Coffee | The third wave sweeps through Paris

(Paris) “Long lagging behind for a long time, Paris is finally welcoming good coffee shops », very recently praised an article by French Vogue. Certainly, Paris is more recognized for being the capital of fashion than that of specialty coffee. However, the coffee shops – as they say there in the American way – are multiplying.

This was obvious, we noted during a recent stay in Paris. A strong trend is to offer “barista coffee”.

“We see coffee shops grow like mushrooms,” confirms Aleaume Paturle, founder of Café Lomi, an artisanal specialty coffee roasting company that has existed for nearly 15 years, a time when the third wave was beginning to sweep through North America, but not in France.

The beginnings were tough. “We had three clients and no volume,” he recalls. The term barista did not exist. Coffee interested neither the chef nor the sommelier. »

Lomi became known through competitions. Today, the company has around twenty employees and even facilities in Drôme, in the south of France. Lomi also still has his coffee shop in the 18^e borough. Not to mention a training center.

” An experiment “

The trend of coffee shops – the term “third wave” is rarely used in France – is such that many new Parisian haunts bill themselves as a café, although they often also offer a full menu and wine list. We are selling an “experience”, underlines Aleaume Paturle. A very different “experience” from typical bistros or even the classic Café de Flore. An experience reminiscent of that of Butterblume or Pastel Rita, for example, in Montreal.

We share, rue Charonne, in 11^e district, describes itself as a “caffeinated canteen”. Its doors open at 8:30 a.m. and attract many regulars. “The canteen is the idea that we can come there every day, and it’s the neighborhood spirit,” explains the owner, Marion Stephan.

Marion left a position as product manager in the textile division of the giant Carrefour to be more in line with her values. slow living. “I wanted to be close to the customers,” she adds.

Marion Stephan had the calling of specialty coffee, but she wanted to gain experience. For two years, she studied while working in coffee shops de Coutume – also a roaster –, a very important player in the democratization of specialty coffee in Paris.

After finding premises on rue Charonne, she launched a crowdfunding campaign to purchase equipment. “The GoFundMe allowed me to develop a community. »

The entrepreneur is delighted with the “living place” that On Partage has become, but also with the proliferation of cafes of the same spirit all over Paris. “There’s a boom. It’s a virtuous circle that helps everyone. »

Among our other favorites, there is Café Singuliers, rue Titon, in 11^e borough. The place was designed like a country house: there are books in bookcases, a wood stove and even ropes of wood leaning against the wall!

Still in the 11^e district, Aube is also well worth the detour. It serves breakfasts, brunches and dinners on weekdays – which is rather rare in Paris. One of its owners, Audrey Jarry, is behind the Au Passage restaurant. The other is Carrie Solomon, author of numerous cookbooks, including Breakfast All Day.

Other addresses? The two trendy haunts of Nuances (in the 1^er and in the 6^e), White (a stone’s throw from the Picasso museum), Gramme (rue des Archives, in the Marais), Télescope Café (near the Royal Palace Garden), and the Nomade Café (in the 11^e). As for the Comets Café & Disques, it also attracts music lovers and vinyl enthusiasts.

But why was Paris slow to succumb to the third wave? “There was a strong culture to change,” answers Aleaume Paturle. That of lying down or drinking café crème quickly seated on a wicker chair. “There was a coffee culture, but not good coffee,” he says.