Caffeine in France?
 

I know this is a silly questions, but...

I'm taking my first trip to France next week. One of the ladies I work with mentioned that the coffee and sodas in France are Decaf and that there is no Caffeine in their Sodas or Coffee. I'm a huge Caffeine fan and would like to know if this is true or not.

Thanks!

Not true. The lady who works with you is an idiot.
You would have difficulty NOT getting caffeine in your beverages in France. However, for those who want coffee without caffeine, you ask for a "déca" -- and the waiter will almost always apologize to you for how terrible it tastes.

Thanks so much for your reply.

... and the French don't smoke either.

Oh..my...stars!!!!!!!!!! :-)

apparently i'm a little on the gullible side. :) but i've never traveled outside of the US before, so i tend to rely on info from people who claim to have traveled to france. i've learned a lesson. :)

Hmmm... It's your first trip to France and your first post on Fodor's and that is the biggest concern you have?

YES there is caffeine in the coffee and soda. Merde.

no, that is not my biggest concern. it was the only question i had that i could not find an answer to anywhere else. so thanks for the info.

Hey, guys - don't we WANT to be the place where people go for the 'straight up' even if it isn't a question you would ask..?

Absolutely. Sillylolo: I wasn't referring to you or your question, just the information you got from your friend. Keep asking questions here and don't let anyone bully you! You will have a wonderful time in France! :-)

sorry sillylolol, didn't mean to be mean, i just couldn't believe anyone would really believe that there is no caffeine in coffee.

Au contraire, j'ai pensé que j'allais au surdosage sur le caffine du café français. D'une manière générale l'était le plus fort que j'ai ai jamais bu.

I was watching Alton Brown on Food TV the other night. He is pretty up on the chemistry of everything. He was interviewing a coffee roaster who said that the darker the roast the LESS caffeine. That implies that French/Italian espresso would have less caffeine than the coffee most Americans are used to. This may explain why a Swiss friend of mine told me at a French restaurant that one espresso after dinner would have no effect on sleeping. Of course, she may have built up resistance through the years.

Hi vedette, I too have always heard that the darker the roast the less caffine there is. But do not know if it is true or not. Caffine does not bother me, so I have never bothered to really find out. All I know is I don't start my morning without caffine!

Sillylolo, you will find the French coffee much stronger, so the cup you order will be smaller. My wife always orders cafe American, and they just add hot water to the ordinary brew.

I heard that dark roasted coffee beans do have less caffeine, but espresso does have more caffeine because they use less water to make espresso.

silly,
you did right by coming here to ask your silly question. . who better to help you than a lot of caffeine loaded travelers :D
But there are some things that just common sense helps you with, and one of them would be that you can figure that most countries do have drinks with caffeine in them.
Picture yourself, wide eyed and jittery at a cool cafe on the Left Bank next week :)
Enjoy ((C))

>That implies that French/Italian espresso would have less caffeine than the coffee most Americans are used to. <

If you have ever watched a sleepy, weary, bleary eyed Italian stagger into a cafe at 08:00, slurp down an espresso and then go chase a bus for a block, you would have a different viewpoint.

Our first morning in Florence, I had an espresso.

My wife says that I was bouncing off walls for the next 12 hrs.

I went back to decaf.

((I))

Actually I found the opposite than the original question, that you might find caffeine where you least expect it in Europe! There's one German bottled water, looks like normal H20 but is loaded with caffine.

And for my silly response, with the price of a bottle of wine being about the same price as 2 coffees or sodas, why worry about the caffeine.

But we make the mistake of stopping at the Starbucks near our hotel the first morning in Paris, their coffee was notiably weak compared to a Starbucks coffee here in Canada.

But for the 2nd to 8th morning we stopped at 'Cafe Richard' which was even closer to our hotel for a great coffee & pastry for cheaper than just coffee at Starbucks. And Cafe Richard 'aerated' ? the milk which I enjoyed so much I bought something to warm/whip my milk at home (as cheaper than going back to Paris every morning for a coffee).

Z

You know, I used to think that when I was in Paris I was thrilled to be there, exhilarated, enthusiastic, tireless.
Now I find out it was just the coffee.

Suze - How on earth did I miss that caffeinated water in Germany last week? I've been searching for it here at home forever. Had it years ago when we lived in SoCal. I love that stuff!! Wonder how much to ship it to my home......

Starbucks is in Paris??? I seem to go to Starbucks every day, but somehow, it just wouldn't seem right in Paris...it's just not quite what I pictured...

Actually, espresso has less caffeine per serving than regular coffee (because the servings are smaller), but more caffeine per ounce. Here's the explanation from one source:

Is it true that espresso has less caffeine than regular coffee?
Yes and no. An espresso cup has about as much caffeine as a cup of dark brew. But servings for espresso are much smaller. Which means that the content of caffeine per milliliter are much higher than with a regular brew. Moreover, caffeine is more quickly assimilated when taken in concentrated dosages, such as an espresso cup.

The myth of lower caffeine espresso comes comes from the fact that the darker roast beans used for espresso do have less caffeine than regularly roasted beans as roasting is supposed to break up or sublimate the caffeine in the beans. But espresso is prepared using pressurized water through significantly more ground than regular drip coffee, resulting in a higher percentage of caffeine per milliliter.

Here's the caffeine content of Drip/Espresso/Brewed Coffee:

Drip 115-175
Espresso 100 1 serving (1-2oz)
Brewed 80-135

kerouac: tch, tch.... why use the "i' word to describe someone? It's so crude! Wonder where you are from!?

Anyway, sillylolo: it's almost impossible to buy decaf cokes in fRAnce, in fact don't think there are any. Even the "Lite Coke" are all caffeinated. Most all the coffee has caffeine....and when one asked for decaf in hotels, it is usually NOT brewed, but the dry Nescafe made with hot water.
Starbucks in Paris is beautiful,and fun, and I'm not even a coffee drinker. It's VERY popular with the FRench, and has a cafe with good sandwiches etc....I understand.

I'll NEVER forget my first caffeine rush in Paris. 1994, staying at the Intercontinental on rue Castiglione. We arrived, tremendously jetlagged, before check-in time. We dropped off our luggage, walked aound the corner, stepped into a cafe for our first espresso. I could feel the caffeine coursing through my veins! I'll never forget it!

Ira, just saw your post, LOL. It is true! Even though you were being funny. Italian friends of mine are like the walking dead in the morning - then they stand at the bar and have their espresso and WHAM, they are awake and don't stop talking, walking and thinking for hours! About late afternoon they are dragging, they have another espresso and WHAM, they are ready to go again for hours! Go, go, go until they sit down to have their wine before their 9:00pm dinner.

Good description Ira!

mari5:

<<: it's almost impossible to buy decaf cokes in fRAnce, in fact don't think there are any>>

Not true... they sell no caffeine diet Coke in almost every grocery store. I can even get it in my little village store here in Provence. IF I wanted to.

I didn't read all the posts but with regard to caffeine and espresso--it is the length of time that the water stays in contact with the coffee that may make an espresso have less caffeine. I would not recommend it to a heart patient who is supposed to not have caffeine, however.
And if you order a coke or coke lite in a cafe or restaurant, be prepared for major sticker shock.

mari5, the French have learned to brew a very good decaf. Unfortunately, though I love coffee, I am limited to decaf. I have been really pleased over the past 5 or 6 years to see that all cafes and most restaurants have started to serve brewed decaf espresso and cafe au lait. And, though I love Starbucks, decaf at most cafes is much better.

PB Provence.....Sorry, guess I'm just looking in the wrong places. We always drive a car and stop at supermarkets in cites and towns...(one of the fun parts of a European trip). Last Fall in central France and the French Alps we couldn't find the decaf Coke. Will pursue it next time.'Just last month however in Germany, Austria, N. Italy ....the same story, but Coke Lite with Caffeine won't kill us for a couple of weeks. And in our lovely hotels we drew a blank stare often about decaf coffee.
(we asked for hot water and husband takes his own Taster's Choice and I take my decaf tea bag. They don't care at all.

mamc: yes, I guess he did get some pretty good brewed decaf coffee in FRANCE last Fall.

But the bottom line to the original questin by sillylolo is that there is plenty of caffeine in FRANCE.

Cybertraveler ... the Starbucks was between a McDonalds & a Hard Rock Cafe, so we should have known better, but it was our first morning in Paris and we quickly adjusted to a local sport for morning coffee ... Z

I will continue to insist that any café in France will serve decaf if you ask for "déca".
And in any supermarket you will find both Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola light "sans caféine" next to the normal versions.

Just got back from France 2 nights ago, and we ordered "deca" in little cafes and larger restaurants in both Normandy and Paris, and no problems.

"....exhilarated, enthusiastic, tireless.
Now I find out it was just the coffee..."
<i> LOL! elaine , you put it so perfectly! Especially since most of the flights arrive early in the morning after a sleepless flight..what better than downing a cup of coffee full of caffeine..ahhh ~

kerouac, I don't think you have to &quot;continue to insist&quot;... they agree!</i>