When it comes to culinary experiences, France has always held a top spot in the world. Most modern restaurants wouldn’t even exist if their chefs hadn’t been classically trained, not to mention its wine, cheese, meats and so much more. But when it comes to coffee, France is a bit of a letdown, overall. Much of this can be attributed to the French being rather traditional and new trends only taking a foothold after quite a long time. But thankfully, there are expats who are giving our lovely Frenchies a kick up their old butts to get them going.

One specialty coffee business that was the result of two expats meeting in an online coffee forum while living in Lille and discovering their mutual love for the stuff is Coffee Makers. At a time when Lille was a dark spot on the global coffee map, it took two new friends to set up the city’s first specialty coffee bar and later its first roastery.

Since those early days, Coffee Makers has come a long way. After starting their roasting operation on a 1kg Giesen roaster, they recently moved on to a 6kg roaster and are now roasting bigger batches of more coffees, including the second harvest of their direct trade project with Deneval Vieira in Caparaó, Brazil.

As is a given here at The Coffeevine, we offer everyone an equal opportunity to be part of our coffee boxes and we were excited to invite these newcomers to send us some of their coffees for our latest blind-cupping session. Indeed, they did not disappoint and we’re glad to share their exquisite Colombia, Paraíso with our customers later this month.

Expect a well-rounded and full-bodied coffee with notes of cacao, vanilla and tropical fruits.

For more information, please visit our coffee box page and preorder your box by 15-03 to avoid missing out.