This morning, I went to a coffee shop called Pourquoi Pas Espresso Bar. It's a small shop on Amherst street between Beaudry and Berri Uqam metro. The walls are made of wood and there is a cosy chalet ambiance. Unlike coffee shop chains like Starbucks or Second Cup, there isn't a high counter separating the worker and the client. In fact, the wooden counter reaches my hip.
"BonJour. Biernvenue." The mid-twenty coffee man greeted me. French was definitely not his preferred language. He was tall, average looking, not hip nor gay like most coffee shop men.
"Bonjour. Je voudrais un latte s'il-vous-plaît." I spoke French, just in case I was wrong about the accent. The name of this shop is French after all. Or maybe this was just the first English wannabe-French coffee shop.
"Okay. Pour emporrter ou pourr ici?" Okay. He definitely speaks English better than French.
"To go please."
He was perplexed. His look told me: Oh! She can speak English! Just to make sure, he asked, "Do you prefer English or French?"
"N'importe lequel. You prefer English right?"
A look of relief spread across his face. "Oh yeah. English please." He finished making my latte, designing a heart shaped leaf with the milk on top. "So today's coffee is from Costa Rica. It's really rich and has a hint of cocoa and a hint of ...." I didn't catch the rest. I'm not a real coffee fan. Coffee tastes all the same to me. Sorry I wasted your breath.
"Okay." I nodded. "Thanks!"
"Sweet!" Half enthused, half generic.
I smiled and left the shop. I tasted my latte as I walked out. Mmmm. Thick, creamy milk with a taste of coffee. But no sugar. Bleh. So bitter. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a real coffee fan. Too late to turn back now. But for real, what is with French coffee shops and not adding sugar into their specialty coffees?
It's ok. Next time, I'll ask them to add sugar. I will be back!
No comments:
Post a Comment