katmandude

well this is certainly interesting isn't it? thanks for discussion everyone, and at least now I know, next time I go to Paris, try something other thank an espresso. And I agree with you Topotail, and perhaps this is where my angst and confusion comes in. It's hard to understand how a society such as Parisians are so concerned and thoughtful about food and wine, doesn't do great coffee. Tres strange!

Phaelon56, I totally agree with you. I am an espresso enthusiest, and to my great surprise I too found the coffee in France to be terrible to barely passable. Let's see, I was very fortunate to spend 18 days in France, at say 3 coffee's a day. Of those I can recall two good coffees, maybe ten that were ok, and too many more that were simply attrocious. Of the good coffees, one was at an Italian restaurant in Dijon, the other was at a three star in Paris which cost me six euros. let me reiterate, the coffee was good, not great, for six euros! What really surprises me, is that across the border, in Italy, this problem doesn't exist. Over the years, I've probably spent 50 days in Italy, and could count on one hand the number of dodgy coffees I've had there, and they were usually at train stations. But even these were better than some of the dodgy's I drank in France.

I am sooooooooo jealous...those machines look amazing.

Yep, I find their coffee burnt. not to mention too week for a standard cup. I know I could get a double shot but I figure why the heck should I have to pay more for a standard strength coffee when I can generally get a better coffee at a small cafe down the road that's even cheaper than Starbucks basic coffee. As for the Starbucks 'experience', for me, I'd rather sit in a groovy cafe. But that's just me. As you can see, I'm not a SB fan, and only drink it when there is no alternative, which thankfully isn't often. What do you guys pay for a coffee at a non Starbucks cafe over there? In Australia, the cost is about A$2.80, and that's for fairtrade cafe late at my fav cafe. From memory, Starbucks is A$3 plus for a standard coffee. not a big difference, but for bad coffee, forget it.

Thanks Nishla. I'll certainly consider that next time I reach for the Monastrall. lovin' the thread....

Recently I purchased a glass of Telmo Rodregiuz Almuvedre Monastrell 2004 whilst at a wine bar along with some tapas (sardines with shaved fennel and something else that I cannot quite remember, along with frites served with a perfect garlicky mayonnaise). The tapas was good, but the Monastrell blew my mind. For me, it was the perfect 'middle of the afternoon/day not too hot/day not too cold' red wine. The next week I sourced some bottles of said wine on the net, as it's quite a difficult grape variety to find in Melbourne (we who prefer our often way too large Aussie reds) and purchased a case at A$20 a bottle (a bargain, the wine is simply fantastic for a softer red) A couple of nights later, when I had the opportunity to open a bottle, I made the mistake of drinking this with a wonderful paella which I had made. Maybe my paella was too spicey (I do tend to go overboard with the spices which I love) as it really did seem to overpower the red. The next night I finished the rest of the bottle with a more simple chicken dish, can't remember what was with the chicken. This was much more appropriate, and the soft features of the monastrell shone through a little better. I'm quite new to this grape variety and still have a case at home. Is there anyone out there who has a thing for monastrell who could perhaps point me in the right direction of what to eat with it. Any help appreciated.