Five years ago, I was pretty frustated for the lack of good coffee place in the City of Light. How come a city who is adored for its divine cuisine, desserts and wine can make such terrible coffee? Ironically, there are thousands of cafés in Paris on practically every street corner, each full with Parisians sitting on the terrace and drinking their (burnt) café allongé / long black or (overpriced) Café crème. Don’t get me started on some bistros. Parisian always close their meal with coffee, so with that culture I expected the end of my meal rounded off with an something better than an overly bitter shot made from average beans. Seriously. Mention the word coffee to anyone that likes caffeine and has spent time in France and you’ll immediately get an eye roll.
In Jakarta, the coffee movement has knocked the door and talented young baristas have swarmed around the city, carefully pouring my (morning and afternoon…and sometimes evening) coffee and smooth milk into a beautiful latte. I mean I could live without my latte art, but not without the good taste.
Thankfully over the past few years, a new wave of (mostly foreigner owned) coffee roasters and cafés that all believe in good coffee have been popping up in Paris. It all looks very familiar: their focus on high-quality beans, artisanal brewing practises and a design oriented space that feels so young and independent. After decades of terrible to almost-decent coffee, Parisians and all the visitors in the world can finally enjoy a cup of good espresso. Vive la (coffee) revolution!
Kitsuné
51 Galerie de Montpensier, 75001 (1er arrondissement)
Open Everyday 8am-6:30pm
These people in Kitsuné can create magic in everything they do, be it music, fashion or coffee. They opened the first Cafe in Tokyo and it became a huge cult hit, and the little sister in Paris quickly followed suit. This small cafe is a stone throw from the Louvre and is situated right amongst the elegant boutique arcades of the Jardin du Palais Royal.
The biggest contrast that I find is the selection of menu. I supposed this is go with the attempt of creating efficient way of servicing customer, hence the coffee menus are limited, compare to American or Italian Coffee store.
Menu consist only espresso, macchiato, americano, latte, cappucino, piccolo and cortado. I tried both espresso and latte. Aroma-wise: The ashy-to-smoky were more stronger than the regular earthy-fruity-nutty, and this is confirmed with their dark-roasted bean where they sell also in a nice bag.
On the taste of the coffee, I think the coffee suit moderate coffee drinker like me. It is not too bitter yet mouth still can taste the acid in the liquid hence definitely not a sour taste. Perfect match for lazy afternoon.
Ten Belles
10 rue de la Grange aux Belles 75010 (10ème arrondissement)
Open Tue-Fri: 8am-6pm; Sat-Sun 9am-7pm
These are the menu: espresso, filtre, french press with some derivatives of noisette, cortado and crème. With this limited offer, you can tell that this shop is serious with their coffee.
During my visit, the espresso using Brazilian brand, while for filter and french press, they brewing Costa Rica bean.
I order the French Press. And am glad I took this.
It was perfect. It is kind of combination of spicy-to-floral in aroma with medium caffeine. Low in acidity and medium in bitterness. In fact, it is rather lower taste of bitter but as they are carefully select their bean, then you will find perfect taste as a result of tight roasting procedure. This is good for long chat with loved one.
Telescope
5 rue Villedo 75001 (1er arrondissement)
Open Mon-Fri 8:30am-6:30pm; Sat-Sun 9:30am-6:30pm
Having stayed around this area made me frequented this little cafe more than the others. Actually, both their coffee and their warm, moist, super delicious banana cake make me keep coming back. If you get there earlier for breakfast, you can enjoy your coffee with a bowl of granola. This quiet shop provide several choice of beans from Ethiopian, Columbia and Bolivia.
I always love the latte. This is what i think about the coffee: With its richness in fruity-citrus aroma, it also got extended to its citrus-berry-sweet taste. The citrus is felt pretty intense and bold. I guess that what makes banana cake suit well.
Loustic
40 Rue Chapon 75003 (3ème arrondissement)
Open Mon – Fri 8am-6pm; Sat 9am-6pm; Sun 10am-6pm
Interior wise, this place my favorite of all four. Most of the other third-wave coffee spots are designed in a simple, no-nonsense layout, but Loustic combines both modern and classic style which result in a very warm and cozy hangout space. The spaces between each seat are a bit tighter than the rest but they have many seats available also on the back.
