir and origins are applied to coffee as they are to wine. Many of them focus their range on so-called specialty coffees. In other words, the selections that win the highest tasting scores. focus on five Parisian addresses where a kawa break is a true delight.

L'Arbre à café

Embodied by its charismatic founder Hippolyte Courty, L'Arbre à Café has become a benchmark for responsible coffee. Deeply motivated by the desire to defend regenerative crops grown according to agroforestry principles, the historian by training has had his own plantation in Peru since 2009. Twelve varieties of coffee are grown on this finca Mariposa terroir. From this land comes L'Arbre à Café's signature coffee, Blue Marisposa, with hints of chocolate, to be sipped as an espresso in one of the company's five boutiques.

• 10 Rue du Nil, 75002 Paris
• Find out more about L'Arbre à Café

justine Janicot

Ten Belles Bread

" When we opened our very first coffee shop on rue de la Grange aux Belles twelve years ago, there were very few specialty cafés in Paris," recalls Alice Quillet, co-founder of Ten Belles Bread. In the end, it wasn't until 2016, when the address landed in the capital's 11ᵉ arrondissement, that Ten Belles Bread became a benchmark, the one we know when it comes to bakery and patisserie fabrications. " We had imagined a warm, friendly place whose concept incorporated a food offering. That's what immediately set us apart from other coffee shops, which generally bought their cakes to resell ," explains the chef. Sausage rolls, cookies and scones quickly became Ten Belles' signature recipes.

The trio at the helm, consisting of Anselme Blayney, Anna Trattles and Alice Quillet, are not forgetting their original promise, however, and are committing to roasting in 2019. " We wanted to be clear and transparent about most of the chain," comments Alice Quillet, reminding us that the address does not import green coffee. In the same way that chefs cook to the rhythm of the seasons, Ten Belles Bread also differentiates itself by its ability to introduce new coffees to its aficionados. " At the moment, we have five varieties, but the batches come in different sizes. They can be micro-bags, so the quantity can be sold out quickly," she explains. Regulars also come back for the "mix tape", an in-house blend of various origins always corresponding to the same aromatic profile, which works well in the preparation of milk drinks.

• 17-19 R. Bréguet, 75011 Paris
• More about Tenn Belles Bread

Anne Caron

She was the first woman to win the title of France's best roaster. That was in 2017. Six years later, the heiress of the Caron burnery is back at it again with the crème de la crème of artisan competitions, that of Meilleur Ouvrier de France. Now running the family business under her full name, Anne Caron shares her expertise in so-called specialty coffee in Paris's 3ᵉ arrondissement. To understand: the cream of the kawa grown on the most sought-after terroirs and whose organoleptic qualities are superior to what we usually sip. " There 's no bitterness in specialty coffee ", says the MOF. She goes on to explain: " It's a category of coffee whose gustatory quality has been judged on the basis of criteria that refer to organoleptic characteristics: acidity, length in the mouth, body, sweetness, and so on. A score from 0 to 100 is awarded. It's in Saclay, near Paris, that she still nurtures the art of the old-fashioned method to roast precious beans from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Brazil and Nicaragua.

• 32 Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth, 75003 Paris
• Find out more about Brûlerie Caron

pauline Tezier

Café San José

In a neighborhood devoted to ramen and foodies in search of Japanese flavors, the comptoir San José offers an authentic place to sip a coffee. Even though the little store is often packed with people, don't hesitate to sneak in and order a San José, the house blend unanimously appreciated for its lack of bitterness and fruity taste. While San José is renowned for its one-euro counter-top coffee, people also come here for its lattes and cappuccinos, made with milk from Ferme de Viltain, located in the Yvelines region.

• 30 Rue des Petits Champs, 75002 Paris
• Find out more about Cafés San José

La Manufacture de Café Alain Ducasse

We couldn't expect anything less fromAlain Ducasse than to imagine the selection of his coffees as real recipes. Five years ago, the great chef embarked on a new entrepreneurial adventure, enriching his artisanal galaxy. Alongside two-time French roasting champion Véra Viraswami, the Louis XV's famous chef's hat has given another dimension to the Parisian network of well-made coffees. Brewed for 24 hours and served cold under pressure like a beer, this coffee revisits the classics. The green coffee, meanwhile, macerates in armagnac barrels before being roasted in a recipe dreamed up four-handed with Hélène Darroze. And for purists, Alain Ducasse has selected some exceptional grands crus, including varieties from Ethiopia and Colombia.

• 12 Rue St Sabin, 75011 Paris
• Find out more about Comptoir Alain Ducasse

thetravelbuds

3 questions to Bernard Boutboul, President of Gira, a consultancy specializing in out-of-home food consumption, about coffee shops

The number of coffee shops has exploded in France, particularly in Paris. Even the greatest chefs have adapted their offerings to this concept. Did the French acquire a taste for this Anglo-Saxon type of business with the arrival of Starbucks in 2004?

The American chain is just one building block in this trend. The corner pub has always been the place to sip a coffee. In 1960, France had around 200,000 cafés. Today, only 28,000 remain. Unfortunately, these establishments have missed the boat by not offering an adapted catering offer, concentrating more on drinks.

The French don't have the same culture as the Anglo-Saxons of sipping coffee while walking or throughout the day. And yet, it's a hyper-trendy business. How do you explain this success?

You're right, it's no coincidence that Starbucks' French addresses have the highest seating capacity in the world. And takeaway sales from coffee shops are anecdotal. To succeed in the French coffee shop market, you need to offer a sweet selection of pastries. What's more, these shops have also become living spaces, serving as co-working spaces for many teleworkers.

Don't people also go there for the quality of their coffee, in your opinion?

The real trend is all those "little" places that are rehabilitating the real taste of coffee. With its capsule concept, Nespresso got us used to paying a lot for our espresso. Consumers now seem to be tiring of this type of coffee, and are more interested in rediscovering the taste of filter coffee. In this type of boutique, the experience is different, with the emphasis on roasting. These are the most credible players when it comes to coffee offerings.