This might be the most Instagrammed coffee table in Paris and it is probably my favorite coffee shop in this city. It has been a business-meeting place for me as well as a place to take visiting friends or meet new ones. Through random luck and common friends, I got the chance to meet one of the owners of the Cafeothèque and she is now its public face– if not, she will be thanks to these words you are reading.

Meet Christina whose parents are the founders of the Cafeothèque and who you will most likely run into when you visit.

Passion, family and discovery are the three words Christina used to describe the Cafeothèque.

Why? La Cafeothèque came to be because of Christina’s family passion and love for coffee – it is a family business and family is a very important word to describe what La Cafeothèque is. The love for coffee is at the core of the relationship between the team and its patrons; they become an extended family over time, over espressos and lattes.

The discovery part comes from the way they get the beans. They don’t like to create blends, instead, they keep the crops intact from farms handpicked from all over the world. The want to maintain the flavor from each location, they want to protect the individuality of each source. In the end, it is the land and its minerals, and the hand of its farmers where the plants grow that get embedded into the coffee beans to create its unique flavor. 

When you visit and walk in the shop, you will notice a yellow shelf at the back that spans most of the wall with drawers. This is the Cafeothèque itself – each drawer has a country written on it and has coffee grains from that country.

The staff can share their knowledge in their cafeology courses led by Christina’s mom, Gabriela. They are 2 weeks long and you can learn about the history, geography, roasting, and brewing of coffee. You can even get trained as a barista.

Because of this love for the little black beans and their extensive knowledge of it, La Cafeothèque has a solid international reputation as coffee specialists.

If coffee alone wasn't enough of a reason to visit, they also have amazing quiches and desserts, some of which are gluten free. You can also leave with other sweets like pineapple jam that they import from Guatemala (half of Christina's family is from there) or you can get one of the more exotic coffee-brewing machines they have on sale. 

Visit their website here and stalk them on Instagram here :)