Best Coffee in the city??

[mini]

An interesting articlefor coffee lovers from the Argentine contestant at the world barista championships a few years back:
http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/cafestage/09-21-2007

Interesting article. One that that he says is really what I find to be a huge problem. Most places don't actually use enough coffee grinds! The worst is weak bad coffee. So if you find an OK blend & make it at home it's generally better, like Cabrales without sugar you mentioned.

 

[mini]

I would have expected the US to be in, at least, the top 10. But 26? We drink an awful lot of coffee and it's only 1/3 of what the Finnish drink?! That's ridiculous. Those Scandinavians must be hooked up to IVs or something.

I'm just finishing reading "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" which has been really fun to read. It's written by a Swedish author & I'm telling you every other page has someone drinking coffee or making coffee.... They are forever putting on another pot of coffee! LOL. Now I know why.

 

[MizzMarr]

Hi there. Ok, I'm another refugee from the Pacific NW, and haven't found anything here that's remotely on par with some of the *really* good roasts that you can get up there. That said, I have been buying my coffee almost exclusively from an Arabic deli/confiteria called Damasco (Scalabrini Ortiz/Cabrera) and it's not half bad! Pretty good actually. Definitely better than anything else I've tried, including anything from Bonafide, Havaina, etc. Est General de Cafe is pretty good but it is hit or miss. One roast can be pretty decent, then the next time it tastes burned. Anyway, I think for the money I'll stick with Damasco... then again, I'm cheap(ish). The stuff at Damasco has gone up (what hasn't?) and last I bought runs around $20 for a 1/4k. I buy 1k at a time. If you make your coffee in a drip machine at home, ask for a grueso grind (specifically 3.5).

Cheers, and happy coffee drinking!

 

[Diskosis]

Loving this thread. I just got an espresso machine, and after a few misses, am now getting my coffee from Est. General de Cafe. The Clarin article was very interesting. I've got a feeling it's one of those things you can't argue with Argentinians about, though (like food, wine etc). I think the response would be "We have the best cafe. Full stop."

 

[Gaucho Sam]

As far as Finland's concerned, it's certainly true they drink a phenomenal amount of the stuff. If it's not caffeine, it's alcohol. They've got to get through those long winters somehow.

I'm not a coffee expert by any means but was spoiled for the couple of years before leaving the UK by finally discovering a barista-owned cafe in Bristol which was on my route to work. So much so that when I came down here they gave me a paper mug to take a photo of, which you can see here.

Anyway, has anyone else tried the bags available in The Coffee Store? Thoughts? I got a bag of their Brazilian beans but haven't had much cause to try it out yet - and the coffee machine in the house I'm sharing is absolutely bloody laughable, so suspect I won't get the full benefit anyway. I just couldn't cope with Cabrales, though.

 

[polostar88]

Est. General de Cafe is in my opinion by far the best coffee chain in Buenos Aires. I had the India doble today it was great.

 

[mini]

As far as Finland's concerned, it's certainly true they drink a phenomenal amount of the stuff. If it's not caffeine, it's alcohol. They've got to get through those long winters somehow.

I'm not a coffee expert by any means but was spoiled for the couple of years before leaving the UK by finally discovering a barista-owned cafe in Bristol which was on my route to work. So much so that when I came down here they gave me a paper mug to take a photo of, which you can see here.

Anyway, has anyone else tried the bags available in The Coffee Store? Thoughts? I got a bag of their Brazilian beans but haven't had much cause to try it out yet - and the coffee machine in the house I'm sharing is absolutely bloody laughable, so suspect I won't get the full benefit anyway. I just couldn't cope with Cabrales, though.

Cute picture!

Having a bad coffee machine can be a problem. But you can make good coffee even with a coffee press. Get yourself one of those & try your beans.

 

[Alilou]

French presses I think make the best tasting coffee... and are readily available here and pretty cheap. But I'm a total addict and have an espresso machine... I actually use 4x the amount that my Argentine espresso machine recommends for one cup of coffee. And sadly... I never made it to the Est de cafe... I ended up buying a ticket to the US for August and I'll be stocking up on huge HUGE amounts of coffee while there. I'll continue my never ending search for excellent cafe in Buenos Aires when I run out!

 

[emilyr]

I used to work as a coffee barrista before coming here. And I was determined to keep coffee as one of my few luxuries when I arrived here, and for quite a while I made the mistake of only buying the most expensive Cabrales in the store shelf thinking they would be the best. But I was sorely dissappointed in the flavor in my cup for the bucks I was shelling out.

I shied away from them at first because I HATE SUGAR in my coffee, so I thought they must be some sort of sweetened Nescafe-ish version. Ick, I thought! But then, I finally tried the torrado con azucar and for a little over 6 pesos for 250 grams or 15 pesos for a kilo, and it is so much better than those tasteless "gourmet" beans alone, and not at all sweet! I want to say I agree 100 percent with Merseaboy in terms of the torrado con azucar, that I think that it must cover up the poor flavor of the bean.

I want to put in a plug for my two favorite brands: Sensaciones, the "dark roast" called torrado intenso and Cabrales cheaper Al Grano de Cafe, which is probably my favorite of all the coffees I have tried here. It still does not compare to the high end imports I was accustomed to drinking for free at my old part time job, but I certainly RELISH my strong cup every morning!

 

[mini]

The tostado con azucar thing really does confuse people. It does not make the coffee sweet at all. The sugar is basically burnt & makes the coffee bitter. The coffee is toasted at around 200c and sugar burns at 180c.