L'Arbre à Café


WHERE: 10 rue du Nil, 75002 (2ème arrondissement)
WHEN: Tue-Fri 12:30-7:30pm; Sat 10am-7pm (closed Sun and Mon)
HOW MUCH: espresso 3€; cappuccino 4€; pour over/Espro press 4-5€
METRO: Sentier (line 3)
BEANS: L'Arbre à Café
FOOD:
CONTACT: Web; Facebook; Tel: +33 1 84 17 24 17



Hidden in the backstreets of a district rich in trendy bars and restaurants, L’Arbre à Café ('The Coffee Tree') is establishing itself as an important feature of Paris’ coffee landscape. Originally just a roaster (some of you might recognise the logo from the Strada Café beans), L’Arbre à Café opened its coffee boutique in rue du Nil last year and has since attracted a diverse crowd of caffeine-enthusiasts, catering for the old and converting the new.

The owner, Hippolyte Courty, began roasting beans in 2009 after making the switch to coffee from the wine industry, where his palate had received years of fine tuning. A commitment to ethical trade, a high level of contact with growers and of course a passion for coffee means that each of the hand-picked single-origin varieties available at L’Arbre à Café is well worth your while. Rumour has it that Hippolyte has plans to open a new roasting workshop and a coffee training school, so keep an ear out for any updates in that department. 

The tiny, intimate space in la rue du Nil makes for a comfortable setting in which customers can browse an elaborate display of coffee-related equipment and paraphernalia while getting a quality caffeine hit. That said, remember that it's not really a café so much as a coffee boutique, so don't expect to be able to take a seat and relax there for hours. 

Their mini Marzocco GS/3 may be small, but it certainly packs a punch, staying true to the family name and bringing out the best in the beans. This is made possible by the solid team of local and international baristas, who know exactly what they're doing. They've also got some brewed options like Espro Press and pour over, if you're into that kind of thing. 



Aside from Le Café de la Nouvelle Mairie (post coming, watch this space), L'Arbre à Café beans are used by at least a dozen other cafés and restaurants in Paris. Hippolyte, not wanting to reveal too much about his operation, didn't disclose the names of these places. This is an open invitation for you, dear reader, to get out there and track them down. The coffee is bound to be good, and by this time next year, there'll probably be a dozen more branches of The Coffee Tree. 

Before doing that though, be sure to pay our friends a visit in la rue du Nil. 


1 comments:

  1. I only had the luck to visit it once (they are closed on my usual days off), but there can be only one word for this place and the espresso I had. WOW !

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