Today is coffee. Coffee today. Coffee in France.

While I am in Paris I am taking classes online through my home university. It is definitely my toughest semester yet. Not because I'm away, but just the quantity of work. I've been spending a lot of my time here in front of my laptop- either at ISA, in the library, in a café, or in my hotel room. Staying awake- staying caffeinated- is important.

We all know I love Diet Coke more than most things on the planet, but Diet Coke can only do so much.

Anyway, the point is, coffee helps. So, here we go, coffee in France.

If you order a...

Café- it's espresso. Just espresso. I usually end up nursing it for a half hour it is so strong. And I am so weak. This is the standard drink.
Café allongé- espresso + water. Literally "elongated coffee".
Café filtré- filtered coffee, American style.
Café glacé- iced coffee. I've only seen these in chains.
Double/double express- espresso/double espresso.
Add déca on to the end of any order and it's decaf.

When you order your café au lait or avec crème (with milk or with cream) it costs about a euro more, at least in the places that I've gone to.

That's pretty much the menu. Not too glitzy. Intentionally.

With sugar packets and a baby dessert to get rid of your coffee breath.

Where

French Places: 

While I've been in Paris I have generally been getting my coffee at boulangeries, or bakeries. Most have a little coffee bar built into the side of the counter, next to all of the bread and pastries. You can sit outside ("sur place") or take it to go ("à emporter"). They generally will tack on .20 or .30 if you sit on-site. 

I've also noticed a few French coffee shops- they're mostly in small spaces and don't have a huge menu. They don't seem like the type of place where you would set up shop for an afternoon with your laptop, headphones, and textbook. I know this because I have been told not to do this. 

Non-French Places: 

Costa Coffee- I have learned from a very trustworthy source that Costa Coffee is the Starbucks of the UK. They have recently hopped the English Channel (or la Manche, depending on which coast you're on) and come to France. There are eight in France, three in Paris proper. Huge room(s), lots of outlets, extensive menu. Many people with laptops. 

Starbucks- There's one two blocks away from my hotel. There are also 49 others in Paris alone. I just counted. They look just like the ones in the US, except more snacks. The prices also seem to be the same, just in Euros, so multiply the cost of your normal Starbucks drink by 1.3 and that's how much it costs here.

The only reason I have been frequenting these two places is for their wifi. I did go today and get my first Pumpkin Spice Latte (ever) as a treat because I knew I was going to be doing schoolwork 80% of my day. It wasn't bad, but I don't know if it was worth the $6.40. Geez.

Neither Places:

Vending machines! The library has two of them. There are about 12 drinks listed- all for .90. Pick a drink, pick the amount of sugar you want, then your cup will drop down. There's one nozzle, and all of the ingredients come out one after another (as in it's not pre-made). When the drink is finished, a plastic stick drops into the cup so that you can stir it up.

I edited out my last name on this JUST IN CASE.

I just read an interesting article entitled "Why Is Coffee in France La Merde?" I agree with most of what it has to say, especially that "Paris is a city of café culture, not coffee culture." It's all about the café atmosphere.

Get your wine there, get your pastries there, get your expensive clothes and your fashion inspiration there... but it's definitely not the best place I've gotten coffee.

Here's an infographic on coffee around the world- How to order coffee like a local in 31 countries.

Okay that's all. We've done a bunch of excursions and museum trips these past few weeks that I should probably share about. This just seemed easier.

I will though.

PS Did anyone hear that Sarko is back? He announced it via Facebook. The former president of France announced his return to politics. And he did it. on facebook.