where in PARIS are we hiding < the good coffee > ? and how to drink coffee like a parisian...
Is Paris the world capital of Art? Yes. The world capital of cuisine? Maybe. Fashion? Oui...The world capital of excellent coffee? Non, non, non...you got us there.
Thanks to a new generation of roasters and baristas who vacillate between « inspired by the immigrant Aussies » [for their prowess in the field of specialty coffee in Paris] and « repulsed by the cheap and bitter old-school Parisian brew » [personally I find it best suited to cleaning the Covid off my iPhone screen], Paris is now a city with a REAL coffee scene.Â
So, if « COFFEE. NOW. » is the tantrum your cerebellum offers first thing in the morning before the PTSD flashbacks start rolling again [ editor’s note: I’m much better now thx...] or your neurons start firing the command to Answer Emails, Check Instagram, and Scroll Reddit [ I wish I could quit you...], these Parisian coffee shops are here for you.
From the quaint and quiet to the quirky and modern, we have culled from the 1,000s [ seriously, but say it with a California accent] of Places To Get Coffee and chosen the spots that are frothing it up with passion and care.
Take note, our focus here is shouting out the specialty, craft-roasted, coffee shops here that are ~bomb AF~ and not on the traditional Parisian corner cafe, [ many of which pop up on Google Maps when you search « coffee shop» ]. As the Parisian corner spot is not traditionally coffee-focused, they usually serve the bitter, industrial, OG French «expresso» and not the real deal. They simply haven’t kept up with the times, which is to say, We Like Only the Good Coffee Now.
We did throw in a few wildcards, however — places with exceptional/freaky ambiance — that we thought were worth the wander...
If you are a ~come correct~ type, just FYI: in Paris we don’t really take coffee to go. We sip an « expresso » standing up with a croissant at the bar or maybe sitting down. [ This is more apropos in the traditional corner cafe than the next-gen shops below where you can let your dirty-foreigner flag fly. ] But in this town, coffee = short expresso.
In Paris, even at the traditional corner cafes, we also do all the usual cappuccinos, lattes, etc.
While take-away coffee is so not French, the next-gen places below won’t give you the side-eye for doing it Anglo-style. So take a cup to-go to a nearby park, or sit on the «terrasse» and pair it with something sweet, or, even Frencher-yet, a simple-but-decadent butter croissant. [ Pound cake, cookies, and brownies [ Sacre bleuuuu! ] are super-trendy in Paris right now, but not so French.]
Et voilà ...With a breakfast like this, you might just pass for Parisian.
PARISIAN COFFEE DECODERÂ
Café (or, « a coffee ») means a little espresso (that’s «expresso» in French). You can have a double, or «double» (conveniently the same word) pronounced « doobleh.»
Allongé is an espresso with a little more water. AKA an «Americano», although…
Café Filtre is a drip coffee like the old school and is what Americans expect to be in their cup when they say « coffee.»
Noisette means « hazelnut » in French, but there are neither nuts nor flavoring syrups involved as it’s a nickname for the « espresso macchiato,» aka espresso plus a dab of milk foam.
Café Crème (say it: cah-fay crehm...ugh) is a cappuccino, but in French. Expect a ton of milk: it’s how the Parisians do it, for better or for worse.Â
Café Latte is *usually* the same as a Café Crème, a lazy truth about Paris. Beaucoup milk…
Flat White is not Parisian (it’s Australian) but is super-popular here. When made properly, it’s almost like a cappuccino but with a more velvety foam.
« Le Cafe Pipi » is the expresso you buy from wherever in order to use their bathroom when you are out-and-about and too shy to blaze in like an OUTLAW ;p
The PARIS » DEFINED MAGAZINE team picks for les best coffee spots in Paris, by « ARRONDISSEMENT »
« Le 1er Arrondissement »
MOTORS COFFEE // insta // 7 Rue des Halles // 1st arrondissement
TELESCOPE // insta // 5 Rue Villédo // 1st arrondissement
LE CAFE ALAIN DUCASSE // le insta // Westfield Forum des Halles Rue Rambuteau // 1st arrondissement // 12 Rue St Sabin // 11th arrondissement
CAFE KITSUNE // le insta // 51 Galerie de Montpensier // 1st arrondissement // 2 Place André Malraux // 1st arrondissement
208 Rue de Rivoli // 1st arrondissement // 30 Rue du Vertbois // 3rd arrondissement
« Le 2eme Arrondissement »
L’ARBRE A CAFE // le insta // 10 Rue du Nil // 2nd arrondissement // 61 Rue Oberkampf // 11th arrondissement
MATAMATA // le insta // 58 Rue d’Argout // 2nd arrondissement
« Le 3eme Arrondissement »
TANAT // le insta // 96 rue des Archives // 3rd arrondissement
ARAKU // Insta // 14 Rue de Bretagne // 3rd arrondissement
LA BOUTIQUE CARON // le insta // 32 Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth // 3rd arrondissement
GRAND CAFE TORTONI // le insta // 45 Rue de Saintonge // 3rd arrondissement
RECTO VERSO // le insta // 6 Rue Portefoin // 3rd arrondissement
WHITE // le insta // 56 Rue de Turenne // 3rd arrondissement
THE COFFEE // le insta // 40 Rue des Gravilliers // 3rd arrondissement // 2 Rue Saint-Gilles // 3rd arrondissement
« Le 4eme Arrondissement »
YELLOW TUCAN // Insta // 20 Rue des Tournelles // 4th arrondissement
ARTESANO // Insta // 3 Rue Saint-Paul // 4th arrondissement
LE PELOTON CAFE // le insta // 17 Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe // 4th arrondissement
NOIR // le insta // 63 Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île // 4th arrondissement
THE CAFÉOTHÈQUE // le insta // 52 Rue de l’Hôtel de ville // 4th arrondissement
« Le 5eme Arrondissement »
CAFE LITTERATUM *** not the best coffee but bizarre OG vibes*** // they are old school cool so no IG // 22 Rue des Écoles // 5th arrondissement
JOZI CAFE // le insta // 3 Rue Valette // 5th arrondissement
LE BON MOMENT // le insta // 24 Rue des Bernardins // 5th arrondissement
SHAKESPEARE & CO // le insta // 37 Rue de la Bûcherie // 5th arrondissement
TRAM CAFÉ LIBRAIRIE // le facebook // 47 Rue de la Montagne Ste Geneviève // 5th arrondissement
« Le 6eme Arrondissement »
CAFE D’AUTEUR // le insta // 39 Rue Mazarine // 6th arrondissement
LE PONT TRAVERSE // le insta // 62 Rue de Vaugirard // 6th arrondissement
MAISON FLUERET // le insta // 30 Rue des Saints-Pères // 6th arrondissement
BREAD + ROSES // le insta // 62 Rue Madame // 6th arrondissement
TEN BELLES // le insta // 53 Rue du Cherche-Midi // 6th arrondissement // 10 Rue de la Grange aux Belles // 10th arrondissement // 17–19 Rue Breguet // 11th arrondissement
« Le 7eme Arrondissement »
CERTIFIED CAFE // le insta // 44–47 Passage des Panoramas 2nd arrondissement // 83P Rue du Bac // 7th arrondissement
« Le 8eme Arrondissement »
CAFE NUANCES // le insta // 25 Rue Danielle Casanova // 1st arrondissement // 22 rue du Vieux Colombier // 6th arrondissement // 10 rue de la Trémoille // 8th arrondissement
JARDIN DU PETIT PALAIS// le insta // 1 Avenue Dutuit Petit Palais // 8th arrondissement
« Le 9eme Arrondissement »
KB COFFESHOP // le insta // 53 Av. Trudaine // 9th arrondissement
YORGAKI // le insta // 45 Rue des Martyrs // 9th arrondissement
« Le 10eme Arrondissement »
loutsa torrefacteur // le insta // 35 passage jouffroy // 10th arrondissement
buddy buddy // le insta //15 rue de marseille // 10th arrondissement
O/HP/E // le insta // 27 Rue du Château d'Eau // 10th arrondissement
RADIODAYS // le insta // 15 Rue Alibert // 10th arrondissement
RÉPUBLIQUE OF COFFEE // le insta // 2 Bd Saint-Martin // 10th arrondissement
« Le 11eme Arrondissement »
CAFE SINGULIERS // le insta // 2 rue Titon // 11th arrondissement
BACK IN BLACK // le insta // 25 Rue Amelot // 11th arrondissement
THE HOOD // le insta // 80 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud // 11th arrondissement
CAFE LA LUNE VERT // le insta // 60 Rue de la Fontaine au Roi // 11th arrondissement
COMETS CAFE + DISQUES // le insta // 38 Rue Léon Frot // 11th arrondissement
ÉTAGERE CAFE (& DIY) // le insta // 51 Rue Léon Frot // 11th arrondissement
VIAHÈ CÀPHÊ // le insta // 16 Rue Daval // 11th arrondissement
NOMADE CAFÉ // le insta // 8 Rue Paul Bert  // 11th arrondissement
« Le 14eme Arrondissement »
COUTUME // le insta // 47 Rue de Babylone // 7th arrondissement
// 54 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré // 8th arrondissement // Magasin Galleries Lafayette Coupole, 40 Bd Haussmann 3ème Étage // 9th arrondissement // 56 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis // 10th arrondissement // 68 Av. du Maine // 14th arrondissement // La Grande Épicerie de Paris Rive Droite, 78 Rue de Passy // 16th arrondissement
TERRES DE CAFE // le insta // 32 Rue Daguerre // 14th arrondissement
« Le 15eme Arrondissement »
GOOD NEWS COFFEESHOP // le insta // 27 bis Rue Mademoiselle // 15th arrondissement [ watch out for imitators with the chain version of the same name, not sure how that happened, we like the indy, OG spot on re mademoiselle ]
SHIBA CAFÉ // le insta // 27 bis Rue Mademoiselle // 15th arrondissement
O COFFEE // le insta // 23 Rue de Lourmel // 15th arrondissement
« Le 16eme Arrondissement »
Noir // instagram // 63 Rue Saint-Louis en l’Ile 4th arrondissement // 9 Rue de Luynes 7th arrondissement // 120 Bd Haussmann // 8th arrondissement // 8 rue Saint-Florentin 8th arrondissement // 32 Rue Gustave Courbet 16th arrondissement
« Le 18eme Arrondissement »
LA MAIN NOIRE // le insta // 12 Rue Cavallotti //Â 18th arrondissement
THE BEANS ON FIRE // le insta // 7 Rue due General Blaise // 11th arrondissement // 61 Rue des Trois Frères // 18th arrondissement
TWO DOORS COFFEE-SHOP // LE INSTA // 27 Rue Francœur // 18th arrondissement
There’s great coffee at Torrefaction Aouba at the Marché d’Aligre!
Oh la la la jackpot!!! or JOEpot ;) hehehe. So much to do in Paris, why sleep? oui? Thank you, this list means more than you could ever know.