Cafes San Jose Paris

Here we have one of may favourite cafes in Paris.
It's called Cafés San José 30 rue des Petits Champs, 75001 Paris.

In general I fine the coffee in Paris cafes pretty disappointing. I have often paid up to 3 Euros for, a little cup of caffeinated muddy water. However, Cafés San Jose is a rare exception not only is the coffee first rate but it's cheap too.

An espresso will set you back a mere one Euro with a chocolate thrown in for good measure while a baby cappuccino served in an espresso cup is just 1.20 Euros.

You can also buy beans and ground coffee here as well as a wide selection of teas. As you enter you step back in time to an era when Edith Piaf was singing Non, je ne regrette rien in smoke filled clubs. But don't except a sofa of even a chair to rest your weary backside as this place is standing room only. If you want comfy couches and bucket sized coffee cocktails then head to Starbucks around the (every) corner, if you want a good coffee and a genuine Paris experience then now you know the way to Cafes San Jose.

Coffee Addiction

Early one morning while in London recently, I popped into one of those café chains to get a take away coffee there was an unfeasibly long queue and just one poor trainee barista at the counter trying to take care of everyones' orders. I was becoming impatient, so was everybody else. I asked myself why do we stand here like idiots we should just leave. Then it struck me. We can't leave, we are prisoners. We are all addicted. It's the drug.

A friend of mine just came back after a week learning how to make the perfect espresso at the coffee university in Trieste, Italy. Since his return he's become a terrible snob. I called him up to suggest we meet up for a coffee and he told me he doesn't drink coffee in French cafes anymore because it's all rubbish (then gave me 55 reasons why Italian coffee was better). He has some fancy la-di-da espresso machine at home now. I heard him take a sip of what was, I believe, his 12th cup of the the day. I listened a little bit longer to him burbling on hyper-actively before making the excuse that it was getting late. 'Late?', he said confused, 'to be honest I hadn't noticed'. I hung up.