Cannes coffee: espresso cafes in the south of France

[Fullsack]

Most of the cafes here make their espresso with the local coffee, Arabo. Not a bad blend, but the reigning king of beans in this part of France is Filicori. Filicori is not a product of France, but of Italy, no surprise there.

Caffe Lalu, 32. rue Commandant Ardre, Cannes, is the place to go for an excellent Filicori shot in this neck of the woods.

Nice was a bit of a wasteland for good espresso. One shop looked promising, Ancient Indien in Old Nice. They roasted their own coffee, but the shot I had was disappointing. The too cute, thin walled cups should have been a tip off.

[georgew]

In my experience, and that of others, France is a wasteland in terms of coffee. It was possible to find good coffee there thirty -odd years ago when most families used Mocha pots but it took a nose-dive when filter machines took over. The espresso one finds there is usually Italian and tends to be over-roasted in my view and few establishments take care in its preparation.
I've always found it strange in a nation which takes justifiable pride in the quality of its food, to completely disregard the quality of its coffee. Living there, I watched as housewives would select each individual potato and take infinite pains over choosing cheese that was just perfect for eating that evening, but as for coffee...unimportant. So sad really.