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<\/a>Luckily, though, I was able to return for a slightly longer trip earlier this week and although I still only had a couple of free hours, I made good use of them and visited four speciality coffee spots. It helped that the weather was much nicer than in January \u2014 temperatures reached 25C on my final afternoon \u2014 and the \u2018pink city\u2019 with its pastel-hued buildings looked particularly pretty. Here are the places I found, all within the city centre:
La Fianc\u00e9e<\/a><\/b>
Serving coffee and brunch for over five years, La Fianc\u00e9e on Rue Peyroli\u00e8res seems to be Toulouse\u2019s original speciality coffee shop. At first glance, the caf\u00e9 seems tiny with only a couple of small tables in front of the coffee bar, but there\u2019s more space in the lofted mezzanine. The coffee comes from Paris-based Coutume<\/a>, one of my favourite coffee spots in the French capital<\/a>, and there were two single-origin varieties available as a V60 pourover. I went for a Burundi Maridadi, and after placing my order, I went up to the mezzanine. <\/p>\n
Le Caf\u00e9 Cerise<\/a><\/b> L\u2019Anartiste<\/a> <\/b>This coffee shop \u2014 whose name marries art and anarchy \u2014 was the closest to my hotel but it\u2019s closed on Mondays, so I wasn\u2019t able to visit until Tuesday morning. I\u2019m glad I got the chance to visit L\u2019Anartiste, though, because it\u2019s a lovely spot serving speciality coffee, food and natural wines, with an emphasis on local produce. <\/p>\n Florian\u2019s Coffee<\/b><\/a> Florian\u2019s Coffee is located on All\u00e9e Jules Guesde, Toulouse. Website<\/a>. Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n Other options <\/b> Bonus: shopping tips <\/b> In January, I went on a 24-hour business trip to Toulouse in the southwest of France. I had hoped to be able to visit at least one of the city\u2019s speciality coffee shops, but the scheduling was so tight that … Continue reading <\/a><\/a>
While I waited, I eyed up the brunch menu and regretted that I didn\u2019t have the chance to sample the brunch menu, which included various pancakes and egg-based dishes. The coffee itself was very well prepared and had lovely milk chocolate and citrus notes. On the way out, I chatted to the friendly baristas about speciality coffee in France, London and beyond, and couldn\u2019t resist buying a white chocolate and peanut cookie for later. <\/p>\n<\/a>
La Fianc\u00e9e is located at 54 Rue Peyroli\u00e8res, Toulouse. Facebook<\/a>. Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n
A few minutes\u2019 walk from La Fianc\u00e9e and just across from Pont-Neuf and the river Garonne on Quai de la Daurade, Le Caf\u00e9 Cerise was my next stop. Located in a historic red-brick building, the caf\u00e9 has a few tables out on the pavement, which I\u2019m sure are popular on sunny days. Inside, it is cosy and rustic, with wooden furniture and the roaster in the back. Again, there\u2019s a mezzanine with more seating, although there are also plenty of tables on the ground floor. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
They serve pourover filter coffee but I was short on time and so stuck to a cortado. There were two single-origin coffees in the hopper, both roasted on site \u2014 a Colombian Planadas and a Kiboko from Burundi. Sticking with my theme for the day, I went for the latter, which worked well with a little milk. The latte art was very good too. And if you\u2019re in the mood for food, they also have a salad of the day and a grilled cheese on the menu. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
Le Caf\u00e9 Cerise is located at 4 Quai de la Daurade, Toulouse. Website<\/a>. Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/a>
The cosy caf\u00e9 with its meticulously mismatched furniture and precarious stack of board games gives it the feel of being in someone\u2019s living room \u2014 and the welcome I received from the barista was just as warm. They take their brewing seriously, however, as the shelf of brewing kit (siphon, Kalita Wave, Aeropress, Chemex, and Kono, Torch and Clever drippers) and original Faema E61 espresso machine on the bar attest. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
The coffee is from Kaffa<\/a>, a roaster based in La Dr\u00f4me in southeast France (not to be confused with the Finnish Kaffa<\/a>), which I hadn\u2019t tried before. I had a filter coffee made with a Limu Kossa variety from Ethiopian, brewed through the Kalita Wave. As a \u2018chaser\u2019, I also ordered a cortado made with a Colombian Kaffa coffee. Both coffees were brewed beautifully and came in gorgeous ceramic cups that are also made locally. Ahead of a busy day of meetings, I really enjoyed a moment of calm and a lovely chat with the barista in the haven that is L\u2019Anartiste. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
L\u2019Anartiste is located at 13 Rue de Couteliers, Toulouse. Website<\/a>. Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d have time for a final coffee, but on leaving my meeting, I happened upon the Florian\u2019s Coffee cart just outside the Jardin des Plantes. I ordered a \u2018slow coffee\u2019 \u2014 on this occasion, an Ethiopian Gamoji (roasted by Florian\u2019s) brewed through the V60. They can also do Chemex and Aeropress brews if you prefer, and, of course, the usual espresso-based drinks. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
By then, the sunshine had come out and so I went to sip my drink in the busy Jardin des Plantes, and the world felt a whole lot better. <\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t able to check it out on this occasion, but I have heard very good things from multiple sources about a cafe called Finnca<\/a> on Rue de l\u2019Austerlitz. And I walked past a coffee shop\/roastery called Br\u00fblerie des Saveurs<\/a>, where they roast coffee on site \u2014 it looked nice, so one for my list for next time. <\/p>\n
Toulouse is a great city for shopping, and there are plenty of interesting boutiques and independent stores as well as the usual chains. I didn\u2019t have time to do any shopping, but these places all caught my eye: Paul Marius<\/a> (leather handbags); Bobine<\/a> (concept store); L’Interprete<\/a> (concept store); Ombres Blanches<\/a> (book store); Karl Marc John<\/a> (boutique); Somewhere<\/a> (boutique); Trait<\/a> (stationery); and Mati\u00e8re Grise<\/a> (homewares).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"