I recently had a lovely post-Grand Palais exhibition caffeine boost and sugar rush at the Kusmi Tea store on the Champs-Élysées and its Café Kusmichoff upstairs. Located on the first floor of Kusmi Tea's Champs-Élysées flagship store, with a beautiful view of the avenue, Cafe Kousmichoff offers a light menu of both French and Russian specialities and excellent pastries from La Patisserie des Reves. We shared the hot, crumbly Morello cherry and poppy seed cake with whipped cream and the incredibly rich organic chocolate fondant over pots of Kusmi Tea.
My favourite blend by the Franco-Russian tea brand with quite possibly the coolest branding and packaging ever has to be the famous Detox (maté, green tea and lemon grass) and BB Detox (green tea, maté, and grapefruit) closely followed by Anastasia (Earl Grey, lemon and orange blossom).
Its central location, minimalist decor complete with cool photography of Russia on the walls and friendly staff (bonjour Boris!) make it the perfect place for a drink or bite to eat in the middle of a busy Saturday in Paris - next time I'm in the area I'll swing by again for a quick glass of Champagne, warm mug of tea or shot of vodka (it is Russian) and delicious cake.
Café Kousmichoff, 71 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, 75008 PARIS
