But no – coffee in Paris really IS bad.
This article claims that it’s because the French have acquired a certain taste for burnt dishwater, but I think it’s more that they havent been exposed to anything better.
Which I find REALLY strange. I mean, they really do train their children to have sensitive palates, they appreciate the subtleties of flavour and they insist on quality of their food and drink.
Why not coffee?
There are plenty of Italians and Spanish in Paris – why havent they kicked up a stink? Why havent they set up their own coffee shops to sell coffee like they have in Rome or Barcelona?
I suspect that this is part of France’s cultural pride and insistence on assimilation of foreigners.
Too proud to admit their coffee is crap and intolerant of people retaining their own culture within France (despite public declarations of welcoming all those in need of a home).
It really brings home just how coffee-centric we are in Australia.
Most cafes wouldn’t even dream of putting someone behind the coffee machine unless they’d been to (at least one) barista course and had several years experience.
If a cafe has bad coffee, we wont go back. And if the coffee is good (like my old local Single Origin in Surry Hills), then we’ll line up on the street for 20mins and pay $3.50 without question.
I know a couple of Frenchies who have been converted to Sydney “Lattes”. I cant wait to convert a few more!
I’ve hard about the coffee shop mentioned at the end of the article. I’ll have to pay them a little visit in the hope that I will, finally, find a great cup of delicious coffee a little closer to home than Rome or Sydney….
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/ristretto-why-is-coffee-in-paris-so-bad/