Voted Best Answer
Jun 13, 2011 - 10:44 AM
Just heard back from a Fluenz French team member and she said:
Regarding only ordering a café au lait "around people you know", I think the native Parisian said this because people in France usually drink café au lait (coffee with milk) at home for breakfast (i.e. with people you know). It suggests a coffee with more milk than in the café crème.
While at cafés, people rather order "café noir" : espresso, or "café crème": also an espresso with a little capsule of cream, or "café allongé": American coffee, with more water.
Hope that helps!
Regarding only ordering a café au lait "around people you know", I think the native Parisian said this because people in France usually drink café au lait (coffee with milk) at home for breakfast (i.e. with people you know). It suggests a coffee with more milk than in the café crème.
While at cafés, people rather order "café noir" : espresso, or "café crème": also an espresso with a little capsule of cream, or "café allongé": American coffee, with more water.
Hope that helps!