The coffee in Paris notoriously bad. While it may seem as though we have some pessimistic views of Paris, we simply feel the need to express the truth since it seems that many people are blinded by the city's romantic visage. Don't get us wrong, Paris is a truly magical place. But it's about time someone calls out Paris for some of its misconceptions. As for many things, it's important to know the right places to go in order to maximize your experience and minimize the disappointment. Which is exactly the case when it comes to Paris and its coffee. And since we spent 3 months visiting just about every coffee shop we possibly could in Paris, we deemed ourselves qualified enough to give you our advice.
As coffee shop lovers, we fantasized the idea of sipping espressos at a Parisian café, preferably while sporting a beret. Our #1 advice: don't get coffee at cafés. Maybe we're just coffee snobs and can tell the difference, but really, if you are looking for quality go to a real coffee shop, not a café. Traditional Parisians will tell you that cafés are one of two things: either a tourist trap or only meant for a quick sip of espresso for a mid day pick me up.
Actual "coffee" shops in Paris seem to be a new trend, specifically with the influx of young Australians who moved to Paris to open trendy coffee shops and restaurants. Unlike New York, the vast majority of restaurants and cafés in Paris rarely roam too far from the country's own culture because French people tend to be just that: traditionally *French*. It doesn't seem like they want to stray from their usual baguette and confiture breakfast which is why you'll often find yourself in a brunch location whose employees are friendly and speak fantastic english, primarily because they are coming from a country where that is their first language. But if you find yourself in Paris anytime soon, follow our advice and get your morning fix at the places we suggest in a post ~coming soon~.