Evening of Jazz at the American Church

March 14th, 2010
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Rasul Sikkik, trumpet; Wand Dockery, bass; Suliman Hakim, alto saxophone
(c) Discover Paris!

A fabulous jazz event was held last night at the American Church in Paris. Entitled the “First Independent Festival of Black American Musicians in Paris,” the program featured three groups: Steve McCraven & Black Studies Band, Mra Oma & New Brotherhood, and the Kirk Lightsey Quartet. The audience, consisting largely of American expatriates and French fans of jazz, responded enthusiastically to the performance.

Jazz was first introduced in France in 1917 by James Reese Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry “Hell Fighters” band. Last night’s event was a tribute to his creative spirit.

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A Cultural and Social History of the City of Light at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

March 9th, 2010
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Much more than a book about crime in turn-of-the-20th-century Paris, The Crimes of Paris by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler (New York: Little Brown and Company, 2009) is an absorbing cultural and social history about the City of Light during the period known as the Belle Epoque. In careful prose, the authors describe a number of important discoveries and achievements in science, technology, art, and literature, and recount the impact that these new forces had on those who lived during this era. As suggested by the book’s cover, murder, theft, and detection form the basis around which the authors weave their narrative, but they also develop other themes, including the public’s fascination with crime and with criminals who triumph over the forces of law and public order.

Readers who seek a good crime story that builds to a climactic denouement might feel frustrated with the seemingly deliberate, uneven manner by which the narrative unfolds. However, for those who have the patience to read through the chapters, their reward will be keen insight into the spirit of the age, before that world was swept away with the onslaught of WWI.

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Pan Roasting My Own Coffee

March 7th, 2010
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Pan roasting coffee beans

Taking a handful of unroasted Indian Malabar coffee beans (purchased at Brûlerie de Jourdain—see the post on Tuesday, March 2), I placed them in a cast-iron skillet over a high flame. I rapidly tossed the beans with two wooden spatulas until they became as dark as the sample of roasted coffee beans that had been given to me. The roasting process took about ten minutes. I heard the beans crackle as they roasted, a good sign! Eventually, the beans began to glisten and smoke rose from the skillet, indicating that coffee oils were burning. Finally, I removed the roasted beans to a cool dish.

Coffee beans - before roast and after

The beans were unevenly roasted, but I don’t think that this can be helped if roasted in a skillet. After they had cooled, I transferred them to a coffee grinder. As I ground them, they gave off a wonderful, sweet coffee aroma. I brewed the grind in a French coffee press, the water heated to 80° C. When I poured a little water the grind it gave off a tarry aroma. This, I think, indicates that some of the beans were over-roasted, possibly burnt. In any case, I added additional water, and then tasted the brew. It had a strong, dark-roast flavor that I found quite agreeable.

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Presentation of Paris Insights at the Alliance Française of Salt Lake City

March 4th, 2010
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The Alliance Française of Salt Lake City has invited Monique Wells to present Paris Insights: The Best of History, Culture, and Contemporary Life in Paris on Sunday 7 March at 3 PM.

Location: Gore Auditorium at the Gore School of Business at Westminster College, Salt Lake City.

Admission is free!

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Fresh-Roasted Coffee in Paris

March 2nd, 2010
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Gaston-Hugues Berthier, proprietor of Brûlerie de Jourdain

In 2007, I wrote an article about fresh-roasted coffee in Paris, which I published in my Paris Insights newsletter, as well as in my book, Paris Insights – An Anthology. Since then, I have visited several different brûleries in Paris. These are shops that roast their own coffee beans, either on the premises or at an off-site facility.

On one occasion I decided to try roasting the beans myself, drawing my inspiration from Steve Van Nattan’s Coffee Page on the Web. I went to the Brûlerie de Jourdain at 140, rue de Belleville in the 20th arrondissement and spoke with the owner, Gaston-Hugues Berthier, who sold me 250 grams of green Indian Malabar coffee beans. He advised me to roast only a handful at a time, and to keep moving the skillet. He gave me a handful of roasted beans, so that I could compare the color of my roast with his.

Mr. Berthier’s father founded this brûlerie sixty years ago. His huge coffee-roasting machine stands at the front of the shop. While we were discussing coffee, his sound system was playing some real cool jazz.

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Welcome to the Paris Insights blog!

February 28th, 2010
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Seventeen years ago my wife and I moved to Paris to experience a more slow-paced and culturally enriched lifestyle.  Our love affair with the city grew with each passing year, and our desire to share our knowledge of, and passion for, Paris grew as well.

In 1999, we founded Discover Paris!TM , a travel planning service for the Paris-bound traveler.  In 2000, we began publishing a monthly newsletter about the City of Light, and in 2008 we published Paris Insights – An Anthology,  a full-color anthology of the best of those newsletters.  This is our Premium edition, and it is available on Blurb.com. In 2010 we published a black-and-white edition, which we call the Travelers’ edition.  Paris Insights – An Anthology has received numerous favorable reviews, and the Travelers’ edition is available on Amazon.

Encouraged by the response that we have received with the publication of our book, we recently decided to publish this blog of our observations about life in this eternally-fascinating city.

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