Nescafe Parisien - Je l'adore! (Nescafe Parisien)

Member Name: Machair1

Product:	Nescafe Parisien
Date:	16/11/08 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious coffee perfect to serve with a french breakfast.

Disadvantages: Expensive and not one which is fair-trade.

What could be nicer after a long lie in on a lazy Sunday morning than two croissants, some Seville orange conserve, served warm with creamy English butter and a cup of Nescafe Parisien!

While walking round my local Somerfield I spotted this coffee the other day and was delighted to purchase it as I love France and have spent many happy hours sitting in French café's watching the world go by. Well actually I haven't recently because with the credit crunch I haven't crossed the channel for over a year so anything that reminds me of France has to be good!

I'm putting that right next week thanks to a competition I entered to win a weekend looking round vineyards in south west France- courtesy of Tesco so I'll be writing about that soon. In the meantime it's Sunday morning and I have a wonderful mug of Café Parisien in front of me.

The jar looks attractive and it tells me the beans which make the ground coffee are a blend of Arabica and Robusta.
I paid £3.18 for the 100g jar so it is at the premium end of the market.
The taste is delicious. It is a very smooth almost woody aroma and it complements a French breakfast really well. Next time I think I will buy some brioche to have with it as this is a delicious bread which is rich and goes well with preserves.

Nescafe themselves are a company dating back to the 1930s when the Brazilian government challenged the company Nestle to make an instant coffee by adding water to coffee powder. This took many years and it was finally born in 1938.
The production of coffee starts on a small evergreen tree that grows in South and Central America, Africa, and Asia. There are actually 60 species of coffee but Arabica and Robusta which make up Nescafe Parisien are the most common to be grown for the commercial market. Robusta has a strong flavour and is mainly grown in Vietnam, Brazil, and Indonesia, whereas Arabica beans have a more delicate flavour and are grown in Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Central America, Mexico, India and Eastern Africa.

The coffee beans are inside the cherries which grow on the small trees. These are picked, sorted and then roasted for 3 to 12 minutes before being ground.

Nescafe as a company are very aware that the growing of coffee in countries around the world is a difficult one. Prices often fall meaning that the producers are faced with being paid a very small amount for their crops. This is a disaster in terms of human living standards and is one of the most important issues in the agricultural world today. This particular blend of coffee does not claim to be sustainable so I will not be purchasing it to drink daily as I tend to choose brands which are produced in a fair- trade way. Nescafe have produced a coffee called Partner's Blend which I know for sure is their first fair-trade coffee and is helping workers in El Salvador and Ethiopia. If you would like to read more about this:

www.growmorethancoffee.co.uk


However that aspect aside I think Nescafe Parisien is a lovely coffee to serve on a Sunday. I think you can imagine yourself in a quiet café reading and watching the world go by with a pastry and a fresh orange.

For now I will settle for a cup at home but it's a great one. Did you know the French often serve a large square of dark chocolate with their coffee as it complements the flavours? I use this coffee in chocolate cakes as it really brings out the flavour of the chocolate. Just add about 2 desert spoons in with your normal cake mix and it will taste beautiful.

Nescafe Parisien - Je l'adore!

Summary: A lovely coffee especially for Sundays but I would buy fair-trade for everyday use.