You’d be forgiven for thinking coffee and peanut butter were strange bedfellows. But ask Julien Gaucherot and Matt Samra, the founders of speciality nut butter coffee shop Buddy Buddy, and they’ll tell you it’s a perfect match. “When done right, adding nut butter to coffee creates a velvety-smooth texture that softens coffee bitterness, while the healthy fats and protein give a sustained, balanced energy boost,” explains Samra.
Buddy Buddy coffee shop on rue de Marseille
The idea for a nut butter coffee shop came about after the couple accidentally over-ordered a mix of almonds and hazelnuts to Gaucherot’s brunch café in Brussels. Samra decided to make nut butter with the excess, and mix it with coffee. It was a hit. After one year of refining the concept, Buddy Buddy was born. They opened in Gaucherot’s hometown of Brussels in 2020 and expanded to Paris in 2023. “We wanted to place our baby unapologetically in a world city,” says Samra, who was born in New Zealand. “Opening in Paris was a manifestation of our belief in Buddy Buddy’s strengths.”
A peanut butter cruffin and Le Buddy coffee, served at Buddy Buddy on rue de Marseille in Paris
Nut butters on the shelves inside the coffee shop
