Coffee, or Espresso?

Hanging out with friends at a French café is a great way to pass the time, and it's kinda cool. But if you’ve never been to France, or to Europe for that matter, and you grew up in the States with Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks and great local coffee shops, well you’re in for a real surprise when ordering a coffee here.

You’ll find that a language barrier could prevent you from getting the coffee you want! And I don’t mean the fact that you can’t speak French. Go ahead and speak English to the waiter, he’ll understand you. For extra credit though, try your French, because the effort might be well-received. A simple Bonjour Monsieur or Bonjour Madame, or a S’il Vous Plait ending with a Merci could go a long way. No, the language barrier I’m referring to is about coffee itself! Even if you don’t speak French, I think we all know that the word ‘coffee’ in English translates to ‘café’ in French. It’s what’s served that does not translate. Ask for un café here and you’ll receive an espresso. Want an espresso? Just ask for un café! Confused? It’s ok to say yes. I was. So, what are the different types of coffees in France?

Café is unfiltered coffee with nothing added, and is strong because it’s brewed like an espresso. I love it! You’ll only get 2 inches or less of it, in a tiny espresso cup. Drop in a cube of sugar to slightly soften the blow that’s headed your way. Two of these and you are fully alert. More than two, not recommended. You’ll get the shakes.

Café au Lait is popular in France. This is simply coffee (again, see above definition of ‘coffee’, don’t think filtered coffee) with steamed milk. Americans, we'll put milk or cream in our coffee any time of the day. Typically, in France, the café au lait is only to be enjoyed with breakfast.

Café Crème is coffee served in a large (normal to Americans) sized cup with whole milk. And like the coffee above, is usually only had with breakfast. Rules were meant to be broken.

Café Décafféiné is decaffeinated coffee.

Café Noisette is delicious! It’s espresso with a little dollop of milk in it. “Noisette” is French for hazelnut, but the coffee doesn’t taste like hazelnut, it just has this name because of the rich, dark color of the coffee. It is so good.

Café Américain is filtered coffee, and is pretty much the same as the traditional American coffee that I grew up with. If you run on Dunkin, this is what you’d order here.

Café Léger is espresso with double the water.

Sweeteners. Don’t ask for Equal, Sweet’n’Low or Splenda. Just ask for some sweetener, or edulcorant, and they’ll bring you a sugar substitute. And you can ask all you want for cream in your coffee but what you’ll get is milk. Just roll with it. Believe me, the whole milk in France is so creamy that it tastes like cream!

The cost of an inch or two of coffee in France may shock you a little, but remember that in general you don’t leave tips here. Waiters aren’t paid like those in the US. The waiters here don’t need tips, they get a regular paycheck like you and me…which is why you won’t see any bending over backwards to try and get any!

just look at all the people watchers with their coffees!

Oh, and if you want to sit at a table outside, preferably at one that faces the sidewalk and the passersby, your café will cost more chérie. Location, location, location. Sit inside and pay less if you want. But why would you want to do that when you can sit outside to see and be seen?

So as I said, I do love the café here, because I love espresso. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss all the coffees in America! Nothing beats 'em. My French husband misses them even more than I do. Medium roast, dark roast, French roast, hazelnut, French vanilla... Brew it like you want. Nothing irritates me more to hear a French person say that all American coffee is sock juice jus de chaussettes. Really? Have you been all over America to try all the coffee to be able to make such a statement? In France, people have a tendency to brew their filtered coffee very strongly -- lots of scoops for not much water, and therefore think ours is weak. The subject's all relative, no?

To even mention Dunkin Donuts around my husband Pascal is just cruel...because it will be a long time before he has another one! He loves Dunkin Donuts. Sometimes, my family sends us some DD coffee to brew over here. So sweet of them : ) Me, I really miss the French vanilla iced coffee from DD. And every so often I get a craving for a grande or venti non-fat-no-whip white mocha from Starbucks. Heaven. And that right there is part of the beauty of Starbucks. No matter how hectic and chaotic life can be, one can enter a Starbucks and order a completely complicated cup of coffee -- to go. So, for around $4.00, you have restored some order to the daily grind. This you do not feel when ordering a café in France. It’s a completely different experience here.

at the train station in Cannes

Also, no one, and I mean no one uses travel mugs. You never see anybody with a travel mug of coffee headed to work or headed to class. Well, the only 2 times that I have seen people with travel mugs, one turned out to be an American tourist who brought his along in his luggage, and the other was an American chick who lives here. Where did you get your travel mug? I asked her. In the US of course, she chuckled. People just don't do coffees to go. OK, I say this and post a picture of 'to go' espressos. We were all surprised! Never seen it. Lids? It can't be! Haven't seen it since. Have you?

There are espresso vending machines here (which I love) but lids, you just won't see. The thing about a 'to go' espresso, is that it's GONE in no time flat. So what's the point.

my mom loved the French espresso!

Part of the culture shock for me was getting used to sitting down so much. Us Americans, even from Maine, we're on the go like all the time and pretty ambitious to boot. So 'to go' just works for us. Here, you’ll look around and see people doing something really odd. Sitting. Lounging around. Sitting as if they have no place to be. But they do. They're just not in a hurry to get there. Well, that and the fact that that tardiness is widely tolerated here. And because of the cushy 35 hour work week, they actually have an extra hour per day to lounge compared to us workaholic Americans!

Being tardy and sitting to enjoy coffee are completely foreign concepts to us busy Americans (unless meeting a friend at Starbucks for the latter). But that’s the way it is here. There’s really not much need to be in such a rush. The French have a different view of time, in that there's plenty of it. If you should run out of it today, don't worry, there will be more tomorrow. So sit and enjoy. Your coffee is served to you in real cups and is usually not in the typical, American ‘to go’ cup. If it is served in a small disposable cup, like I said, don’t bother looking for a lid.

Gone are the days when my husband and I would get our nice, big coffees from a Dunkin Donuts drive-thru and head out for a couple of hours at a bookstore or to do some shopping. This was actually hard to say goodbye to. If you think I’m kidding, imagine it. No coffee drive-thrus. No French vanilla coffee. No Christmas special edition coffee. No medium roast. No dark roast. No Splenda. No lids. And no travel mugs. Ahh!! Want to buy a travel mug in France? Good luck and let me know where you found one. Better just get one online.

It’s not easy letting go of certain conveniences that you’re used to. Conveniences you've had for years and years. But it can be done. Out of sight, out of mind...right? The jury's still out on that one. Maybe I should contemplate this thought further at a French café, while I watch the world go by...

No Bag Boys

Turkey, in charge of grocery bag (and cart) inspection

The French tend to take a different approach toward time, in that there’s plenty of it. If you should run out of time today, don’t worry, there will be more tomorrow.

You’ll hear words like ‘sleepy’ and ‘time stood still’ when used to describe villages and towns all across France. Things just seem to slow down, and all that stress you’ve been carrying around in your neck and shoulders magically starts to disappear.

Having done my best to accept this French way of viewing time, my life has seemed more pleasurable.  It takes some getting used to though. And like all aspects of French life, even a trip to the grocery store can take a bit of understanding…and a bit more time.

Where are the bag boys, I whispered in my husband's ear as I stood in line for the first time at our local supermarket. There are none, my husband said. We are the bag boys. You're kidding. Well let me just say that you will be in that line for about as long as it took you to shop for your groceries because we just can’t bag it up like a bag boy can. Not only are some people just slowww at bagging up their groceries, but I’ve never seen it take so long to process a written check or debit card. You will age while waiting in line.

Here’s something that’s great though - something I wish was practiced by everyone in the US – the use of reusable grocery bags. (Thumbs up to my Dad who's been doing this for years!) France has been known to be ‘the greenest country’ and this is probably one of the reasons why. French people do their groceries with huge, reusable bags. The cashier will not hand you a bunch of plastic bags for your groceries. You can buy flimsy plastic bags from her if you wish, but hardly anyone does. And believe me, they don't hold much. I see now a real reason for a huge purse! Should the wife pop in to the grocery store and not have one of her reusable grocery bags with her, she won’t buy a bag, she’ll just open up the purse and start filling it up! Note to self: buy a huge purse. Otherwise, tout le monde brings big, ultra-sturdy reusable bags. In one year I’ve collected many. Some are multi-colored (see picture) and are so fabulous that they even get compliments. The amount of groceries that one can place/squeeze/cram into one of these bags is unreal.

I even have a waterproof cart on wheels for the heavier items (see picture up top) or to use if it’s raining. Thinking back on how many non-recyclable, barely-reusable plastic grocery bags that I’ve thrown away in my adult life is just daunting.

So, if you’re planning a trip to France, get ready to slow the pace down...allow more time for the simple things in life, and if you’re stopping to pick up a few things at the grocery store, spend the 50-80 centimes on an earth-friendly reusable bag, and remember: you are your own bag boy. Even if you're staying at a hotel, won't be cooking, and will be eating out, I strongly suggest wandering the aisles of a French grocery store. You'll discover lots of great things, some that you can enjoy right away and maybe some that you can smuggle back home! And while you're there, why not buy extra reusable bags, lay them flat in your luggage, and use them back home? And since many bags are funky and display words in French, they make a more interesting and practical souvenir rather than a key chain for your family and friends.