Kathleen, Queen of the Desert

It’s about stopping, reading the paper or your guidebook, getting off your feet. Or off life’s merry-go-round. Order and sip. Maybe you don’t do anything else. I haven’t bought a single Herald Tribune (the English-language newspaper sold here) because I usually want to shut out the world’s goings-on. I’ll admit it’s been quite blissful ignoring the U.S. presidential race. I watch people go by and warm my hands on the cup. It’s a calming exercise. A brain reboot. Americans come close to this by going into a Starbucks and sitting down. If you rush things and sit in your SUV at the drive-through, you’re missing the contemplative point. 

In Paris I always order a cafe creme, and I get it in a ceramic cup on a saucer with white sugar in lumps wrapped in paper or loose in a paper tube (such as seen below with a cafe creme). I’ve never been offered a paper cup. Perhaps it’s obvious by my tennis shoes and backpack that I’m not on my way to an office job.

 

Waiters won’t typically bother you about paying and leaving either. However, the small tables and chairs out on a cafe “terrace” (the sidewalk) aren’t very comfy. You’re often cheek-by-jowl with other cafe sitters. But the cafe scene–the fact that you’re sitting in Paris, outside on a  sidewalk–often overrides the desire to rush to go stand in a museum with 15,000 other tourists. A cafe creme may only cost about 4 euros ($5.79), but the whole coffee process–the sitting down, the breathing, the slowing down–can sometimes feel like a meal. Sitting outside will also reduce the effect of Parisians smoking.

Coffee in France began with the Turks. The story goes that in 1669, Soleiman Agha, Ambassador from Turkish Sultan Mehmed IV, arrived in Paris bringing many coffee beans for his French and European guests and the royal court. By May 1670, the Ambassador had established the custom of drinking coffee among Parisians. 

A French cafe serves alcoholic beverages and simple snacks such as sandwiches. A brasserie is a bar/cafe that serves meals, generally single dishes, in a more relaxed setting than a restaurant. A bistro is a cafe/restaurant that serves cheap food. You can get coffee in all these establishments, but it is the French cafe where coffee is queen.

But coffee in a cafe is not about accompanying food. In fact, coffee in Paris is usually served at the end of a meal. If you want coffee to come with your food, you have to ask. And of course the roast of the coffee is important. As the beans darken to a deep brown, the original flavors of the bean might be eclipsed by the flavors created in the roasting process itself. The “roast flavor” can make it hard to distinguish the origin of the beans used in the roast. Bean roasts are sold by the degree of roast, ranging from “Light Cinnamon Roast” through “Vienna Roast” to “French Roast” . . . and beyond. Your barista can give you more information.

Café (kuh-fay) is plain coffee with nothing added, but it’s strong because it’s brewed like espresso. A café au lait (kuh-fay oh-lay) is coffee with steamed milk. You’ll sometimes get the coffee served in one pot or in the cup, and then a pitcher of steamed milk to pour in as you please. A café crème (kuh-fay khremm) is coffee served in a large cup with hot cream. IN Pris the cafe au lait and the cafe creme seem to be interchangeable.

A café décafféiné (kuh-fay day-kah-fay-uhn-ay) is decaffeinated coffee. I don’t really trust restaurants to give me truly decaf coffee, so I just always drink any coffee (or tea or “Coca-Cola Light”–Diet Coke) before 2 PM. The café noisette (kuh-fay nwah-zett) is espresso with a dash of cream in it. It is called noisette (French for hazelnut), because of the rich, dark color of the coffee.

A café Americain (kuh-fay uh-meyhr-uh-kan) is filtered coffee, similar to traditional American coffee. Be warned, the French call our standard cup of java jus de chausette (sock juice). The café léger (kuh-fay lay-zjay) is espresso with double the water.

It’s hard to imagine life here without coffee. Even Americans raised on Starbucks and other fancy coffees will enjoy the moment at a cafe on an avenue, boulevard, or rue in Paris.