Expresso Love: Your Online Guide to Coffee

France’s Coffee Places

May 4, 2006

In France coffee became the rage in 1669 when the ambassador of Turkey to the court of King Louis XIV was the first to serve it to the King. Since then it’s been said that coffee is second only to wine in terms of the amount consumed. Others have voiced the opinion that French coffee tastes a lot and looks a lot like swamp mud — or worse.

As you make your way across France from Paris to Lille you’ll have to decide for yourself. Along the way – make room for the following popular coffee and espresso huts.

Brûlerie des Ternes, Parisian roaster with a good selection of beans. You can buy greens but they cost the same as the roasted beans. The roastery in “10, rue poncelet” (metro Ternes) is a must see. The roaster is in the middle of the store and coffee bags from all origins are hung as decorations all over the place. A paradise for coffee lovers. Note they sell a complete selection of tea, too.

Verlet (256, rue Saint-Honore’, Tel : 01 42 60 67 39) One of the most popular coffee houses in Paris! Specializing in Arabica beans since it’s humble beginnings in 1880, Verlet now offers 28 different blends to sample, purchase and drink to heart’s content.

Bodum Shop (Forum Les Halles, 103 rue Rambuteau, 75001) – a truly international selection of coffee-making accessories as well as fine blends and a relaxing atmosphere. Multiple locations in France throughout various European countries as well.

It’s been said that, “…Parisians like coffee more than they do sex, cinema or Charles de Gaulle…!” If that’s the case, then the following locales rate high marks:

Brûlerie des gobelins (2, avenue des gobelins) - a really good roaster with a good variety of beans and some rarities like Guadeloupean coffee. Several blends are available, two of them especially made for espresso. Most of their beans are available in roasted and green. You’ll also find a big selection of tea, French sweets, biscuits and high quality chocolates.

Cafés Estrella - (26, rue St Sulpice) – Don’t judge the small location and simple interior for the great coffee and pleasant selection of beans. No blends but good origins. The roaster will be happy to propose you a coffee adapted to your taste. The selection is made on quality/cost. Sells roasted and green beans.

The best coffee house in Paris may well be the one you stumble on by accident. And that’s half the fun when it comes to enjoying a cup of java!

Around the turn of the century, the capital of Hungary once boasted between four and six hundred coffee houses.

Known as Budapest’s golden age — when the big dreams of youth were continually plotted, argued and written about within the typical strained confines of nearly all the coffee houses in and around the city. Those days may be gone, but travelers can still get a taste of how the coffee culture so consumed many an individual’s waking hours. But first a few pointers:

The “Mélange” is the bastard cousin of the cappuccino, a black, slightly diluted coffee with frothy milk.The “Schwarzen” is a strong local blend. When you want a cup of coffee that’s going to get re-filled again and again. This is what you’ll find staring back at you in your cup.

The “Kleine Braune” and the “Grosse Braune” are variants of the “Schwarzen”, with added milk or (better) with cream.

The “Einspänner” is a strong coffee in a glass with whipped cream on top.

Iced coffee “Eiskaffee” is strong ice-cold coffee poured over vanilla ice-cream. Coffee etiquette will only get you so far. So grab a few friends and sit yourself down in any one of the following and discuss all that is right or wrong in the world.

Café Gerbeaud (V. Vörösmarty tér 7, Tel: 429 9000), The most famous of Budapest’s ‘old style’ coffee houses, the Gerbeaud has been in the business of creating mouth-watering cakes and pastries for over 140 years.

Batthyány (tér 7, Tel: 212 3784) An Elegant café housed in the former crypt of St. Anne’s Church. The building’s ornate entrance sets the scene for the fine turn-of-the-20th-century interior complete with lavish furnishings and marble flooring. Popular with Budapest’s older folk, the cakes, pastries and teas are all first-rate. The summer terrace is also a great spot to unwind after a hard day’s sightseeing.

Bécsi Kávéház  (V. Apáczai Csere János utca 12-14, Tel: 317 9111) Although to some, the upmarket setting of the Hotel InterContinental represents the more expensive side of the Budapest café scene, prices aren’t half bad. A great selection of pastries too.

Múvesz (VI. Andrássy út 29, Tel: 352 1337)  Another classic Budapest coffeehouse, this time located on the busy Andrássy boulevard (and just a short walk away from the State Opera House) A perfect spot to while away the hours with a cappuccino and conversation.

Budapest may not house 100’s of coffee houses like it once did. But it has managed to maintain at least a little bit of its coffee culture from so long ago.