American coffee?
 

From reading the "Cheap Eats" book I get the impression that it's hard to get 'American' style coffee in Paris? Is this true?

True, American style coffee is not really available in Europe. Coffee is stronger and richer. Actually, once you drink coffe in Europe, you will never be satisfied with American coffee. I am not sure of what they call it in France but in Italy you can order an "Americano" which is espresso that is weakened with water. Ifyou want real American coffee, go to McDonalds!

Richard's right - McDonald's is the only place I've found that has American-style coffee. You can fake it by getting a large cup with a demitasse amount of coffee, asking for a pot of hot water, and mixing it to the right consistency. <BR>Or, just get used to the French stuff (the Keystone Bitterbeerface ads come to mind) as best you can.

<BR>Hi <BR>here's my take on coffee, others may disagree. The baseline of coffee in Paris is "un express", what Americans might call an espresso. It is small and strong. <BR>If you like your coffee weaker than that, ask for <BR>a cafe allonge, which has double the hot water so it's half as strong but not weak. A café noisette, has just a tad of milk, enough to turn it from black to nut brown. Then there's the café crème, which is one part express and two parts hot milk, not cream. Parisians drink this at breakfast time, not during the day. I have been successful at ordering it after dinner, with some indulgent smiles from the waiters. Cafe au lait has even more milk, is drunk from a bowl, and is definitely a breakfast item. <BR>You can get decaffeinated coffee, <BR>it's called un décaféiné un <BR>déca. This can usually be gotten in all the same versions as regular coffee, <BR>By the way, coffee is always served after, and not with, dessert. <BR> <BR>

<BR>Hi <BR>here's my take on coffee, others may disagree. The baseline of coffee in Paris is "un express", what Americans might call an espresso. It is small and strong. <BR>If you like your coffee weaker than that, ask for <BR>a cafe allonge, which has double the hot water so it's half as strong but not weak. A café noisette, has just a tad of milk, enough to turn it from black to nut brown. Then there's the café crème, which is one part express and two parts hot milk, not cream. Parisians drink this at breakfast time, not during the day. I have been successful at ordering it after dinner, with some indulgent smiles from the waiters. Cafe au lait has even more milk, is drunk from a bowl, and is definitely a breakfast item. <BR>You can get decaffeinated coffee, <BR>it's called un décaféiné un <BR>déca. This can usually be gotten in all the same versions as regular coffee, <BR>By the way, coffee is always served after, and not with, dessert. <BR> <BR>

After a semester of espresso, I found American coffee in Dunkin Donuts in Barcelona. It was made with a Bunomatic! Nectar and Ambrosia.