Sipping Sunday

Hot spiced wine, hot chocolate, mint tea, coffees and fresh orange juice stand in the courtyard of Église Saint-Pierre de Montmartre.

 

Tuesday Tea

 

Warm colors, hot tea, a chilly November day.

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What's in the bag?

When ordering tea at most traditional Paris cafés, as opposed to tea rooms, a selection of tea bags to choose from will be brought to the table. The teas will usually range from classical blends to herbal infusions a.k.a. tisanes which usually include tilleul and chamomile. Popular brands: Mariage Frères, Dammann Frères, Thé du Hammam, Kusmi Tea, TWG Tea (Ritz Hotel boutique) - BPJ

 

Mocha Monday

 

Espressos, tea and a neighborhood flea market on a weekend morning.

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 - Happy Fête du Travail -

 

 

  

 

Tea for three

Tea at the CHANEL Boutique on rue Cambon.

Social distance

Parisians' reputation for being distant, even rude (the latter usually the conclusion of outsiders who've not mastered basic niceties) has been noticeably put on hold thanks to the virus. As soon as the confinement was lifted there was a distinct shift in our quartier: familiar eyes and voices behind masks stopping to engage in long conversations, neighbors suggesting a coffee or drink together and, as everyone knows someone, terrace tables fill up quickly and suddenly, it's lunch time. - BPJ

Above: get-togethers at different spots almost every day; coffee / tea for 8; tables pushed together for a spontaneous lunch

Below: an elderly couple who rarely venture out enjoy a long lunch  

Ça va passer

Yesterday's headline: "Liberty Confined"

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The other day a very old lady, hunched over, maskless and pulling a shopping caddy behind her, mumbled a French version of "Bah humbug!" as she passed the line at a local organic foodstore. Everyone was wearing masks and, in silence, keeping prescribed distances when she burst out, "Ça va passer!" - this will pass - waving her free hand in disdain. A welcome gesture, it broke the ice and we laughed and agreed that we need to put this into perspective - as well as treasure this precious disappearing generation, sadly, today's most susceptible, who've seen it all: wars, holocausts, depressions, recessions, pandemics, natural disasters. - BPJ

Tea and tajine

Steaming hot mint tea poured tableside and savory lamb tajines brighten a rainy day.

Tea Room
La Grande Mosquée
39 rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire 75005 

Hot chai

Sometimes there's nothing's more warming on a cold day than a chai latte with someone who loves to laugh as much as you do.

Pierre-y Christmas

Pierre Hermé's second tea room / café is tucked away in a foodie passageway.

Café Pierre Hermé - Beaupassage

53 rue de Grenelle 75007

Au coin du feu

A spot of tea, a cozy fire and good conversation warm up long winter evenings... along with holiday baking.

Below: fresh-from-oven pecan brownies; Vanillekipferl, Austrian butter crescents (mom's version w/crushed hazelnuts instead of almonds)

Tea and garden

View from café looking onto the resplendent interior courtyard of the Petit Palais art museum.

Warming up

With the holidays closing in, chocolat chaud, hot spiced wine and tea stalls are popping up on squares such as this one at l'Église Saint-Pierre. 

Tea-rex

A poster on the wall of a shop that sells coffees and teas.

“Art has something to do with an arrest of attention in the midst of distraction.”
Saul Bellow

A baker's dozen

 

 

 A courtyard conceals beautiful home-made brunches, lunches, buttermilk biscuits (a specialty), pies, nibbles, coffees, teas and creative summer drinks. And it's run by a lovely American.

Treize Bakery

16 rue des Saints-Pères 75007

Tea-totaler's lamp

A lamp inside a vintage clothing shop reminds me of something out of the "Mad Hatter Tea Party."