PARIS Substance Café

Substance Café was truly the most unforgettable experience of our espresso journey with Robert and Tiffany. 

The business model was quite interesting. The café is open only by reservation, in a two-hour block: 12:30pm to 2:30pm, and 2:30pm to 4:30pm. Each two-hour block only had 8 to 10 seatings. Joachim, the owner, is a one-man operation. He takes the order, brews the coffee, explains his process, tells the stories behind his beans, and answers all your questions. He talks with you and finds out what you like so he can recommend the next drink that he thinks you will like. There is no minimum purchase required, but because he is so approachable and so good at his craft, you end up drinking more coffee than you thought you would.

On the day the four of us went, there were four other customers. We discovered to our dismay that we were the only casual coffee drinkers in the group, as one guy was a barista working in a coffee shop in NYC, one couple from the UK who worked in marketing for their roaster, and another regular who was also in the business of coffee.

Tiffany ordered the Ethiopia Gesha Village Oma #80 in a V60, Thanh ordered the Ethiopia Khalida Shifa Badaye in a cappuccino, Phil and Robert started with the Badaye in a double espresso shot, followed by the Panama Elida Estate 2023 Lona ASD also as a pure espresso shot. 

We ended with a cappuccino with freeze distillation milk (cryo-concentré) that Joachim said tasted like a dessert drink, because it was naturally sweetened by the freeze distillation milk.

As a parting gift, Joachim gave everyone a delicious cold brew on the house, that has been brewed for 60 hours.

Substance Café

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended if you are into coffee and you want to try championship level brews and chat coffee in an intimate experience. This is a one-in-a-lifetime coffee experience. Make sure you make reservations ahead of time.