Café Du Monde Mail Order: Taking New Orleans Home With You

If you've ever stood at the green-and-white striped counter at Café Du Monde, powdered sugar drifting onto your shirt while a café au lait cools beside a plate of beignets, you already know the problem. You go home, and you miss it immediately. The Café Du Monde Mail Order operation, located at the original flagship on 813 Decatur Street in the French Quarter, exists precisely for that reason. It lets you bring the product home rather than just the memory.

The shop has been selling its famous chicory coffee blend and beignet mix to visitors and mail-order customers for decades, and the packaging itself has become something of a New Orleans icon. The dark green cans and bags are recognizable to anyone who has spent time in Louisiana.

What the Shop Is Known For

The two products most people come for are the Café Du Monde coffee and chicory blend and the beignet mix. The coffee is a dark roast blended with roasted chicory root, which gives it a slightly bitter, almost chocolatey depth that sets it apart from standard drip coffee. It's designed to be brewed strong and served with hot milk, the way they do it at the café itself.

The beignet mix is straightforward and forgiving. You add water, fry the dough, and bury the results under powdered sugar. Most people find it produces results that are genuinely close to what you get at the counter, which is saying something.

Beyond those two staples, the shop often carries branded merchandise, including mugs, t-shirts, and tote bags. If you need a gift for someone who couldn't make the trip, the coffee tins in particular tend to travel well and hold up as a keepsake.

The Setting and How It Fits Into the Café Du Monde Experience

The mail order and retail shop sits within or immediately adjacent to the famous open-air café itself, right along Decatur Street facing Jackson Square. The location has been operating since 1862, which makes it one of the oldest continuously running coffee stands in the country. The shop takes advantage of the constant foot traffic that flows through the French Quarter, and most days there is no shortage of people picking up tins and bags on their way out.

The atmosphere is casual and a little chaotic in the best way. Tourists with powdered sugar on their clothes, street musicians drifting in from the square, the smell of fry oil and coffee in the air. It is not a quiet boutique experience. It is a New Orleans experience, which is the point.

Good to Know Before You Go

• The retail shop is typically accessible during the café's operating hours, though it's worth confirming current hours before you visit, as they can shift around holidays and events.
• Payment is generally accepted by card and cash, but the café has historically preferred cash for the food counter, so having some on hand is useful.
• The beignet mix and coffee tins are available at many grocery stores and airport shops around New Orleans, but buying directly from the source at 813 Decatur St means you're getting it fresh and often in better condition than the airport shelf version.
• If you're shipping the coffee home, the cans pack well and don't require refrigeration.
• Crowds peak on weekends and during major festivals. If you're only stopping in for the shop rather than the café, a weekday morning tends to move faster.
• Parking on Decatur Street is limited. Most visitors walk from the French Quarter or arrive via the nearby streetcar lines.

Neighborhood and Location Context

Café Du Monde sits on the downriver edge of Jackson Square, which is the geographic and historical center of the French Quarter. The Pontalba Buildings, the St. Louis Cathedral, and the Mississippi River levee are all within a few minutes' walk. If you're staying anywhere in the Quarter, you can reach it on foot without much trouble.

Decatur Street itself runs parallel to the river and connects the French Market to the rest of the Quarter. It tends to be lively most hours of the day, and the block around Café Du Monde is one of the more photographed spots in the city. The mail order shop benefits from all of that foot traffic, but it also means the area is rarely quiet.

Who This Is For

This is the stop for anyone who wants to extend the Café Du Monde experience past their time in New Orleans. If you're a coffee drinker who wants to replicate a café au lait at home, the chicory blend is the most direct way to do it. If you're hunting for a gift that feels specific to the city rather than generic, the branded tins have a long track record of landing well.

It's also worth a stop even if you're not buying to ship. Sometimes you just want a tin of coffee to take back to your hotel and brew in the morning before heading back out into the city.

FAQ

Can I order Café Du Monde products without visiting in person?

Yes. Café Du Monde has an online mail order operation that ships coffee and beignet mix directly to customers across the country. The physical shop at 813 Decatur St is the retail face of that same operation.

Is the beignet mix easy to use at home?

Most home cooks find it manageable. You'll need a deep pan or small pot for frying and enough oil to submerge the dough pieces. The instructions on the package are straightforward, and the results tend to be forgiving even for first-timers.

Is the chicory coffee available in decaf?

The shop typically stocks the standard chicory blend. Decaf availability can vary, so if that matters to you, it's worth checking before you make a special trip.

How far is the shop from the French Market?

The French Market runs along Decatur Street and begins almost immediately adjacent to Café Du Monde. It's essentially next door, and most visitors combine both stops on the same walk.