Q: How do you decide whether a café makes it onto the site?

Two criteria. First, the café must serve genuine specialty coffee — beans graded 80 points or above on the SCA scale by a certified taster. Second, the coffee should be made on a professional espresso machine rather than a fully automatic, push-button one. We favour shops where a barista controls the extraction, since that is where specialty beans actually shine. Cafés that meet both bars are listed and then scored; those that do not are left out, regardless of how popular they are.

Q: What is the difference between specialty coffee and regular coffee?

Regular café coffee typically uses commodity-grade robusta or low-scoring arabica blends, roasted dark to mask defects. Specialty coffee starts with beans scoring 80+ points, sourced directly from specific farms or cooperatives, roasted to highlight the bean's natural flavour, and brewed with precise temperature, ratio, and timing. The result is a cup with distinct origin character — fruit, florals, or chocolate notes — rather than a generic bitter espresso.

Q: Is specialtycoffee.paris free to use?

Yes. This is an independent, non-commercial directory maintained by coffee enthusiasts. Listings are not paid placements — every shop is scored on the same criteria. If your shop is missing, contact us at hello@specialtycoffee.paris.

Q: How often is the directory updated?

Shop data — including Google ratings and review counts used in scoring — is refreshed regularly. New shops are added as they open or are submitted by the community. Scores are recalculated automatically whenever underlying data changes. If you spot an error or a missing shop, email hello@specialtycoffee.paris.

Q: Who is behind specialtycoffee.paris?

Specialty Coffee Paris is built by two Paris locals — Sarah Bakhtari, a barista, and Maxime Dehaye, an engineering manager. It started as a carefully curated Google Maps list of the cafés they actually loved. Learn more on the About Us page.

Question 1

What is specialty coffee?

Accepted Answer

Specialty coffee refers to coffee graded 80 points or above by a certified taster (Q Grader). It emphasises traceable single-origin beans, careful roasting, and precise brewing. Shops in this directory focus on quality over volume — you will find V60, AeroPress, and espresso prepared with attention to every variable.

Question 2

How are shops scored?

Accepted Answer

Each shop receives a score out of 100 built from three components. Google reputation accounts for 75%: the raw Google rating is Bayesian-adjusted against the Paris-wide average, so shops with very few reviews are pulled toward the mean rather than inflated. Breadth of offering accounts for 15%: points are awarded for manual or cold brew options, plant-based milk, dine-in seating, outdoor seating, and food. Longevity accounts for the remaining 10%: a logarithmic curve rewards the first few years of operation (when survival is uncertain) more than marginal additional age, capped at 5 years. Scores map to 9 letter tiers from S+ (≥ 96) down to D (< 50).

Question 3

How do you decide whether a café makes it onto the site?

Accepted Answer

Two criteria. First, the café must serve genuine specialty coffee — beans graded 80 points or above on the SCA scale by a certified taster. Second, the coffee should be made on a professional espresso machine rather than a fully automatic, push-button one. We favour shops where a barista controls the extraction, since that is where specialty beans actually shine. Cafés that meet both bars are listed and then scored; those that do not are left out, regardless of how popular they are.

Question 4

What is the difference between specialty coffee and regular coffee?

Accepted Answer

Regular café coffee typically uses commodity-grade robusta or low-scoring arabica blends, roasted dark to mask defects. Specialty coffee starts with beans scoring 80+ points, sourced directly from specific farms or cooperatives, roasted to highlight the bean's natural flavour, and brewed with precise temperature, ratio, and timing. The result is a cup with distinct origin character — fruit, florals, or chocolate notes — rather than a generic bitter espresso.

Question 5

Is specialtycoffee.paris free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes. This is an independent, non-commercial directory maintained by coffee enthusiasts. Listings are not paid placements — every shop is scored on the same criteria. If your shop is missing, contact us at hello@specialtycoffee.paris.

Question 6

How often is the directory updated?

Accepted Answer

Shop data — including Google ratings and review counts used in scoring — is refreshed regularly. New shops are added as they open or are submitted by the community. Scores are recalculated automatically whenever underlying data changes. If you spot an error or a missing shop, email hello@specialtycoffee.paris.

Question 7

Who is behind specialtycoffee.paris?

Accepted Answer

Specialty Coffee Paris is built by two Paris locals — Sarah Bakhtari, a barista, and Maxime Dehaye, an engineering manager. It started as a carefully curated Google Maps list of the cafés they actually loved. Learn more on the About Us page.

The best specialty coffee shops in Paris.

The most complete specialty coffee database in Paris.

❄️ Coffee shops with AC

Le Maung

Nilo

Kozy - Avenue Bosquet

Liv

Keen Jé

Stella Café

All 650 shops on the map

Newcomers

nume.

Clode - Rue de Lyon

Salted Boy

Corner Coffee

Josette

Café Détours

Browse by arrondissement

Featured roasters

Fève

Lomi

Coutume

Tanat

Belleville Brûlerie

Noir

Take the guide with you.

Frequently asked questions

What is specialty coffee?

How are shops scored?

How do you decide whether a café makes it onto the site?

What is the difference between specialty coffee and regular coffee?

Is specialtycoffee.paris free to use?

How often is the directory updated?

Who is behind specialtycoffee.paris?

The best specialty coffee shops in Paris.

The most complete specialty coffee database in Paris.

❄️ Coffee shops with AC

Le Maung

Nilo

Kozy - Avenue Bosquet

Liv

Keen Jé

Stella Café

All 650 shops on the map

Newcomers

nume.

Clode - Rue de Lyon

Salted Boy

Corner Coffee

Josette

Café Détours

Browse by arrondissement

Featured roasters

Fève

Lomi

Coutume

Tanat

Belleville Brûlerie

Noir

Take the guide with you.

Frequently asked questions

What is specialty coffee?

How are shops scored?

How do you decide whether a café makes it onto the site?

What is the difference between specialty coffee and regular coffee?

Is specialtycoffee.paris free to use?

How often is the directory updated?

Who is behind specialtycoffee.paris?