Coffee in Paris...I'm confused
 

I've read a ton of trip reports and several books. I'm having a tough time equating the coffee drinks in the US to those in Paris. I know that espresso is a shot of very strong coffee, but I get lost after that. Can someone equate American coffee drinks (caps, lattes, so on) with their Parisian counterparts or just give me a run down of what I'll find in Paris? What is a noir for example?

un cafe is un cafe. Noir is hold everything. stop looking for USA equivalents. cafe tastes different in P, just accept that. and enjoy it. and have it at the bar and be smart and thrifty.

Thanks, but that doesn't really help me. I'm not looking to duplicate what I have hear, just get some frame of reference so I can order. Thanks for the tip on standing at the bar.

As I undertand it, cafe noir is black coffee; and espresso is the same; a cappuchino is the same; a cafe creme is similar to a latte, but perhaps the creme is not steamed.

The best coffe I had in Paris recently was standing at a snack bar in the Louvre. Go figure!

Mr Blacktie said it, although perhaps not politely. The coffee in Paris is brewed and served differently. My favourite, cafe au lait, is typically not available where I live. The local Starbucks sells something called cafe au lait but it is not the "real thing". Try it you'll like it!

Café au lait is breakfast half coffe, half hot milk.
The best coffee is Cona.

oh, lol, I'd say I was sufficiently polite for the quality of that question, did you see the follow-up? I did save him/her some money with the bar tip!

I actually already knew about the bar thing...just being polite.

... that's what the uninitiated always say. Actually, I was lying, there is no savings.

And after-dinner coffee, served in tiny cups, is incredibly strong--very difficult to drink without sugar. The coffee is usually made in a coffee press brought to your table.

mdtravel, your question was a good one and I saw right away what you were looking for - info not a prissy lecture.

I'm sure you were thrilled and amazed like me to be given such a superb travel gem as "coffee tastes different in Paris."

Who would have ever dreamed such a thing?

My understanding is that "un express" and "café noir" are the same. If you want that watered down a bit, you ask for "un café allongé," (elongated coffee." If you want un express with a bit of milk in it, it's "une noisette." A "café crème" and a "café au lait"nearly always look and tste the same to me. I really can't tell most of the time if they use cream or milk, but whatever it is comes warm and frothy in a little pitcher on the side.

Hi md,

You will find the coffee in Paris is most often made the same as in Italy - espresso.

The usual is 'un cafe' - a small cup.

Cafe noir is black coffee.

Cafe American is the same coffee in a larger cup with hot water added.

Cafe creme is a latte.

Cafe capuchino is capuchino.

As noted, 'Cafe au lait' is for breakfast. It is made by pouring equal amounts of heated milk and hot coffee into a cup from separate pots. Very elegant when done by a good waiter.

As noted, after-dinner coffee is served in demi-tasse cups and is very, very strong.

If you want decaf ask for 'day caf' not coffee.

It is cheaper if you stand up at the bar.

A very good Paris experience is a cuppa and a croissant at the bar about 07:30. The regulars will be smoking.

Forgot to add that since I rarely drink coffee in the USA, I have no idea how American coffee concoctions equate to the French ones.

oh, the answer of course is there is no such equivalency, and for those who forget, un cafe, non, ce n'est pas le meme chose, blackcat. yes, simple it is. and you knew that, you devil. i'll have to watch my step around you, lol. have a good one.

Ce n'est pas LA meme chose.

Agree that it is hard to tell the difference between un cafe' au lait and un cafe' creme at many eateries, even though in theory one is supposed to be made with steamed milk and the other with cream. Sometimes an au lait seems to be in a bigger cup than a creme (but that could just be my over-active imagination, too).

Just as it is "bad form" to drink coffee with your meal, so too is drinking anything other than un express (noir) immediately following the meal. As pricey as coffee is these days, though, I generally let that one slide unless it's a very special meal. I'd rather stop in for late pastry and coffee at one of the delicious patisseries instead!

i drink american coffee (for better or worse) and just experienced my first incredible french version. i don't know exactly what it is, but it's just better.

i usually take milk in my coffee, so always ordered a "cafe creme," which was a cup of good coffee with a pitcher of hot milk, as well as the ever-present sugar cubes. i suppose "un cafe" would get you just the coffee, and "au lait" is with milk in some form.

after meals, we would order "un cafe" which was the small demitasse of espresso, again with sugar lumps, which were a necessity for me.

if you normally take milk with your coffee (latte, etc.), just order a cafe creme and you'll be in heaven.

In the morning, make mine une grande tasse de café crème. Très délicieux!

Blacktie, be so kind as to excuse me for being a bit curt and swiping at you with my claws.

I stopped by Starbucks after work and spilled my $5.50 super grande paris wannabe 'Cafe au lait' (with extra sugar, nutmeg, whipped cream and cocoa sprinkles) on the way home.

Thanks IRA and all.