flipBlack coffee and its square of chocolate
Black coffee and its square of chocolate
Why this dish? Coffee was a central and regular element of Beauvoir's social and working life, drunk in Parisian cafés from morning to night; it is the drink that literally defines her place of thought, the Café de Flore.
A strong black coffee, served piping hot in a small thick cup, accompanied by a square of chocolate — the fuel for writing and conversation.
They found me at the Flore from opening time, even before the stoves warmed the room: I would take my table, my coffee, and work. Black coffee was not a pleasure, it was a discipline — it kept the mind alert when the hand grew tired. Very strong, almost bitter, with a square of chocolate to soften the attack. I believe I never wrote a serious page without a cup cooling beside the inkwell.
- •Ground coffee (French roast) — for a small strong cup (base)
- •Simmering water — just enough (extraction)
- •Square of dark chocolate — 1 (accompaniment)
- •Sugar — optional (sweeten)
Black coffee and its square of chocolate
A strong black coffee, served piping hot in a small thick cup, accompanied by a square of chocolate — the fuel for writing and conversation.
Why this dish? Coffee was a central and regular element of Beauvoir's social and working life, drunk in Parisian cafés from morning to night; it is the drink that literally defines her place of thought, the Café de Flore.
They found me at the Flore from opening time, even before the stoves warmed the room: I would take my table, my coffee, and work. Black coffee was not a pleasure, it was a discipline — it kept the mind alert when the hand grew tired. Very strong, almost bitter, with a square of chocolate to soften the attack. I believe I never wrote a serious page without a cup cooling beside the inkwell.
Ingredients (period version)
- Ground coffee (French roast) — for a small strong cup (base)
- Simmering water — just enough (extraction)
- Square of dark chocolate — 1 (accompaniment)
- Sugar — optional (sweeten)
Ingredients
- Dark roast coffee beans — 18 g ground (base)
- Water at 92-94 °C — 30-40 ml (espresso) or 120 ml (strong filter) (extraction)
- 70% dark chocolate square — 1 (accompaniment)
- Sugar cube — 1, optional (sweeten)
Method
- Grind the coffee finely just before using.
- Extract a strong espresso, or prepare a short, strong filter coffee.
- Serve immediately in a preheated small thick cup.
- Place the chocolate square on the saucer and a glass of water alongside, in the Parisian café style.
How it was made : In the 20th century, coffee at the counter or table was the quintessential French social institution. During the Occupation and shortages, real coffee became rare and precious; regulars of the literary cafés of Saint-Germain-des-Prés made it a daily ceremony.
The contemporary twist : Serve it with a mini kraft-paper notebook slipped under the saucer — a nod to the philosophical notebook always open beside the cup.
Simone de Beauvoir · Charactorium