Paris Insights - The Blog

Finding ourselves recently in the yonder region of the 13th arrondissement – in the newly-developed area called “Paris Rive Gauche” – we came upon a café called Cayo.

The interior is spacious, with a tall ceiling and ceiling-to-floor windows. Walls are bare or are painted sea green. Tables with a polished, colorful, broken-shard finish provide a comfortable place to sit.

Three large potted plants stand at the entrance to the principal dining room.

The café was quite noisy with conversation. The bare walls of the room and the concrete floor do nothing to attenuate the clamor.

I ordered the espresso of the day, a cup of Cirilo from Peru, while my partner ordered a cup of tea called Double Jeu – thé noir aux amandes et noix (Double Game – black tea with almonds and walnuts).

The espresso, served without a glass of water, had a strong, fruity, tart flavor.

While we enjoyed our beverages, the music of British artist Vegyn played over the sound system.

I left my table to explore the rest of the café. Passing through a second large dining room I came upon Foxx, who was working near his coffee roaster. He graciously agreed to pose next to the machine for a photograph.

I purchased a 250-gram bag of whole-bean Cirilo Andarapino from Peru, took it home, and brewed a cup of coffee using the pour-over method.

The result was an agreeable coffee with “balanced sweetness, gentle acidity, and long fruity flavor,” just as the description indicates on the package. I did not detect any exotic notes that one often finds with single-origin coffees, but that did not detract from my enjoyment of the beverage.

Café Cayo
9, Rue du Chevaleret
75013 Paris
Café Cayo serves breakfast, brunch (on weekends), lunch, and dinner.

Cuvée Noire opened about five months ago on boulevard Saint-Michel. My partner and I went by just recently to taste their espresso and to purchase a quantity of roasted coffee beans.

The shop’s counter is a massive block of cream-colored marbled stone, and the walls and wall benches are sea-green. Stools made of dark wood and covered with sea-green velour mirror the shape of the dark wood tables on which customers can place their coffees, teas, and cakes.

The only espresso being served that day was Noir Velvet, so I purchased a cup.

I found the coffee to be well-balanced with a frothy crema, but I could not immediately identify the strawberry or dark chocolate flavors that the barista claimed I would experience.

I also purchased and shared a slice of Praline Noisette cake with my partner. Measuring about 1″ thick, it was moist and crumbly and had a lovely hazelnut filling.

We both enjoyed it.

While we consumed our food and beverage, rap played over the sound system.

Zoé, the barista on duty, was friendly and helpful.

Because I enjoyed the coffee, I purchased a box of whole-bean Noir Velvet to take home.

Information on the package indicates that the coffee is a blend of beans from Colombia and Brazil, that it was roasted in France, that the date of expiration is May 22, 2026, and that the contents weigh 250 grams.

No information was presented about the precise regions of those countries, the varietal(s) used in the blend, or the date of roasting.

I sent a message to the company requesting information about the precise location of its roasting facility. The reply that I received only indicated that the coffee is roasted in France.

Brewing 18 grams of ground coffee using the pour-over method, I identified the following flavors and aromas:

Flavors: fruity, hint of chocolate
Aromas: Smoked bacon, maple syrup, caramel, hint of chocolate

For me, the coffee has a smooth, pleasant taste. From time to time, I thought that I tasted hints of strawberry.

Cuvée Noire
22, boulevard Saint-Michel
75006 Paris

I recently ventured into the 7th arrondissement to purchase a 250-gram bag of roasted coffee beans from Brûlerie de Varenne, a coffee roasting facility that has been operating at 44, rue de Varenne since December 2016.

The space within the interior of the shop is quite constrained due to the placement of a large, centrally-located counter that displays jars of candied fruits, chocolates, caramels, lokum (Turkish delight), and other treats. I could not resist purchasing a small bag of thinly-sliced dried mango.

The roasting facility offers two “espressos of the day” for tasting. I sampled the Honduras Ceiba, but had entered the store with a specific bean in mind—Éthiopie Moka Sidamo. Fortunately, Sidamo was available for purchase.

The proprietor, Laurent, told me that the beans would maintain their freshness for two months.

I purchased a 250-gram bag of Éthiopie Sidamo, took it home, and proceeded to brew espressos with my 9Barista stove-top espresso machine (pictured on the right in the above photo).

There were no tasting notes on the coffee available at the store, but the salesclerk told me that Sidamo is medium-bodied with floral aromas and fruity flavors. My own tasting confirms that the freshly-brewed Sidamo does have a floral or sweet aroma.  I found it to be tart, like red wine.

Brûlerie de Varenne offers a wide selection of fresh roasted coffee, as well as teas, honeys, cookies, and other types of sweets.

Brûlerie de Varenne
44, rue de Varenne
75007 Paris

Brûlerie Barbès is located in the 18th arrondissement, in the area that is popularly known as “Little Africa.” My partner and I ventured into this neighborhood in December to have lunch at the Creole restaurant Au Paradis Tropical and to explore the concept store Little Africa Village. I took the opportunity to purchase a bag of roasted whole-bean coffee from this coffee roaster, which has been in this location since 1979.

The proprietor, Neylla, was quite helpful and gave detailed information about the coffees in which I was interested. I told her that I wanted a coffee with notes of chocolate. She named four single-origin varieties with that characteristic, from which I selected a 250-gram bag of Pérou Grand Cru.

Neylla also suggested that I try Sidamo beans from Ethiopia. She told me that this coffee does not immediately express chocolate notes.  But she said that if I made a cup of Sidamo espresso, covered it, left in the refrigerator overnight and tasted it the following morning, I would find the chocolate notes that I was seeking.

She graciously gave me a sample of these beans so that I could perform the experiment.

It turns out that she was right—I brewed a cup of Sidamo espresso in the evening, placed it in the refrigerator, and tasted it in the morning. It did express notes of chocolate, even if the brew was a bit sour.

As for the Pérou Grand Cru, it, too, expressed notes of chocolate (without having to be put into the refrigerator), but I found it rather tart with an acidity like grapefruit.

Brûlerie Barbès does not offer an “espresso of the day” to taste on site, but they do offer a wide range of roasted coffee beans with expert help on hand to aid customers in making a selection.

If I lived in this neighborhood, I would come here regularly for fresh-roasted coffee beans.

Brûlerie Barbès
14, rue des Poissonniers
75018 Paris

I stopped into a new coffee and tea shop near the Luxembourg Garden to sample their espresso of the moment.

They were serving Abbachebsa from the Jimma region in Ethopia. It tasted slightly bitter, but it had a light cherry flavor.

I purchased a 250 gram bag of the roasted beans, took them home, and brewed espressos with my 9Barista stove-top espresso machine.

The first espressos that I produced were strongly bitter, but after I reduced the weight of the beans (from 18 grams per serving to 16.5 grams) and decreased the fineness of the grind, the bitterness subsided. For just about every espresso that I produced, the coffee expressed a cherry flavor.

The coffee is roasted by a company called Coutume. The roasting facility is located in Romainville, near Paris.

As well as coffee, tea, and other beverages, graines serves tartines (a single slice of bread or toast with one or more food items on top), soups, salads, quiches, cakes, cookies, and other desserts.

graines
3 bis, rue de Vaugirard
75006 Paris

Recently I entered the Starbucks café located at 118, rue Monge in the 5th arrondissement. My intent was to taste their “espresso of the day,” purchase a 250g bag of the roasted beans, take them home, and then prepare my own espressos with my 9Barista stove-top espresso machine.

Starbucks was serving an espresso made from their light roast, “Espresso Blonde,” but after tasting it I did not find its flavor to be compelling. I then tried a pour-over coffee made from their medium roast, “Pike Place.” I was satisfied with its flavor, so I purchased a 250g bag, took it home, and prepared a few espressos with my 9Barista.

I was not very satisfied with the result: the coffee prepared as an espresso tasted bitter. But when I prepared “Pike Place” as a pour-over coffee, using Melitta paper filters, I was happy with the flavor.

Determined to find a coffee at Starbucks for which I could use my 9Barista, I returned to purchase a 250g bag of the dark roast, Caffè Verona. (It was not being offered as an espresso, so I could not sample it. I made my decision to buy it by reading the tasting note on the side of the bag that promised a “toasty sweet & dark cocoa” flavor.)

Information on the Starbucks’ Website indicates that Caffè Verona is a blend of Latin American and Indonesian beans that have been roasted to a dark brown sheen by a process that they call Italian roast. Information on the bag indicates that the beans are roasted in Amsterdam.

The bag I purchased displayed a production date of August 11, 2025. I bought it on October 6.

Taking the roasted beans home, I proceeded to prepare them as an espresso using my 9Barista stove-top espresso machine (pictured above). For the first few days, I was able to produce an espresso that indeed had a satisfying dark cocoa flavor. After I had consumed about 2/3 of the beans, however, I realized that the flavor had changed over time: from dark cocoa to bitter cocoa to simply bitter.

I’m sure that the change in the flavor profile came about because once a bag of coffee is opened, the beans are exposed to oxygen. This exposure changes their flavor.

I think that the solution to prolonging flavor might be to store the beans in a hermetically-sealed vacuum canister right after opening the bag. There are various options about this on the Internet, which I will explore.

Starbucks
118, rue Monge
Paris 75005

L’Odeur de la Brûlerie is located on rue Violet in the 15th arrondissement, not too far from Nœud, the café that I reviewed on September 21st.

Whereas Nœud is a café that sells coffee brewed from beans that it does not roast, L’Odeur de la Brûlerie is a roaster that does not sell brewed coffee. Hence, when I entered, there was no coffee to sample before making a purchase.

However, the roasted beans are presented in little jars, giving customers the opportunity to experience the aromas by sniffing the beans before buying.

Thomas, the owner of the brûlerie, asked me what coffee aromas I preferred. I told him that I liked chocolate, and he directed me to a roast called Sauvage Chocolaté. It is made from Arabica beans from Harrar in Ethiopia.

I purchased a 250g bag of Sauvage Chocolaté, took it home, and began brewing espressos with my 9Barista stove-top espresso machine (pictured above).

As I weighed the beans for grinding, I noticed that some of them were a lighter brown than others.

At first, the coffee had an intense dark-chocolate flavor, which I enjoyed.

But after a few days, the flavor turned bitter, and then sour.

I believe that the flavor change occurred because the beans became rancid, although I kept the bag sealed and refrigerated. (I purchased the bag two weeks after the beans had been roasted and opened it two weeks after my purchase.)

L’Odeur de la Brûlerie sells coffee-making equipment as well as roasted coffee beans. It also holds coffee-tasting and espresso-making/latte art classes.

L’Odeur de la Brûlerie
23, rue Violet
75015 Paris

Nœud is a sparsely appointed café located in the 15th arrondissement, not far from the Emile Zola métro station.

I entered, wondering why people would frequent such an austere place, where there were only hard benches and metal chairs to sit on. Whatever the reason, there were numerous customers who came into the shop while I was there.

I told the barista that I wanted to taste the espresso of the day and then purchase a bag of the roasted beans that were used to prepare the beverage. The espresso of the day was brewed from Ethiopian beans supplied by Friedhats, a coffee roaster located in Amsterdam.

I sat down on a bench and was soon served the espresso with a glass of water.

I thought that the coffee tasted remarkably elegant, but I could not identify aromas or specific flavors.

After I finished the coffee, I told the barista that I wanted to purchase a 250g bag of the roasted Ethiopian beans. I was disappointed to learn that they did not have those specific beans in stock.

Returning home and consulting the Internet, I learned that Friedhats sells its roasted beans via its Website. It identifies the Ethiopian coffee beans as follows: “this coffee is 100% wolisho (aka “welicho”) – an ancient variety found in the highlands of Ethiopia.”

Subsequently, I ordered a 250g bottle of the beans directly from the company. It was delivered by international carrier within a few days.

After grinding the beans with my DeLonghi grinder and brewing them with my 9Barista, I was able to identify a rather bright citrus flavor cup after cup. My perception was confirmed by the mention of the word “Bergamot” (a hybrid lime-orange citrus fruit) that was printed on the bottle cap.

The word “Jasmine” was also indicated on the label. I did not detect that flavor, although it may have been the source of the elegance of the espresso I tasted at the café.

Nœud
41, rue Violet
75015 Paris

Barista Gallery is located on a narrow street between rue du Sebastopol and rue Saint-Martin.

My partner and I visited the café recently. My intent was to taste their “espresso of the day” and purchase a bag of the roasted beans.

The serving counter was faced with grey Lego baseplates, to which were affixed colorful Lego blocks.

The counter held cakes and cookies, and behind it stood two charming baristas.

They told me that they could prepare an espresso made from beans from Bolivia Yungas. I later learned that this is the name of a subtropical and tropical forest in central Bolivia. The beans are identified as Catuai rouge and Typica, both 100% arabica, harvested at 1660 meters.

The room in which the serving counter stood had a parquet floor, bare stone walls, and wide, tall windows. A long grey bench provided a place to sit in front of colorful, painted boxes that served as small tables.

The room in which I tasted my coffee had exposed wooden beams and a marble-topped table flanked by two bent wood chairs.

My partner and I took a seat in this room. One of the baristas soon brought me the espresso that I had ordered.

While I sipped my coffee, the music of King Hannah played over the sound system.

Although I enjoyed the brew, I could not identify any of the tasting notes that an information card promised: citrus, lemon, orange, dried fruit, caramel, and milk chocolate.

After I finished the espresso, we explored the other room of the café.

The second room had a pair of Sprague double bench seats from a second-class carriage of the Paris metropolitan railway. A large tapestry displaying foreign currency bills decorated the wall of the room. One of the baristas told us that the owner had purchased the tapestry in Singapore.

The coffee served at Barista Gallery is roasted by Strecker & Mallard in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.

I took a 250g bag home and prepared espressos using my 9Barista stove-top espresso machine.

I was never able to produce a fine crema, but for that matter the coffee that I was served did not have much crema either (see photo above). In any event, my partner and I identified the following aromas in the espressos that I brewed each morning: caramelized banana, ripe banana, chocolate, and milk chocolate. I initially thought it tasted like chocolate, but later I also detected the flavor of cherry.

This was a coffee that I enjoyed drinking every morning, especially for its chocolate flavor.

Barista Gallery
15, rue Quincampoix
75004 Paris

In mid-August, I entered The Beans on Fire coffee shop to taste their “Espresso of the Moment.” The café is located in a pleasant neighborhood in the 11th arrondissement, across the street from a leafy park called Square Maurice Gardette.

By the time I arrived at 10:00 a.m. there were already a number of customers enjoying clement weather on the sidewalk terrace.

There are two rooms at the shop: the entrance, which has a counter where orders are taken, and the room where coffee is prepared and delivered to the customer. Both have limited seating, but on a pleasant day most people choose to sit on the sidewalk terrace.

At the counter where customers place orders, the clerk told me that there were two “Espressos of the Moment” from which to select. Upon learning that the coffee from Brazil, called “Samba,” tasted like chocolate, I ordered a cup of that. At the same time, I purchased a 250g bag of the roasted beans.

I paid for my order and walked to the next room, where a smiling barista handed me my espresso almost immediately.

I decided to sit outdoors on the sidewalk terrace, since the weather was quite pleasant.

I took a photo of the espresso and tasted it.

The coffee did, indeed, taste like chocolate. More precisely, it tasted like 100% cocoa. Later, I was inspired to purchase a tablet of 100% cocoa from Venezuela and I marveled at the similarity of flavors.

After I finished my coffee and before I left the shop, the barista allowed me to take a photo of her.

All of the personnel that I encountered at the shop were quite friendly. English is spoken here.

Back home, I was able to reproduce the flavor experience with my 9Barista stove-top espresso machine.

Samba is a blend, not a single origin coffee. It is produced by a co-operative in Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil.

The Beans on Fire
7, rue du Général Blaise
75011 Paris