France has a long history with coffee. Imported for the first time into France in the 17th century, Louis XIV was one of the first to taste this beverage in 1669. Twenty years later, a first café opened in Paris and intellectuals flocked there to debate around a steaming cup. Three hundred years later, coffee was permanently ingrained in French customs: having become the essential in the morning and at the end of lunch, the “petit noir” is the most consumed hot drink in our country. However, as it becomes more democratized, coffee has some lost little of its flavor. Long sold only ground from burnt grains, the drink had a very standardized taste with a strong bitterness and was appreciated more for its convivial side than its aromatic palette.
“Growing up in Australia, where we always had the tradition of specialty coffee, it really threw me off the first time I came to France,” recalls Tom Clark, founder of Maison Coutume, for Paris Match. Born in Canberra, the man arrived in Paris in 2006 to study at Sciences Po. Like all students in the Saint-Germain district, he rushed to Deux-Magots, Lipp and the Café de Flore. But has a hard time hiding his disappointment. “Australians are very snobbish when it comes to coffee,” he admits. Italian, Greek and ex-Yugoslav migrants have brought us real know-how in this area and it is a culture that is truly anchored in us….
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