Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

The Art of Drinking Coffee

 


Modern day french cafe

photo and text: corey amaro


I do not like coffee, though I wish I did. The things that go with drinking coffee tempt me time and time again to plug my nose and drink the dark stuff.

Usually I concoct a mixture that doesn't resemble coffee, instead gives the word butcher a new meaning: Coffee, chocolate, Grand Marnier, sugar, cream…. sometimes a dash of cinnamon.

To be French is to drink coffee. It is part of their national Constitution, "Article 51, Paragraph 3, section 83, before the croissant, after the coma, ending with the desire to smoke: Early in the morning we will down quickly a small dark espresso or two, without sugar, while standing at the cafe."


The French cafe scene: The small cup is essential. It just doesn't look the same with a glass of water. Or does it? Maybe I fit in after all.

Teatime 

What do you have to drink for breakfast?

Comments

65 responses to “The Art of Drinking Coffee”

  1. Gina Johnson

    Oh, how I look forward to that first cup of coffee every morning. The routine of sleepwalking into the kitchen, pulling the coffee maker closer to me, adding the water and the grounds and then smelling the coffee all through the house brewing. Oh my, I am getting excited. I also love a cup in the afternoon. In the summer, I ADORE iced coffees from Starbucks. So rich, such a process adding the sugar and half and half until the color is a beautiful tan. I need to stop and go have another cup of coffee.

    Reply
  2. Julie M ~ The Little Red Shop

    A big mug of iced-cold nonfat milk with a splash of coffee and a cup of Moroccan mint green tea. I don’t drink real coffee either…and I was born and raised in Seattle!
    Have a beautiful Sunday, Corey!
    : )
    Julie M.

    Reply
  3. Alexis

    I love coffee. However, if I feel like drinking something nice and creamy but not necessarily coffee…I do what I call my upside down Bailey’s flavoured coffee:
    A cup of bailey’s with a splash of coffee! 😀
    The coffee cuts the strong alcohol taste of the Bailey’s but doesn’t overwhelm it. You should try that combination next time. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Paula

    Oh Corey, how can you not love coffee living in France? For me a freshly made cup (or 2) of cafetiere coffee first thing in the morning is essential. I also love espresso but mostly I drink this, without sugar, after an evening meal or if I need a quick fix to wake me up.

    Reply
  5. Coco loves vintage

    I never ever used to drink coffee, I loved the smell and over the years tried it many times hoping that I would like it, but yuk! I didn’t. Then one day, whilst pregnant with my first child, I had a little craving (as you do), I made myself a cup of coffee, and guess what?! I loved it! I usually have around 4 cups in the morning, then I drink tea for the rest of the day.

    Reply
  6. Kathryn

    I can’t drink coffee either, I’m not keen on the taste and it actually gives me a migraine. I had quite the culture shock moving from the UK to the US where everyone seems to drink coffee here! For me, being British, it’s tea with milk each morning. Time to go boil that kettle.

    Reply
  7. Laura

    Hot coffee with a touch of cream…mmmmm, I can smell it wafting up from the kitchen right now…pretty soon my husband will bring me a cup to sip in bed….and then in the summer…iced coffee…mmmm, that’s good too! 🙂

    Reply
  8. Jackie

    Honeydew donuts coffee shop coffee. One of the fufu flavors-hazelnut or creamy Irish delight, extra light (with milk not cream) no sugar…very coffee americana:)
    jackie
    bliss farm antiques

    Reply
  9. Karin

    I drink a large glassful of water. I mean large- 20 ounces! I’m not a coffee drinker although I find the aroma intoxicating. Love going down the coffee aisle at the grocery store, especially after someone has just ground some beans. But the taste? Blecch. Yuck. Patooie. 😉

    Reply
  10. Karen

    Coffee with cream, just one cup in the AM. tea every now and then.

    Reply
  11. Patricia

    I have always had coffee in the morning since I was 21. I have a Nespresso machine and love their coffee! But, I have just started drinking green tea in the morning instead because it is supposed to be so good for your health. I really enjoy green tea, too. Sometimes in the afternoon I will make myself a cappuccino because I still do love coffee!

    Reply
  12. Penny

    Usually a few cups of tea, sweetened with some wildflower honey gleaned from local hives. This morning, however, you caught me with a steamy cup of joe, black, half leaded and half decaf, steam rising from a cup I wish you were here to capture in a photograph.
    There is nothing for the rest of the day like that first, hot sip of coffee or tea.
    (the coffee went better with the marble poundcake)

    Reply
  13. Vicki

    That first sip of coffee with cream is my favorite and only way to start my day!! When my husband gets up first and makes it….well the aroma swirls up the stairs and quickly calls me from our warm & comfy bed!! Nothing like it in the world. In other words I LOVE my coffee!!! Having coffee in beautiful France…priceless!!

    Reply
  14. Cheryl ~ Casual Cottage Chic

    Gotta have my java {coffee} in the morning…but I drink it from a cafe au lait bowl; the little espresso cups are way too small for what I need to get a goin’ in the morning 😉 When I was living/working in Geneva years ago, I marveled at how people could drink that dark, strong coffee…it was like drinking mud. But what a jolt! Zowie…it does wake you up…hello world, hello day!!

    Reply
  15. Rhonda P.

    My love for strong coffee is like no other, I know. I am known for my strong coffee, good coffee. I grind my beans, I use a Bodum French Press, I love it. In fact, I’m drinking a cup right now. When I visit family I cringe at their coffee. Yes, I’m a coffee snob.

    Reply
  16. Shelley

    Bodum coffee all the way!!! Then a bowl of frosted mini-wheats – zoom zoom….I think your glass of water looks great….books to read, conversation to have, hands to flail….that’s what seems to make a french cafe, non?

    Reply
  17. Julienne

    Twinings’ Earl Grey tea in bed, then on the way to work a strong sweet latte to take away that generally ends up being ice coffee before I have finished!!!

    Reply
  18. yvonne

    I grind my coffee every morning and have about 3 small cups..If there is any left I have ice coffee. Love anything coffee.
    Candies and coffee ice cream.. cute post
    yvonne

    Reply
  19. Sheala

    I can’t drink coffee either! It always smells so good…then – that taste! Yuck, I am a green tea drinker. Every morning, 2 – 3 mugs of tea.

    Reply
  20. bee

    I must have more french in me than I thought. I love coffee and your last paragraph is definitely me.
    If I drink hot tea in the morning it makes me sick. Coffee – Yummmmm.
    Betsy

    Reply
  21. Leslie Tankersley

    I love a dark, murky French Roast in the morning, maybe two. But, I think coffee is just a great excuse for more cream and sugar in my life. After all, isn’t that what we all really want: real men, real coffee, and real cream?

    Reply
  22. ThroughtheMilkhouseDoor

    I open up the cupboard and reach for my favorite mug. It’s a beauty. Vintage hula girls. Fill it up with French roast and pour in a dollop of cream. Yum.

    Reply
  23. Denise Moulun-Pasek

    Cappucino that we make with our machine. The coffee has to have a good crema (coffee colored foam that sits on the expresso when you finish making it, and is not supposed to break up), then I froth the milk to a temperature of 160 degrees.
    I sweeten mine with agave syrup. Mmmmmm it’s GOOD. Yann would like it.
    Bon dimanche Corey.

    Reply
  24. Carolyn Mallin

    I love my coffee. Can’t start the day without it. Love the ritual of making it too. Sleepily reaching for the coffee maker, filling it just so with water, add the aromatic coffee grounds and push the on button.
    I’ve been drinking coffee since I was a youngster. Mom always made it for me with sugar and milk. At that time lots of milk. Now I drink it without adornment although I do enjoy a cappucino or iced coffee drink every now and then.
    When I was growing up there was always a pot at the ready in my parents house. If anyone stopped over it was always-Come sit in the kitchen, coffee is ready, let’s visit.

    Reply
  25. shannon in oregon

    stumptown coffee. they are local portland coffee roasters. i used to not be able to drink coffee without some flavor…until stumptown beans. oh my word!

    Reply
  26. Nancy

    I NEED my coffee…1 cup in the morning, another in the mid afternoon and 1 to relax me after dinner. Room for cream & sugar please. Yesterday I was in a rush to go to the local farmer’s market and forgot my coffee! On the ride there I nearly fell asleep. 🙁 My daughter drinks green tea and she is trying to convince me to switch. “It’s better for you!” Since when did our children get smarter than us?!! hee hee..I have my treasure in my kitchen window Corey..and it reminds me each day of you!
    nanc

    Reply
  27. Marilyn

    No coffee for me. I like the smell, but not the flavor. For me it is a small pot of tea, either a lovely Oolong or Black tea will do.

    Reply
  28. Kathie B.

    Generic tea, with saccharine and skim milk.
    I once drank half a cup of coffee when I was 15, and have never touched the vile stuff again. Don’t even like the smell of it.

    Reply
  29. Milena

    A double espresso with warm milk. I love the sound of the machine, and then the wonderful smell that makes the time stop… but it’s not just the taste and smell that gets me, time to have coffee is always the time dedicated to relaxing, enjoying the silence, or music, or good read (like now), or chat with friends…mmm

    Reply
  30. Karina Westfall

    I do not like coffee either. It reminds me of hospitals and airports. When I was little, I was forced to drink au late. Did find it disgusting specially when the milk was greasy. I always ended throwing it up. Then my mother started giving me milk shakes, which I tolerated. As a grown up, I found that I am lactose intolerant. Now in my forties, I have for breakfast a nice glass of orange juice and a blueberry muffin.

    Reply
  31. g coughlin

    cannot imagine a day starting without a wonderfully hot cup of coffee…have grown to really love the dark roasts and would say i am addicted to them….as in can no longer drink your major supermarket carried brands. i cherish the morning quiet time, with my delicious cup of dark roast coffee, i pray, i contemplate, meditate, or just sit quietly with 1 or more of my 4 cats at my feet. it is the most special part of my day.

    Reply
  32. georgie

    My boss loves tea/hates coffee so there is only a teakettle at work. I need coffee to wake up. At home it is French roast in the Cuisinart Grind and Brew, that is set to go off at 7am. Or, mochas, double tall almond lattes at the espresso stand. There are espresso places about every block here in Seattle. Everyone has their favorite ones. I do have Mariage Freres tea on hand for guests who prefer tea.

    Reply
  33. kelly

    coffee coffee coffee…any kinda love them all ….even cold coffee…..

    Reply
  34. Jeanne

    Starbucks skinny vanilla latte
    I cannot drink regular coffee much any more but latte’s are perfect.
    Love you

    Reply
  35. Cindy

    I’m with you. I don’t like coffee either, so I have what I refer to as dessert in a cup. A grande vanilla latte with 1/2 shot of espresso! Voila, dessert in a cup. I am going to Italy in the Fall and am wondering how I am going to survive, but I think I’ll just wean myself off coffee altogether. Love you blog. France is my next destination after Italy. Oh, I live in Portland OR and coffee and beer are the drinks of choice here. I choose Peet’s over Starbuck’s if given the choice! Blasphemous!!!

    Reply
  36. Linda G.

    I’m like you, Corey, in that I’ve never developed a true fondness for coffee, but I am attracted to the ritual of drinking it. My husband makes lovely, strong French press coffee each morning, and leaves enough for me to have a cup, if I’m feeling in the mood. If so, I dilute it a tiny bit (I swear his will melt your tooth enamel), then add half & half or pure cream (none of that healthy skim milk, which turns it a weak beige/gray color), then a couple of teaspoons of cocoa mix. It’s the poor girl’s mocha, and it tastes mighty fine. Plus, I still get to wrap my hands around a hot cup, sniff that blissful aroma, and pretend I am a serious coffee drinker.

    Reply
  37. cynthia Wolff @Beatenheart

    I started reading the posts and then had to stop to run to my Krups machine and make me a big Cappicino…I have a huge blue cup, English husband calls it my swimming pool, which I or he fills with half milk, which is then frothed with the machine and then fill ur up with Trader Joes French Roast.. I love coffee and the whole ritual behind it…it reminds me of relaxation,friendship and people watching..The coffee in England was terrible and the coffee in France was kinda weird…very muddy, and grainy but I liked those little sugar cubes…I love the buzz I get…Yeah basically love the whole kit and caboodle of the coffee experience.

    Reply
  38. Julie Ann Evins

    Coffee – latte made with soya milk as I am dairy intolerant. Soya milk is another thing French cafe culture would frown upon so when in France a cafe allonge. I understand why you wish you liked coffee because the chat and all that goes with it is so utterly you. That said, your concoction sounds fabulous, I’ll take one of those with soya cream please Coco, Jx

    Reply
  39. Julie Ann Evins

    Addendum – I love coffee but they do say it never can live up to the smell and I think that is true, Jx

    Reply
  40. Cara

    I like the idea of coffee more than the reality of it – my mood has to be just right for a cup. First thing in the morning I drink a cup of chai tea. That first sip of hot, sweet tea is heaven.

    Reply
  41. jend’isère

    The yet to be found combination of Scandinavian coffee served in a French café. “Fika”, the Swedish verb to drink coffee, developed my palate. A café abuzz is filled with the soul of France.

    Reply
  42. Franca Bollo

    Pauvre Cocoa Puff. I feel the same way about tea.
    Nice bit, this: “To be French is to drink coffee. It is part of their national Constitution, “Article 51, Paragraph 3, section 83, before the croissant, after the com[m]a, ending with the desire to smoke … ”
    Editor’s note: did you really mean after the “coma” because on second thought … that’s hilarious.

    Reply
  43. LibbyWNZ

    The company of Lady Grey ( the Earls beloved wife) is my start to the day along with wholegrain toast and marmalade. Mmmm. Then if I am home, a plunger ( French press ) of dark roast coffee mid-morning but no coffee after lunch – with Madame M visiting, they like to keep company FAR too much, partying well into the night!!

    Reply
  44. mindi

    I went to a antique street fair today and while I was their they gave me a cup of black coffee + a little creamer. It was a cold and windy day, so it never tasted better. Note: while drinking this coffee I ended up buying two vintage chairs that I happened to sit down in to enjoy it. I wonder what they put in that coffee….

    Reply
  45. Sue McGettigan

    I love the aroma of coffee, but my must-have drink is tea. My day doesn’t start with a cup (or two) of tea 🙂

    Reply
  46. carol

    I can’t stand the taste or smell of coffee. Tea isn’t appealing either. I drink diet Coke or diet Dr. Pepper or even a bottle of water. Nothing hot or fancy for me!!

    Reply
  47. Susan

    Black coffee…preferably from Dunkin Donuts…that’s how I want to start my day!

    Reply
  48. bramble

    Never been a coffee drinker though spiked with Baileys and Frangelica w/ sugar and cream constitutes dessert in my book! When it’s really cold I like hot cocoa or jasmine tea. In the summer I usually drink some fruit juice first thing. Would it be more exciting if I said I drink Mimosa’s everyday? I don’t, but the thought is nice!

    Reply
  49. Violet Cadburry

    Have you never been camping? Nothing, not even alcohol, is more appreciated on a cold morning in the Sierras than a steaming cup of Joe! Maybe you would like coffee in the right setting. Me, I take it black hot and large;)

    Reply
  50. Sara

    It is hard for me to not have a (decaf) mocha in the morning. But I try. Sometimes I try very hard not to. 😉

    Reply
  51. Birdbrain

    My nonna started me on coffee at the ripe old age of 24 months, much to your Aunt Sara’s chagrin. Here’s the recipe according to my nonna and your Uncle Phil: 1 part coffee, 3 parts milk, sweetened to taste with real cane sugar! Italian “wheaties” = breaking some homemade bread into a bowl of the above recipe. Italians always drinks their coffee sweetened with sugar, even their espressos. our relatives could not believe we drank our morning coffee black w/o sugar and milk, nor our afternoon espressos w/o sugar. Start small and drink the Italian way!

    Reply
  52. Danna

    I’ll have a decaf….double tall…..soy …..no whip…..mocha, please.
    My husband who adores espresso and turkish coffee says that isn’t real coffee that I’m drinking.
    I was so delighted when I finally discovered a way to drink it at all. When i was in college (before I drank anything that even resembled coffee) I loved the IDEA of coffee.
    Always wanted to say: “Shall we meet for coffee?” It just sounded so ….so romantic!!

    Reply
  53. Linda

    I only drink tea. I will drink coffee if it has enough cream and sugar in it but decided I don’t need the calories. I love how it smells, just don’t like the taste.

    Reply
  54. Marie-Noëlle

    I can’t make a move before my COFFEE !!!
    1) I have black coffee. No sugar. (No use to add I’m French !?!)
    2)I don’t drink it out of a bowl (even though I have some! I drink it out of an English tea cup! (at this point I must add I’m French !!!)
    3) (whispering to your ear) and I love dunking my piece of buttered baguette or my croissant into it!

    Reply
  55. Lorelei Lane

    I was raised in a family of coffee-drinkers but I prefer tea (any kind,any flavor) but my favorite is Constant Comment with sugar only. If there’s only coffee I’ll drink that with lots of milk and sugar or a mix of mocha-cocoa. And of course, with all these hot drinks, I’ve got to have a cookie or scone!

    Reply
  56. Alison Whittington

    I still regret that I wasn’t a coffee drinker during the year I lived in Germany – I am so glad I discovered the joys of coffee before I moved to Prague four years later.
    My father used to tell me as a teenager that I was born to be a coffee drinker, and just to wait, because I absolutely loved the smell of coffee beans and would ask him to hand me the bag of freshly ground beans right in the grocery store so I could get a whiff.
    Now I am not drinking straight coffee, though, as it’s my only pregnancy food aversion, so I am limiting myself to a Starbucks latte or two each week as a special treat (one espresso shot only, to keep my caffeine under the pregnancy allowance).
    I am REALLY looking forward to starting each day off with a cup of coffee, though, even if it means I don’t have an excuse to indulge in Starbucks as often anymore.
    So now I just drink milk or juice at breakfast…

    Reply
  57. Tracy

    My husband calls my morning coffee “sissy coffee” because I doctor it up so much with other things. When we go to the market and are walking around with our list, my husband will ask, “do you have your sissy coffee?” He isn’t making fun, it is just a normal question in case I am getting low on staples at the house.

    Reply
  58. Just Plain Jane

    I’m feeling better after reading all the comments by tea drinkers. I’ve always felt a little like the odd man out. Only once in my life have I had coffee that tasted the way coffee smells. It was wonderful and will probably never be repeated.

    Reply
  59. Natalie Thiele

    I agree with Yvonne. I love anything coffee, coffee ice cream, iced coffee, coffee candies, Mmmmm’mmmmmmm! Love Ethiopean beans. Gotta be freshly ground, and I have to have half and half. (Hmm, I like that phrase, ‘I have to have half and half.’)

    Reply
  60. joanne nixon

    oh yeah…just give me a cup of black smooth coffee…what a wonderful way to kickstart the day….and it would be even better if i had a couple of beignets to go along with it !! mmm mmm … i am already drooling…lol

    Reply
  61. J.Me.

    When I lived in Sevilla, I LOVED the coffee. They would serve an espresso with half and half in a short little glass. I would add hot cocoa mix to make it a tiny mocha. And I was hooked. The older I get, the more I prefer tea. I love black chai tea with a little bit of honey and milk. I don’t take the time to make it enough. I really should pamper myself that way.

    Reply
  62. Andi

    I drink a single Nespresso every morning, strong and great tasting, then green tea the rest of the day.

    Reply
  63. barbara gillies

    i love coffee but i also love the whole art of making it each morning. i love the drip coffee no machines made here just a simple funnel with paper or cloth filter and freshly gound coffee, yes each day you have to grind it. then the smell oh i could live just on the smell each morning. the first sip is true bliss and starts my day the way i love it. strong, a little sweet and a touch of warmth. what more could one ask for.

    Reply
  64. Catalina

    I’m a coffe person Love tea but not at breakfast 🙂

    Reply
  65. Alexandra

    hmm…for me it just depends on the day, could either be Folgers chocolate coffer w/ soy milk and sugar or a hot green tea.

    Reply

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