My first workweek in Paris almost over, I figured I'd kick back in this cafe over a post-dinner cuppa coffee and write about one of the great pleasures of Paris...uh...coffee.
Yeah, I know that many on this forum are too wimpy to drink coffee, but in writing articles for medical/scientific websites this last year, I've had occasion to read some of the research about coffee, and interestingly there is a strong case to be made that it's clinically better for you than tea. There are even some strong studies that indicate that it promotes longevity and reduces one's risk of contracting a number of diseases. Go figure. But that isn't why the French are coffee-crazy IMO. They like it for the taste, and for the ritual. In terms of taste, personally I preferred the Spanish coffee, because a tiny bit of sugar is added during the roasting process, and that *majorly* improves the taste, but French coffee is damned good, too. In terms of ritual, well, the French just *love* ritual, so it fits into their lifestyle. The French drink coffee in the mornings, at home, sometimes again sitting at cafe tables before going to work, or, if they are on a budget, standing at the bar at the same cafes. (For some odd reason, a cuppa coffee is half the price when served to people standing at the bar than it is when sitting at a table.) They also finish up pretty much every meal with a coffee. I've gotten into the same habit, and can get away with it even at night because (another piece of trivia I picked up writing articles) espresso (steam-brewed) coffee for some reason contains half the caffeine of drip coffee, and it doesn't ever keep me up. The French also tend to drink coffee a lot at work, and team "coffee breaks" are pretty much a ritual of work life. Where I work is no exception, and as a perk to the folks who work there, we have one of the coolest coffee machines going. It's a big box that may *look* like coffee machines in the states that pour freeze-dried coffee granules into lukewarm water and call it coffee, but that is where the resemblance ends. I was there once when the service guy was working on the machine, and got to see its innards. There are containers of fresh beans -- both caf and decaf -- and they are freshly ground for every cup. Then water is pressed through the freshly-ground coffee at just the right temperature and just the right pressure, according to the particular type of coffee you selected -- cappuchino, cafe long, cafe court, cafe au lait, etc. I don't know whether you'll be able to see all the options in this photo, but this is our office coffee machine: [http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8379/8577239031_553ebd15d7.jpg] It's a "little thing," but IMO life is all *about* the "little things." Taking the time to build -- and provide -- a real coffee experience to your workers is one of the things that makes French work life better than its counterpart in the US. And the best part? Again, I don't know whether you'll be able to read the "fine print" in this photo, but if not, the cost of each cup is 35 centimes, 28 centimes if you use the card issued to employees. Cheapest damned coffee in Paris, and still good. Go figure.
