Best Coffee in the city??

[Alilou]

I know its common to accuse Americans of drinking awful coffee but as someone from the Pacific Northwest accustomed to drinking excellent coffee (and I'm not talking Starbucks)... I really really really miss good coffee... I managed to survive a year with Gato Negro before I went home and was reminded what real coffee tasted like and then I moved on to the espresso mix from La Bolsa de Cafe in Caballito. Its alright. Its really not bad but... I'm sure Buenos Aires has something more to offer. So my question is....

In your opinion, where is the best place in the city to buy coffee?

 

[nikad]

http://www.estcafe.com.ar/ get your fix

 

[Alilou]

Nikad.. that looks amazing.. I think I'm going today... right now... immediately...

 

[nikad]

Heheh it does look good ans smells even better, it is a temptation as I live just 3 blocks from one of their stores, hope it helps you with that bad habit of drinking great coffee

 

[arty]

ask someone who is going to brazil to bring you back some! I think its more common to accuse Argentinians of drinking crap coffee. Everything at the markets tastes burned. At least ppl in the USA are coffee snobs to some degree and Kona coffee is from Hawaii.

 

[ssr]

ask someone who is going to brazil to bring you back some! I think its more common to accuse Argentinians of drinking crap coffee. Everything at the markets tastes burned. At least ppl in the USA are coffee snobs to some degree and Kona coffee is from Hawaii.

Yeah, honestly, Americans can be accused of preferring watered-down coffee but even the stuff we water down tends to be pretty good. Most coffee in Argentina, on the other hand, is downright terrible. It just has to be a supply issue. All of the best coffee from Brazil, Colombia and wherever else must go straight to first-world markets. While it's possible to get your hands on some good coffee in Argentina, it's FAR more expensive than the crappy stuff most commonly served in cafes and sold in supermarkets.

This, by the way, is surprising:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_coffee_consumption_per_capita

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.

 

[Napoleon]

Nikad.. that looks amazing.. I think I'm going today... right now... immediately...

Heheh it does look good and smells even better, it is a temptation as I live just 3 blocks from one of their stores, hope it helps you with that bad habit of drinking great coffee

Alilou- I hope you weren't too disappointed. I was really excited the first time I discovered one of these locations. And I was even more excited when it turned out that they sold a Costa Rican Terrazu similar to the "La Cascada" from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf that I used to buy in LA. And then I tasted the stuff... and it was pure crap.

The coffee here just blows. Even when it is roasted by "coffee lovers". They are just clueless. And that's why I always bring back coffee from the States. Even unrefrigerated/unfrozen coffee that I bought 4 months ago is better than the fresh gourmet (pronounce the "T") coffee that you can get here. It's a travesty.

 

[basovink]

See also http://www.argentinepost.com/2010/07/expert-says-argentine-coffee-needs-to-up-its-game.html

 

[Merseaboy]

Hi Alilou,

Great post and very close to my heart!

Argentine coffee is normally "torrado" or roasted with sugar which gives it a very distinctive caramelised flavour - you can get a taste for it and it helps cover up the poor quality coffee beans in the blend!

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Café_torrado

My Argentine wife would kill me if she caught me buying "tostado sin azucar" coffee as it is outrageously expensive and not that great anyway. I recall Cabrales do one that's vaguely accessible and vaguely drinkable but it's hard to find...

To be honest when in Bs As I prefer to drink my coffee in a favorite cafe, enjoying the little cake and glass of soda water that comes with it and endulging in a spot of people watching. For me it's what makes the place so special.

When we come back to the UK the first thing I do is make myself a decent macchiato and savour it - absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. Conversely it's hard to find empanadas in the UK but thankfully they are usually the first thing we are fed when we return!

I guess you just cant have the best of both worlds...

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

 

[Ingrid]

What a coincidence with this thread! This past Saturday, I saw this article on Clarin, it's an interview of an Argentine coffee expert saying how Argentines don't know how to drink coffee and giving her advice... here is the article: http://www.clarin.com/sociedad/argentino-sabe-tomar-hace-costumbre_0_295770596.html

Unfortunately, she didn't want to give out her favorite places due to not wanting to promote them. Oh well...