all cyclists need good coffee... even in Paris

 Paris... the Louvre; Notre Dame; sidewalk bistros; Sacre Coeur; Pere Lachaise; that chocolate-coloured tower they were supposed to dismantle in 1909; the Seine; the worst coffee in the world... hang on, that last one doesn�t fit the script. 

   I have never had a good coffee in the City of Light. I once saw a barista boil the life out of a jug of milk, put it in the fridge for a few minutes and then scald it all over again. Every cup I�ve consumed, I�ve added copious amounts of sugar to �adjust� the flavour. I�ve tried espresso, noisette, long, American, latte... all a disaster.

    I love Paris. Who doesn�t? I love the French, they are friendly, accommodating and slyly humourous. I love French food, what they can do with simple ingredients like butter or flour or cream defies the imagination. But coffee? I�d rather have a cup at the milk bar in Wagga Wagga than risk a Paris cafe.

    But, that is my task for today. Without my wife here, I cannot be expected to stroll over the Pont Neuf, holding hands with myself. I can�t linger too long at the Jardin Luxembourg without getting a little teary. I can�t eat steak tartare at a sidewalk brasserie. Actually, I can and probably will do that last one. But, what I�m happy to attempt is a search for the perfect cup. 

    First up, it�s managing the Metro, perhaps the best subway system in the world. It�s no problem easily and economically navigating my way to the first contestant of today�s challenge. Situated in the 4th arrondissement, close to the Seine and Hotel de Ville is La Cafeotheque. In the interest of research, I ask the barista what other people are drinking, while pointing at their cups. This scares most of his customers, but he answers diligently, �macchiato,� �cappuccino,� and �flat white.� It�s the first time I�ve heard that expression outside of Australia, so I order one, double-strength. It comes on a tray with a glass of water and a chocolate. It�s so strong, I have to order extra milk, but it isn�t bitter and has obviously been made with Arabica beans, not Robusta, which is what most French cafes persist in using. Quelle horreur! I drink it sitting on a lounge covered in clean hessian coffee sacks admiring the display of coffee beans for sale. The smell of roasting comes from the next room. So, Cafeotheque scores well in taste, friendly service and location, but loses points for the five Euro price tag. That�s over $7 for a coffee. Non!

    A quick metro transit to the 7th Arrondisement for Cafe Coutume... and it�s closed. Merde! Peeking in the window, I see a menu of reasonable priced coffee and an excellent espresso machine and one of those 24-hour slow drip coffee laboratories. So, they�re serious about coffee. Pity I couldn�t taste it. However, Coutume does lose points for location. It�s not somewhere I�d go just for a coffee.

    My next step is to ask a (semi) local, my son Joe�s friend, Jesse, a fluent french-speaking young man of keen intellect and good taste in friends and coffee, studying at the Sorbonne. Jesse walked me through Pigalle in the 9th Arrondissement to KB Cafe, on the way teaching me about conjunctive verbs. Yes, I�m supposed to know that stuff, being a writer and all, but as I suggested, Jesse is smarter than me. I let him do the ordering, at the counter, which in itself is unusual in Paris. When we�re given a table number, it feels like I�m back in Newtown. The coffee is excellent, as are the huge slices of carrot cake and raspberry/pistachio cake we share. The barista doesn�t put the last slice of cake back on display either. He cuts it into bite-size pieces and places it on a plate on the counter as a free sample. I like that. 

    Jesse tells me that, in an earlier life, the cafe was called Kooka Borra Cafe, but recently shortened to KB. The Australian coffee mafia is making inroads, it seems. KB wins in every way - taste, price (E3.50 for flat white), location, being close to Pigalle and Montmatre, and atmosphere - it�s a comfortable casual cafe with free wifi and tables outside. In fact, I�d rank it as one of the best cafes in Europe I�ve been to, alongside a cafe in Rotterdam, opened by... yep, an Australian.

    Three places in Paris to drink good coffee. That�s three more than were here on my last trip in 2010. Go to KB Cafe, if you can. We need to encourage the french to improve the only thing they can�t do well.

KB Cafe, 62 Rue des Martyrs, 9th, Metro: Pigalle

La Cafeotheque, 52 rue de l'Hotel de Ville, 4th, Metro: Pont Marie

Coutume Cafe, 47 Rue de Babylone, 7th, Metro: Sevres Babylone.

I have recently published my first eBook, about my bicycle journey across France, including a number of Tour de France mountain climbs.

baguettes and bicycles is a travel adventure, a restaurant safari and a guidebook for those who enjoy slow food, easy cycling... and fast descents!

To purchase this book for $2.99, go to my Amazon page, here.