Paris Insights - The Blog

On November 11, a day when most roasted coffee distributors were closed, my partner and I went to L’Arbre à Café. Located on carrefour de l’Odeon in the 6th arrondissement, the establishment opened about two months ago.

The interior is handsome and spacious. My partner and I took a seat at a tall table while the manager prepared a cup of hot chocolate for my partner and an espresso for me. He was serving two types of coffee that day. One was a blend, the other a single-origin café. I ordered the latter, which is called Gédéo. It comes from Ethiopia.

The espresso had a fruity flavor and tasted slightly sweet. I was unable to detect other aromas. I did not add sugar.

I purchased a 250-gram bag of whole-bean coffee for 16.90€, took it home, ground 18 grams, and brewed an espresso with my 9Barista. The coffee that I pulled tasted much like the one that I had just experienced at L’Arbre à Café. The following day, when I ground the coffee to its maximum fineness, I tasted a more pronounced fruity flavor. The package indicates that it is slightly acidulous and characterized by aromas of red fruit, vanilla, and cane sugar.

L’Arbre à Café
15, carrefour de l’Odéon
75006 Paris

My partner and I went to Synapse on Sunday to taste the espresso it was brewing that day and to purchase a bag of roasted coffee beans.

The café is located about two blocks from the Jardin des Plantes in the 5th arrondissement. We go to that area from time to time to purchase fruit preparations that are made without cane sugar from an organic grocery store in the vicinity. There is also a great cheese shop nearby where we sometimes purchase whisky-flavored cheddar cheese from England.

Synapse is a small café with only a few chairs and low tables. When we entered, most of the seats were taken, so I ordered the espresso to take out. Mexican coffee from Córdoba, Veracruz was the shop’s selection of the day.

In addition to the espresso, I purchased a 250-gram bag for 11.50€ of the roasted coffee beans. Notes on the bag indicated that the coffee expressed flavors of walnut, dried fruit, and caramel. When I sipped the espresso, I thought that I detected the flavor of dried fig. My partner said that the aroma reminded her of roasted almond.

I took the bag of coffee beans home, ground a small quantity, and brewed a shot with my 9Barista. The coffee was strong and very slightly sweet, with a faint aroma of almond. I did not detect dried fig this time. There was no bitterness, so I did not add any sugar.

Synapse roasts its coffee at its coffee roasting facility on Cour Damoye at 12 place de la Bastille.

Synapse
2 rue du Fer à Moulin
75005 Paris