France's first letter café fills Paris with words of love

If love letters were once an almost obligatory custom and the only option for love-struck individuals wanting to express their feelings to their partner, lacking the ability to do so via WhatsApp or Instagram stories, this ritual had fallen out of favor with younger generations in recent years. However, at a time when a love GIF can be sent in five seconds and couples have virtually every tool imaginable to express their love, it seems that good old-fashioned letters are making a comeback. Letters to others, to one's partner and family, but also to oneself. To make the concept a bit more poetic and mysterious, some cafés in South Korea have introduced the idea of a " letter café," a place where you can not only write your letter in a pleasant and cozy environment, sipping a hot drink in one hand and enjoying a pastry in the other, but also leave your letter for the manager to send in 1, 5, or even 20 years. True to its reputation as a cool capital, always in tune with or ahead of the times (in this case, literally), Paris has recently welcomed its very first letter café in France.

Nestled in a small street in the 11th arrondissement, the Café Pli, France's very first letter café, features a wall of mailboxes, each classified by delivery date. At Café Pli, a creative atmosphere reigns, with colorful stationery, stickers, and decorative elements that allow those engaging in the exercise to make their letter as personal as possible. Some choose to write to themselves, sending words of encouragement or pausing for a letter to reflect on their life, in a tête-à-tête conversation with a future self they don’t yet know but that already feels strangely familiar. Others use it as a channel for some kind of declaration to someone they hope will still be in their life in the years to come. In any case, this activity is an ode to love and an invitation to share it. It’s even possible to write to a stranger, sharing a little piece of your own story. Once your sweet message is sealed with wax melted from a candle, all that’s left is to decide how long your letter will be stored before sending, and place it in the corresponding compartment for future delivery. The café offers different pricing packages based on consumption and letter storage time.

In addition to offering a fun activity for a rainy day, the café mainly provides an opportunity to pause, enjoy the present moment, and engage in a bit of healthy self-reflection. Employees often ask visitors to answer questions in writing, anonymously, such as “who do you most want to thank and why?”, “what mistakes have taught you the most?”, or “what’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?”. In an era where everything is digitized, memories can disappear with a single click, and it’s often difficult to take a break and make space for our thoughts, the café promotes not only the spread of love but also the practice of journaling and " shadow work," which has been popular on platforms like Pinterest for some time but remains relatively unknown to the general public. Could Café Pli signal the arrival in France of healthy, simple, yet effective concepts that boost mental well-being and make mental health more accessible? For now, this little café is already adding a splash of color and love to the streets of Paris, and for that alone, it’s being warmly embraced.