During the reign of Louis XV (1715-1774) there were 600 cafés in Paris. At the close of the 18th century there were more than 800. With the invention of the first percolation system coffee maker, “La Débelloire,” by Jean-Baptiste de Belloy, Archbishop of Paris (1802-1808), the number of cafés increased to more than 3000.
Napoleon Bonaparte had a passion for coffee claiming “I would rather suffer with coffee than be senseless” - and he reportedly drank up to 50 cups a day.
Coffee is still loved by the French – though not as much as that…
Sue Aran lives in the Gers department of southwest France where she runs French Country Adventures, which provides private, personally-guided, small-group food & wine adventures into Gascony, the Pays Basque, Tarn and beyond…
How to order coffee in France
Café/café noir/espresso/café express: Though the French word for coffee is “café”, if you order “un café” at a French coffee shop, don’t expect coffee with milk, you’ll get an espresso in a small cup called a demitasse.
Café au lait: Coffee with milk is for breakfast only. Some places still serve it in a bowl, the old traditional way but not that much these days. It’s espresso from lunch time onwards and only between or after meals, even late at night... French people are horrified by milky coffee drinks after 11am!
Café crème: Espresso with foamed milk, like a cappuccino,
Café allongé: An espresso diluted with extra hot water. If you want extra milk, you'll need to request lait supplémentaire
Napoleon Bonaparte asked for a spoonful of coffee while on his deathbed, and his autopsy revealed coffee grounds in his stomach. He is credited with the quote:
I would rather suffer with coffee than be senseless.
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