The number of specialty cafés in Paris is growing by the day. We discovered four new coffee shops during a weekend in the city.
BY TANYA NANETTI
SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT
Photos by Tanya Nanetti
As Audrey Hepburn said in the classic 1954 film “Sabrina“: “Paris is always a good idea.” Personally, whenever I get a chance to spend a couple of days in the French capital—whether for a new art exhibition or a must-see punk show—I’m at my happiest, and I try to squeeze as many activities as possible into those short 48 hours, with a focus on the new restaurants, natural wine bars, and specialty-coffee shops that have popped up since my last visit.
Here is a short list of four new coffee shops I got to enjoy during my last visit to the city on a snowy weekend.
Saint Barista
Looking for a delicious morning coffee not far from our cheap hotel, my partner and I were lucky enough to stumble almost by accident into Saint Barista: a hole-in-the-wall that makes up for its small size with a super cozy atmosphere.
Abner—founder, owner, and barista at Saint Barista—brought from his native Guatemala a unique sense of hospitality and warmth to the shop. Nearly every day, you can find Abner behind the bar with a smile on his face and a kind word for everyone, slinging espresso shot after espresso shot for an endless line of regulars.
Trying not to disturb Abner too much when we first got there, we sat in a corner table for quite a while, sipping a delicious batch brew (at the time of our visit, a juicy Ethiopian coffee from Dutch roastery Dak) while having a quick chat with him in the few moments that the shop didn’t have a line.
“What brought me to Paris is a completely different reason than coffee,” Abner says. “It’s quite a long and complicated story . . . but I’m glad that all (of it) gave me the opportunity to open a coffee shop.”
Abner also happily adds that in the first few months since the café’s opening, many locals have made the shop a part of their daily rituals. “(So many) beautiful people in the neighborhood decided to make Saint Barista their daily stop. I’m really grateful for that,” he says. We, too, are grateful to Abner and his coffee shop: the perfect neighborhood spot, ideal for escaping the crowded streets of Paris.
Los Andes Coffee
Just a few steps away from Saint Barista, we couldn’t help but stop for a second coffee at Los Andes Coffee: another small café that promised to be a unique experience, only serving coffee sourced directly from Colombia.
Diana Garces, the owner of Los Andes Coffee, founded the eponymous roastery in late 2020 with the intention of bringing a bit of her Colombian background to the busy streets of Paris. In opening the roastery, she hoped for Parisians to begin learning more about the delicious coffee varieties that Colombia has to offer.
Then, last spring, Diana realized that she was missing a key part of the coffee experience: having direct contact with people—the ability to create a space where everyone could enjoy special moments together while drinking something delicious. That’s why she decided to open the doors of the Los Andes coffee shop, which offers the roastery’s full line of coffees and some delicious snacks original to Colombia.
Los Andes Coffee is a Parisian must-try if you want to learn more about all the different types of coffee that one country can produce.
Brouillon Coffee
On our second day in the city, we took a long walk to Brouillon Coffee, tucked just around the corner from the busy Gare de l’Est railway station. While we knew the area well (our historic budget hotel was only one street away from the area), we had no idea that one of the nicest cafés in the city was located here. Brouillon is not exactly a new café (it’s been open for a few years now), but it’s somewhat of a hidden gem. And though it’s a bit of a trek away from the central areas of Paris, it is absolutely worth a visit.
First of all, it’s a pleasure to talk to Moncef Dahel, owner and barista at Brouillon. Moncef knows coffee and hospitality like the back of his hand, and he can often be found toting around a new bag of coffee beans he wants to try. The small bites available at Brouillon are also quite tasty and original, and the atmosphere is always welcoming.
Last but definitely not least, the coffee beans featured at the shop are always an exciting surprise: Local Feve Coffee is the resident roaster, and there is also a wonderful selection of guest roasters that rotates every other month, with Cafés Muda from Lille, France, being available at the time of our visit. At Brouillon, there’s always an opportunity to try something new: ample reason to go the extra mile and make a stop at the shop.
Kawa Coffee
Kawa Coffee certainly needs no introduction. One of France’s most famous specialty-coffee roasters, Kawa has made a name for itself that has been synonymous with delicious coffee since the shop first opened in 2016. Their coffee is available for tasting at many cafés around the world, but it was only a few months ago that the brand opened their only storefront location: a boutique-like coffeehouse near Place de la République.
The past few times I’ve visited Paris, I’ve had the option to come to Kawa’s boutique location, but the place always seemed more like a store than a real café. That’s why the recent opening of Kawa’s café on Avenue Victoria, just a short walk from Notre-Dame and the Seine, has been welcomed by many fans of the French roaster, including myself.
On the menu, you’ll find various beans available for filtered coffee or espresso. When we visited, we were able to try a delicious flat white made with a Colombian micro-batch, which almost tasted like a strawberry milkshake. Delicious.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tanya Nanetti (she/her) is a specialty-coffee barista, a traveler, and a dreamer. When she’s not behind the coffee machine (or visiting some hidden corner of the world), she’s busy writing for Coffee Insurrection, a website about specialty coffee that she’s creating along with her boyfriend.
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