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welcome back to we in france i'm diane
and today i'm going to talk about
getting coffee at a french cafe and i'm
going to teach you about the different
types of coffee you can order in france
at a cafe along with a few tips and best
practices just so you're prepared the
next time you're in france and feel like
grabbing a coffee so let's get into it
all right so first things first let's
talk about the different types of places
you can grab a coffee in france now
first of all i'm gonna get it out of the
way you're gonna see big chain coffee
shops they've popped up more and more
since i've lived in france and yeah in
big cities you're gonna see starbucks
and also a chain called columbus coffee
indie coffee shops and that sort of
thing but here i'm gonna focus on
traditional french places to get coffee
such as a cafe so that's number one a
cafe is the most casual of the bunch and
you're gonna see round tables out on a
terrace with two or three chairs each
where you can just grab a quick coffee
or a glass of wine no problem and
sometimes they might serve a little bit
of food but it's definitely on the
simpler side think croissant in the
morning maybe a small cheese platter or
salad but not a full restaurant menu by
any means next up we have bistros or
francaise bistro where you can just pop
in for something to drink if you'd like
so they usually have hearty
authentically french fair so if you want
a meal you can grab something like steak
frites coke monsieur french onion soup
and that sort of thing in a modest
setting and then next up we have brashly
brasseries they're more upscale in terms
of decor and service and just remember
this is historically where beer was made
on site and a lot of them have all-day
service a diverse menu so you can grab
something to eat that is actually pretty
good all right now something to note is
that these places serve alcohol as well
and like i said sometimes food like
actual food not just a donut or that
sort of thing so the place where you get
your morning coffee
is actually the same place you can head
back to in the afternoon for a glass of
wine or even a meal and also note in
recent years like i said coffee shops
have popped up and you'll see the
starbucks and the columbus coffees and
all of that but in bigger towns there
are a lot of really trendy kind of
hipster places where you can get a
really good cup of coffee as well but
for that authentic cafe experience stick
with the cafe the brasserie the bistro
and that sort of thing just a note if
you're curious if a place serves food
they generally have their menu posted
outside somewhere on a slate or at the
very least up in a window so you can
have a look outside first to see what
they have before actually going inside
now for my tips when you get to the cafe
depending on the time of day how busy it
is there might not be a hostess or
someone to greet you but if that's the
case just grab a seat anywhere out on
the terrace if the table is clear and
free have a seat but if a waiter walks
by someone does greet you be sure to
start with that obligatory bonjour as i
always say say hello
and listen for the words
drink and eat and you're going to be
asked most likely if it's not during
meal times say pubour and that just
means are you there to drink or are you
going to have a meal because sometimes
if it isn't meal mealtime or just in
general they're going to seat you
somewhere differently if you're just
grabbing something to drink and they'll
bring you a menu if they have one for
restaurant service now something i also
point out is that places and touristy
areas many of them do offer food all day
long and you'll know because there will
be a sign that says service continue
otherwise don't expect to eat outside of
french meal times that would be roughly
12 to 2 for lunch and between 7 and 10
p.m for dinner and this goes double
especially in less touristy areas or in
small towns
okay let's get into the types of coffee
so number one we have most simply a cafe
and keep in mind that cafe and french on
cafe it has two meanings one it can
refer to the english sense of the word
you know a place an actual casual place
with outdoor seating where you can grab
something to drink and the second
meaning is actually the literal word for
coffee as in the drink so a coffee and
cafe be aware that if you order an cafe
in france here in france you're going to
be given a shot of espresso and not a
big mug of coffee like mine behind me
you can grab that in my shop linked
below but yeah if you order just a
coffee in french on cafe you're gonna
get a small little cup that's pretty
much strong black coffee that you can
consume in two or three sips max next is
anwazette and noisette means hazelnut in
french and hazelnut is referring to the
color of the coffee here not a hazelnut
flavoring or anything like that so this
is an espresso with a hint of milk foam
mixed in giving it that slightly lighter
brown color so if you don't want a
hardcore espresso this will lighten it
up a bit and it's a nice option now next
up we have an americano
an americano a merican or sometimes
called an along a long coffee and this
is the closest to a standard brewed pot
of american like drip coffee it is on
the stronger side it's served black but
it's in a bigger cup than uh that little
espresso still not a big mug but bigger
all right next up we have a cafe creme a
cafe creme and that is the thing to
order if you want milk you want
something more like a latte a little
creamier and i feel like most cafes
don't really differentiate that from a
latte so if you want a kind of a bowl of
something creamy cafe creme is what you
want to get and next up we have a
cappuccino
a cappuccino a cappuccino and
technically a cappuccino should not have
as much milk as the cafe creme that i
just mentioned but generally i find that
cappuccinos at cafes in france they tend
to be pretty heavy-handed with the milk
they are quite creamy and then they have
that light layer of foam on top so keep
in mind cafes i find seem to charge
quite a premium for a cappuccino it's
not two euros generally speaking next up
if you're sensitive to caffeine like i
am go for a deca and that's short for
decaffeinated i'm francais that's de
cafe and if you ask for a deca you're
gonna get that little coffee again but
it's a decaf shot of espresso in the
little mug but most cafes they could do
any of your drinks decaf okay next up my
favorite this is my favorite type of
coffee a cafe
so your espresso actually comes on a
plate with a small selection of mini
desserts like a madeleine
a macaroon a brownie a creme brulee that
sort of thing and it's a nice way to
kind of have coffee with something sweet
with a little bit of everything so it's
really nice but it's a dessert option so
if you see it on a menu it's generally
for dessert you wouldn't really get a
cafe gourmand just on its own i guess
you could but um stick with regular
coffee for the most traditional options
if you're just getting a drink okay so
my biggest tip that i could give you you
always want to start with that french
hello you want to say bonjour and i
mention this all the time because it is
important so when you see that waiter
you know don't get stressed and and
worried about what you're going to say
next just start with the bonjour don't
worry about your accent just say it and
also when you order your coffee although
it's on the decline it is normal to be
served a glass of tap water with your
coffee so if you'd like water and you
don't get any it's perfectly normal to
ask for some you could just say unveiled
once you have your coffee people
do a little bit of people watching some
people by themselves they'll read the
morning paper they'll just relax and
enjoy their coffee because that brings
me to my next point cafes are cultural
things in france it's a cultural
institution you know you have to sit
down you have to take time and enjoy
your coffee so traditionally you're not
going to get coffee to go at a sit-down
cafe they wouldn't even offer it so do
like the french too have a seat and
enjoy the experience now with your
coffee on the saucer you're usually
going to get a little sugar cube or
sugar pack and a piece of chocolate or a
little cookie it's a nice touch you can
also order a hot chocolate tea those are
all regular things people get at a
traditional french cafe but keep in mind
most of them at least the simpler ones
they're not going to have specialty
offerings like a chai tea latte or like
a soy milk yeah so they're not going to
have anything crazy fancy so just stick
with what i talked about here but that
said a lot of places uh brasseries and
bistros they might have a more inspired
coffee menu uh like the drink i'll show
here that i got recently with whipped
cream so it just depends you know what
kind of coffee selection the place has
but yeah go for it try new things now if
you order coffee out at a restaurant and
you'd like it with your meal or at
dessert keep in mind it's served at the
end as in the very end after your
dessert so if you want the coffee at the
same time as your dessert you can have
them together but you'll need to ask for
it you'll need to ask the waiter
specifically can you bring my coffee
with my dessert and not at the end which
is more standard the exception would be
that cafe guomong that i mentioned the
coffee comes with the little desserts
but other than that if you order coffee
it's gonna be after your dessert okay so
let's talk about money when you're ready
to leave uh when it's time to pay
usually waiters will bring your check at
a cafe if you're just getting a simple a
simple copy of a few euros but sometimes
when they're busy you know you will have
to ask so it doesn't always come
automatically so just say
and then they'll usually just slide it
under an ashtray and you could pay via
card or cash and i want to make a note
about tipping now tipping culture in
france is very different than what you
might be used to in the us when the
french go out to eat at a restaurant
they don't leave 20 percent as a minimum
like many of us do in the u.s tipping is
not done in the same way but when you're
at a cafe it's perfectly normal and a
nice gesture just to round your bill up
so if you get coffee or you get a glass
of wine and your order is i don't know 4
euros and 20 saltine you could leave a
five or you know if your bill is nine
euros you can leave a 10. you do what
feels right but definitely don't feel
obligated to leave a big tip and if
you're at a restaurant you know for good
service you can tip five ten percent you
could do whatever you want but typically
it would be unusual to leave 20 at a
restaurant but for coffee like i said
roundup and uh that's generally what
people do alright everyone that's all i
have for you today thank you so much for
being here and if you've been to a cafe
in france or have any other quick tips
to share with the community just for
grabbing a coffee or a glass of wine in
france i would love to hear about it let
me know what your cafe experiences have
been like in paris or elsewhere and uh
yeah with that i'll see you back here
and we in france soon salute
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