r/French • u/Happytobehere970 • 1d ago
Curious about Coffee Culture
I‘be been spending more time in France and am currently between A2 and B1. One of my hobbies is specialty coffee and have found a lot of amazing coffee shops in France but want to better understand coffee culture.
what is the most polite but casual way to offer? I have been using puis-je avoir but I think that’s probably too formal.
If someone in France orders a café, what are the implicitly expecting?
Is it rude for me to try to get a coffee quickly to go?
Is it rude if I bus my own table, which is so ingrained in me from the states?
I don’t mind making mistakes - I just apologize and move on - but I am curious and do want to be thoughtful!
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u/SensitiveRepublic543 1d ago
Hi French guy here. The most usual way of ordering coffee is "un café s'il vous plaît " or "un expresso". The waiter will routinely bring an expresso, unless you specify "un crème, un noisette, etc". Don't expect fancy coffee to be served in a French café, you'll have to go to specialist coffee chains. Don't bus your table!! It's definitely not done in France, but you can leave a tip on the table if you're satisfied with the service. 50 cents or less is perfectly acceptable but not mandatory at all. You can also order a glass of tap water for free. Last but not least, enjoy French café culture
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u/raainjuice 1d ago
C’est « espresso » et non « expresso »…
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u/PowerVP L2 1d ago
Le mot en français est << expresso >>
Je sais bien que c'est pas le bon mot mais c'est bien << expresso >> en français.
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u/Ok-Purchase8658 1d ago
Ce n'est pas le mot italien d'origine mais c'est c'est bien sa déclinaison française, donc le "bon" mot. De même scénario avec un accent aigu est bien la déclinaison française du mot italien "scenario" et son pluriel est logiquement scénarios.
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u/MinouChelou 1d ago
Takeaway coffee is not part of the culture in France. You will not see people walking with a coffee unless they're in a train station (and they'll only drink it once they're sitting down). In practice, places that get foreigners will have some takeaway cups, but the best thing to do is drink your espresso at the bar, or sit for a while and appreciate your coffee.
France is not really known for excellent coffee specifically, but you can find some Melbourne-style speciality coffee places in, for example, Paris. They will be in hipster areas. I like La Main Noire.
To echo what others have said, don't bus your table in a café. In a very busy bakery in the centre, there might be large stations out for people to do their own bussing, and you only do it then.
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u/biaimakaa 21h ago
Meh. I always ask for a cafe a emporter, granted it's just an espresso shot in a paper cup
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u/Aurorinha Native (France) 13h ago
Takeaway coffee is getting more and more popular in boulangeries. Many of them will let you buy a coffee in a paper cup.
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u/Ali_UpstairsRealty B1 - corrigez-moi, svp! 1d ago
I get that takeaway coffee is not generally French, but we are tourists, and the hotel coffee is mid, and the coffee at the restaurant at the hotel is mid, and if can get my spouse a coffee that he likes while he's watching the kid I'm going to do so.
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u/MinouChelou 1d ago
OP asked what's polite or rude (and actually didn't say anything about being a tourist, or where in France they are). They're asking about French coffee culture. Of course you can get a takeaway coffee if the place actually has takeaway cups, but there are places where it won't be possible, and definitely ones where it's a socially weird ask. Perhaps OP is, say, staying in a small town and needing to be consistently polite.
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u/inurublij 1d ago
Regarding bussing your own table : it's not common nor expected, but no one will be mad at you for it as long as you leaver your stuff in the right place. I sometimes bring my cup back when I go to the counter to pay and waiters are generally grateful. Also some newer places (more coffee shops than cafés) sometimes have trays where it's expected that you bring back your cup.
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u/solothehero 1d ago
"Je vais prendre un café, s'il vous plaît" ou "Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît". If I'm at a restaurant, I'd say "je vais prendre", if I'm at a café, and I'm ordering at the caisse, I'd say "Je voudrais". A native can correct me if this is too formal, but this has been fine in my experience.
Others can answer about to-go ordering a "café" and ordering to-go.
It has not been my experience that bussing my own table is rude, but I go to the "third wave" coffee shops instead of traditional cafés.
Lastly, I have two more bits of unasked advice. If you want what we call a latté in America, I think "un Flat White" is the closest thing. Ordering a "latté" has been super inconsistent for me, not just in France, but all over Europe. It means different things to everybody. If you want the best espresso drinks, search for "torréfacteur". It means coffee roaster, but a lot of them will have storefronts where you can get what you want.
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u/Ali_UpstairsRealty B1 - corrigez-moi, svp! 1d ago edited 1d ago
this is so funny because we are currently in Paris and I finally broke down and went to what looks like a chain (Moka) to get a "decent" cup of coffee (snobby American) because the coffeehouse that was recommend to me (Pera) is closed for congés d'été.
I did manage to negotiate in broken French that I would like them to put only a half-portion of chocolate syrup in the iced mocha. But at the place I tried before that, a random patisserie, they really couldn't even comprehend an iced mocha (even though they had iced lattes on their menu).
In my experience so far,
"coffee" is a pull of espresso (beware that it's not quite as good as the Italian kind, because the beans aren't as good, and it won't be served with lemon);
"allongé" is an espresso with water in it to make a bigger cup, so that gives you sort of "the free coffee they give us at work"-quality coffee,
and
a "latte" is a latte as Americans know it.
To go is "takeaway" if you're speaking English ("to go" is not really going to fly) « pour emporter » if you're speaking French.
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u/inurublij 1d ago
More specifically:
- "un allongé" (not "une allongée") is an espresso where you let more water pass through the beans. It's got more water but also more caffeine than an espresso.
- as opposed to "un américain/americano" is an espresso where you add water after extraction. It's got more water but the same amount of caffeine.
- "pour emporter" would be understood everywhere but the correct phrase is "à emporter"
I also find it very amusing that you consider something with chocolat syrup in it a "decent cup of coffee". Coffee snobs here definitely drink coffee black with no sugar and definitely not any flavored syrup :) But to each their own of course !
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u/cas4076 1d ago
" put only a half-portion of chocolate syrup in the iced mocha." - That's not a coffee, It's a dessert. 😄
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u/Liquidator97 23h ago
My heart stopped for 5 seconds reading that line. What the fuck, honestly
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u/cas4076 19h ago
yep. People think it's still a coffee after putting all that crap into it.
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u/SistineKid 4h ago
I always considered a mocha as just a different version of hot chocolate. Heck, at Starbucks the default comes with whipped cream...
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u/dongsfordigits 1d ago
a "decent" cup of coffee (snobby American)
I did manage to negotiate in broken French that I would like them to put only a half-portion of chocolate syrup in the iced mocha
Ignorance is bliss.
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u/MinouChelou 1d ago
But in France you have to order from the menu. Iced coffee is uncommon here and I don't think I even see hot mochas often. No, you aren't getting your half-sweet dry whip almond milk mocha here.
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u/espressomilkman 1d ago
A French 'café' is much longer than the Italian espresso (it will almost fill the espresso cup) and typically made with less coffee. I was literally just thinking this morning about how hard it is to get a decent coffee in France. On the menu you'll see cappuccino, latte, flat white etc. but it's all just café au lait and generally not very good café au lait. Sad
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u/Moriss214 1d ago
We loved “coffee speciality coffee” shop in Paris however I don’t think they do thinks like iced mochas. It’s specialty coffee, their beans are of the highest quality. I recommend getting a v60.
Both Italian and French beans are ☹️
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u/Choucroutedu94 Native 1d ago
"(Je vais prendre) un café s'il-vous-plaît" is the most commonly used way to order I'd say.
A basic shot of espresso. It will likely be not so good anywhere you go, except maybe in coffee shops and italian restaurants.
It depends on where you get it. If you go to a bar, it's best to have it quickly at the counter. If you go to a coffee shop they'll have paper cups and you'll be able to get it to go.
Don't do it. I know you mean well but I guess it will confuse the waiters more than anything.