French Coffee Bowls: Adding Provence to Your Morning Routine

After my recent buying trip to France, I’ve been craving café crème and chocolat chaud like never before. Coffee culture is such a mainstay of French life; it’s easy to lose count of the espresso drinks you’ve consumed during the day. Even the tiniest town will have a café that makes incredible coffee, stuff that you’d only find at a high-quality place in the USA. Perhaps the tradition of an aperitif before dinner is to counteract all the caffeine of the day. On second thought, most people have another coffee after dinner as well… Never mind!

You don’t see French coffee bowls much in cafés or restaurants; mostly they’re used in the home. Every family member has a preferred bowl for their breakfast ritual, whether it’s filled with coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or even chocolate milk for the kids. They are the perfect pairing to a traditional tartine (toast with butter and/or jam) or my favorite, a croissant. The French love coffee bowls because you can easily dip your breakfast into your drink. If you’ve never tried this, I definitely recommend the experience.

Something else I love about French coffee bowls is that you have to use both hands to drink out of them, unlike a handled mug. On chilly mornings this is a perfect way to really experience a morning drink with all your senses. Because the bowls are so wide, it is difficult to see or do anything else while drinking. It’s a moment of Zen, encouraging you to slow down for complete enjoyment.

Of course, French coffee bowls are for more than just coffee. But there’s something elegant, yet comfortable, about being able to dip with ease into your beverage of choice, whether at breakfast or having afternoon tea with cookies and scones. French coffee bowls are also perfect for soup sipping, a bowl of yogurt with fresh fruit, ice cream sundaes, or even just cereal. As I transition back to life in San Francisco, I know that I’ll be using them to bring a bit of Provence to my kitchen and my day.