flipParisian Morning Café au Lait
Parisian Morning Café au Lait
Why this dish? His profile states: Tocqueville followed the urban Parisian rhythm, light breakfast and substantial dinner, and he regularly drank coffee. Café au lait, the morning ritual of the 19th-century bourgeoisie, opened his days of reading, writing, and sessions at the Assembly.
Freshly brewed coffee, lengthened with hot milk and sweetened, served in a large bowl or cup with buttered bread. The simple and essential awakening of the literate Parisian.
This is my entire morning breakfast, and I could not begin the day without it. One brews the coffee very black, marries it in equal parts with milk heated without scalding, and sweetens according to mood. I dip a crust of buttered bread into it while perusing the gazettes, before taking up the pen or heading to the Assembly. You see, a mind works well only on a sober stomach, and this beverage sustains my thought better than any feast.
- •Freshly roasted ground coffee — a good measure (bitter base)
- •Whole milk — as much as coffee (sweetness)
- •Loaf sugar (broken with sugar nippers) — one or two pieces (roundness)
- •Fresh bread and butter — a few slices (accompaniment)
Parisian Morning Café au Lait
Freshly brewed coffee, lengthened with hot milk and sweetened, served in a large bowl or cup with buttered bread. The simple and essential awakening of the literate Parisian.
Why this dish? His profile states: Tocqueville followed the urban Parisian rhythm, light breakfast and substantial dinner, and he regularly drank coffee. Café au lait, the morning ritual of the 19th-century bourgeoisie, opened his days of reading, writing, and sessions at the Assembly.
This is my entire morning breakfast, and I could not begin the day without it. One brews the coffee very black, marries it in equal parts with milk heated without scalding, and sweetens according to mood. I dip a crust of buttered bread into it while perusing the gazettes, before taking up the pen or heading to the Assembly. You see, a mind works well only on a sober stomach, and this beverage sustains my thought better than any feast.
Ingredients (period version)
- Freshly roasted ground coffee — a good measure (bitter base)
- Whole milk — as much as coffee (sweetness)
- Loaf sugar (broken with sugar nippers) — one or two pieces (roundness)
- Fresh bread and butter — a few slices (accompaniment)
Ingredients
- Strong coffee (filter or French press) — 150 ml (bitter base)
- Whole milk — 150 ml (sweetness)
- Sugar — 1 to 2 lumps (roundness)
- Bread (baguette or toast) and sweet butter — 2 slices (accompaniment)
Method
- Brew a strong coffee.
- Heat the milk without boiling, until it shimmers.
- Pour coffee and milk in equal parts into a large bowl or cup.
- Sweeten to taste and stir.
- Serve with buttered bread slices, to dip if desired.
How it was made : In the 19th century, coffee was often roasted at home and brewed in a coffee pot. Sugar, sold in conical loaves, was broken with sugar nippers. The morning café au lait with buttered bread was a shared ritual of the Parisian bourgeoisie.
The contemporary twist : Served in a large old-fashioned bowl with a slice of half-salted butter bread and Norman apple jam, for a 'literary breakfast'.
Alexis de Tocqueville · Charactorium
