Just back from Paris where I came across three of the stores, a new one across from the Opera (which is one of the few launching their line of specialty chocolates) and the rue de Bis flagship store (didn't bother with the one on the Champs d'Ellysée on my Sunday stroll past it) both of which I dropped in to check out and enjoy a couple of small cups and some biscuits. Rather interesting to watch the store traffic and the clientelle. Seems lots of chic Parisians know where to find a free cup of coffee!

The big news is the release on March 4th of 5 new coffee blends -- or is that March 5th of 4? -- though I have yet to drop by my local outlet to see if we in North America will also see these new offerings next month.

I did notice a capsule is 10% cheaper than we pay in Canada, and that includes VAT (we pay no tax on ours). Curiously, the FOB that I use at the shop over here did not register over there, so I guess the North American data base is not integrated in the French/European one.