Purchasing Ground Coffee in France
 

5 days and counting until I'll be renting an apartment for the first time in Paris! I love s-t-r-o-n-g French roast, and need it first thing in the morning. Concerned that wherever I get my staples will only have standard, can-type coffee, which I don't like. Will I be able to readily find "good" ground coffee, and if so, where? Staying in Batignolles.

Thanks

That would be among the least of my worries. I don't know where you will find it, but find it you will, and without too much difficulty. If you are lucky, you might even find a brulerie in your neighbourhood; your nose will lead you there.

There are several brands of ground coffee sold in vacuum packed bags in local supermarkets. Some are pretty pedestrian but there are also some upscale brands. You should have no problem. And if you favor Starbucks, there are 10 locations around town.

Strong French Roast is a Starbucks thing. The French, as well as the Spanish, do not drink such burnt coffees. Illy coffee (Italian) is probably the best around, very pleasing to the palate and use at the best restaurants in France and Spain. You can find Illy at most grocery stores.

We have never been able to find a coffee that comes close to what a café serves or what we drink back home. Friends from SF who visit must bring us a pound of Peet's French roast.

At the current exchange rate, a simple Café Americano will set you back around $3.50 USD, while a tall latte is closer to $6.00. Good wine is far cheaper.

Not at all concerned about finding good wine! Thanks for the info.

Many American reel in shock at the coffee aisle on their first trip to a French supermarket, as there are generally about 30 varieties to choose from (more in a hypermarket) in the vacuum packages.

Carte Noire (Jacques Vabre) and L'Or (La Maison du Café) are among the pricier normal brands, but there are plenty of house brands, too, and a lot of people are faithful to a "country" -- Brazil, Cuba, Côte d'Ivoire, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, etc. and you will see the country name displayed prominently on lots of the packages.

There is also a section of coffees produced by equitable commerce, notably the Malongo varieties or any brand with the Max Havelaar certification.

There's a ground coffee place and cafe on rue St-Andre-des-Arts. Left side of the street when walking toward Place St-Michel. Not in your area but you might be near Notre Dame and can check it out.

I would try the supermarket coffee before going to an expensive coffee specialist, or you might end up paying 400% more for the same taste and never know it.

There is a coffee roaster near Batignolles, on the avenue de Clichy at about the level of rue des Moines (which is a good market street).

As far as finding a coffee as strong as in a cafe, you may need an espresso machine, but if you get espresso roast and make it in a drip coffee maker you can get wonderfully strong, not bitter nor burnt coffee.
Look for coffee in a supermarket. Parisians drink coffee at home, I would guess.

kerouac - what happened to 1851 coffee? Did it disappear from the supermarket shelves? I bought a brick of it last October and when I went to replenish it there were no more to be found. I asked my niece to look for it in Dijon and she said the supermarkets didn't have it there either.

Thanks!

Thank you, Kerouac and Louie, exactly the information I was looking for. Good coffee is something I am willing to pay a bit more for, whether found in a supermarket or specialty store.

I've never heard of it, and -- even stranger -- Google has never heard of it either. Are you sure of that name?

btw, Padraig, isn't it grand that my greatest worry right now is where to find the right coffee? Life is good!

I'm sure of the name since it's such a strange name. I remember it from other trips to France so I bought some last October. I wonder if the company changed names or went out of business or something and I got the tail end of the product. If I find something I'll post back.

Found a reference. 1851 isn't the brand but it's the largest thing on the label so that's what I called it and how I remembered it. Here's the link with photo.

http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/madrid/key.jsp?KEY=903073

I had worried about the same thing and even brought some ground Starbucks Guatemala Antigua with me to get us started. I do not recommend bringing ground coffee unless it is vacuum sealed because everything in the suitcase smelled like coffee. I had ground my own beans, triple zip locked them, and still had to take it out of the suitcase and put it in my carry on.

While wandering around the Rue Buci area I found a Malongo Cafe. Their Guatemala Max coffee beans I bought were wonderful. Better than any Starbucks. My biggest regret is that I did not fill my suitcase with bags of this coffee to bring home as it is not available in the US. The Cafe I went in was on 50 Rue saint Andre des arts. Here is a link to their website with a list of their stores.

http://www.malongo.fr/uk/societe/adresses.html

I never to go in Starbucks when I am in Europe because I want to try something new and different and I think coffee in Europe is so much better tasting. And I like to support local businesses. I even use the same philosophy here in the US - when traveling I never go in Starbucks but local coffee shops - I have never been disappointed.

My husband always liked that really strong Starbucks stuff but when he started having stomach problems, I switched him to the Gutamalean coffee which seems to have less acid, a little milder tasting, with a 'chocolate finish' lol.

Our apartment had a French press coffee pot which allowed me to steep the beans for as little or as long as I wanted. I found it difficult to use and full of sedement. I was glad I had brought my one cup coffee maker (you know, those little plastic cones that sit on a cup) and filter papers to pour the coffee through and remove the sludge. I did find that the French press made stronger coffee.

Batignolles is quite a way from Rue St Andre des Arts so would be a fun excursion. Always fun to have a purposeful errand to run - one with a goal. I see there is also one in Galeries Lafayette Gourmet, 97 rue de Provence 75009. If that is the big Galeries Lafayette department store, it would be closer to your apartment. Enjoy!

"allowed me to steep the beans"

They were ground. I had asked the young man to grind them for a French Press for me at the Cafe.