Real lattes, cappuccinos, etc.

[zork]

Wonderful anecdotal experiences. But as I've pointed out, anecdotes aren't the same as facts.

When you order a cup of coffee here in Buenos Aires, do you ever look down at the cup to see how much is in it? You pay 20 pesos for a coffee in the U.S. (Starbucks), you're going to get the grande/venti, which is about 20 ounces of coffee. You order a 20 peso coffee at Martinez, and you're lucky if it's a quarter of that.

Yes, people here drink coffee. No one is disputing that. However, the facts show that they don't drink a lot, and when they do drink it, it's usually mixed with so much milk and sugar that you probably wouldn't even realize it's a coffee.

There are many o'things that I love about Argentina. Give me empanadas or a bottle of wine any day... but coffee? No, thanks.

Man you are stubborn, you just completely ignored what I specifically pointed out for you, the fact that coffee is big in the very few big cities like ba, cordoba or rosario and not popular in the rest of the country where over half the total population don't drink it as much, lowering the national average, it's not hard to get it, and don't tell me wikipedia statistics can be taken as facts in this scenario, talking about coffee culture in a city, the facts you mentioned are merely national average statistics that don't apply to what we were discussing.

 

[sesamosinsal]

Man you are stubborn, you just completely ignored what I specifically pointed out for you, the fact that coffee is big in the very few big cities like ba, cordoba or rosario and not popular in the rest of the country where over half the total population don't drink it as much, lowering the national average, it's not hard to get it, and don't tell me wikipedia statistics can be taken as facts in this scenario, talking about coffee culture in a city, the facts you mentioned are merely national average statistics that don't apply to what we were discussing.

We were talking about Argentina. The original statement that was made was, "Argentines do not drink a lot of coffee in general," which you disagreed with. As far as Buenos Aires being the coffee capital of Argentina, a so-called International Coffee Judge from Argentina disagrees:

Analía Álvarez, the first International Coffee Judge from Argentina and the director of the Center for Coffee Studies in Buenos Aires, analyzes the coffee phenomenon.

"How much coffee do we drink in Argentina?"

"Well, it's low. Even though many think that Buenos Aires is like the coffee 'Mecca', it isn't. There is a lot of bar culture, but not many people drink coffee. We say, 'Let's go drink a coffee,' but when we sit down, we order something different, or we don't pay attention to what we drink."

 

[starlucia]

The best cappuccino I've had in BA was at Arkakao in Recoleta (made with Nespresso coffee and lots of foam.) At least, it was great the last time I was there, way back in June... can't vouch for current quality.

 

[zork]

We were talking about Argentina. The original statement that was made was, "Argentines do not drink a lot of coffee in general," which you disagreed with. As far as Buenos Aires being the coffee capital of Argentina, a so-called International Coffee Judge from Argentina disagrees:

Analía Álvarez, the first International Coffee Judge from Argentina and the director of the Center for Coffee Studies in Buenos Aires, analyzes the coffee phenomenon.

"How much coffee do we drink in Argentina?"

"Well, it's low. Even though many think that Buenos Aires is like the coffee 'Mecca', it isn't. There is a lot of bar culture, but not many people drink coffee. We say, 'Let's go drink a coffee,' but when we sit down, we order something different, or we don't pay attention to what we drink."

All I said was 'I agree to disagree' based on what I have seen, and I said I assumed we were talking about BA and not the whole country because we are in the BAexpats forum.

Now I disagree with that judge too, I'm telling you once again, if you see coffee shops everywhere and they sell coffee at kioskos (which seems odd to me), at small bakeries, etc, it's because people buy it, I haven't seen that kind of thing in other countries in this region, if you still need to deny it so much with whatever link you find out there, that's fine then, I'll say 'you are right, coffee is not embedded in BA culture, they just like to advertise they sell it everywhere' and may be that will be alright with you.

 

[banut]

Café Martínez Av Corrientes 450 (San Nicolás), Talcahuano 148 (Recoleta), Bulnes 1790 and Charcas (Palermo), Libertador 3598 (Palermo) and many others www.cafemartinez.com.ar There are several branches of this decades-old, upmarket café chain all over the city, including in some of the shopping centres. They tend to be faux-traditional, but the quality is good and their speciality drinks enticing. Try the "Cappuccino Martínez", a rich mix of chocolate, honey, steamed milk, cream, cinnamon – and a little coffee.

 

[PhilipDT]

I also don't love the Starbucks atmosphere, and the too-hot, not great quality espresso drinks. I would love an artisanal version of what they do.

Really, I've always thought that their latte drinks were a little on the cold side but maybe thats just me.


As for the atmosphere, I love it. Imagine a muggy overcast 28*C December day, it is so hot that you don't want to leave your house but for some reason you have to. You walk out into the sauna and suffer for blocks and blocks, when finally, walking down the street, you see it; a Starbucks. Walking through the door transports you into another world where you can relax into a massive overstuffed lounge chair while being caressed by the ice cold air conditioned air and where a steaming hot holiday mug filled with their delectable spicy Christmas blend is just the perfect company for the classic American Christmas carols and decorations. It's lovely.

 

[sesamosinsal]

You walk out into the sauna and suffer for blocks and blocks, when finally, walking down the street, you see it; a Starbucks. Walking through the door transports you into another world where you can relax into a massive overstuffed lounge chair while being caressed by the ice cold air conditioned air and where a steaming hot holiday mug filled with their delectable spicy Christmas blend is just the perfect company for the classic American Christmas carols and decorations. It's lovely.

Yes, if you get there early in the morning, it's great. The Puerto Madero location (by the dique) early in the morning or late in the evening is not bad.

 

[mini]

They only drink one kilo also because they make their coffees really really weak!

 

[PhilipDT]

Yes, if you get there early in the morning, it's great. The Puerto Madero location (by the dique) early in the morning or late in the evening is not bad.

The yacht club one or the UCA one?

My favorites for peace and no 13 year old girls are parque rivadavia one, f the plaza dorrego one, the faena one and the plaza san martin one

 

[sesamosinsal]

The yacht club one or the UCA one?

My favorites for peace and no 13 year old girls are parque rivadavia one, f the plaza dorrego one, the faena one and the plaza san martin one

The Yacht one. Everyone knows about it now, so more people come to it. But it used to be so pleasant, just as you described. I'd walk along those diques in zero shade, step into Starbucks, and think that I had fallen into a refrigerator or something.

I recently moved to Belgrano (I'll probably end up in the province with Steve in a few years! hahaha), and there's a Starbucks just four blocks away at Elcano 3179. Have you been to that one? I'm going to have to give it a try.

If the environment isn't too crowded and noisy, Starbucks is perfect. You get what you expect, and that's a lot to say for a place here.