Paris Insights - The Blog

I stopped by La Brûlerie du Rendez-vous recently to see what they were serving as their “coffee of the moment.” The sales clerk told me that they were brewing a blended coffee of two varieties (Castillo and Bourdon rose) from three regions of Colombia: Cauca, Tolima, and Huila.

I asked to sample an espresso made with this blend and then proceeded to purchase a 250g bag of the roasted beans.

Taking the coffee home, I proceeded to brew a cup using my 9Barista stove-top espresso machine. The machine produced an intense coffee with a decent crema. Tasting it, I thought that I detected notes of cherry. The accompanying literature indicated that I might taste chocolate, brown sugar, or citrus. I did not detect any of that, but I was satisfied with the results.

The sales clerk told me that the coffee is transported from Colombia by sailboat. I was initially skeptical of his story, but a page (in French) on the store’s Web site convinced me: https://labruleriedurendezvous.com/le-vent-pour-allie-decouvrez-notre-cafe-colombien-transporte-a-la-voile/.

The shop offers twenty-eight varieties of coffee.

The coffee roasting machine is located at the rear of the store.

When I entered the establishment, I heard the sound of happy voices of customers discussing the products that they saw there. More than a coffee-roasting facility, the enterprise is a small grocery store, selling tea, chocolate, bulk honey, infusions, jams, jellies, syrups, and artisanal sorbets and ice cream from Ardèche.

Yum!

La Brûlerie du Rendez-vous
7, rue du Rendez-vous
75012 Paris

Araku coffee shop is located on rue Soufflot, just down the hill from the Pantheon. I stopped by to taste an espresso and purchase a bag of roasted coffee beans.

The café was serving an Arabica that they call Micro Climat. It is grown in the Araku Highlands of India. All of the coffees sold here come from that region, which is located in the Eastern Ghats mountain range of India.

The coffee beans are roasted in Paris.

The espresso that I was served had a light crema on the surface. It was intense with an agreeable flavor of cherry.

I purchased a 250g bag of Micro Climat roasted coffee beans, took them home, and prepared an espresso with my 9Barista stove-top espresso machine. My espresso maker produced a satisfying coffee that was equal in intensity and flavor to that which I had tasted at the café.

I was particularly intrigued by the faintly-sweet cherry flavor of the coffee.

However, I was never able to reproduce the crema that I enjoyed at the coffee shop to my satisfaction.

As well as coffee, Araku sells fruit juices and gluten-free cakes and cookies.

Seating is available on stools at the window of the sheltered terrace that overlooks rue Soufflot. In the back of the coffee shop there is additional seating at tables and on wall benches.

While I was there, an Afro Pop song called “People” by Cameroonian-American recording artist Libianca played over the sound system.

The staff was friendly and helpful.

Araku
18, rue Soufflot
75005 Paris