Expert says Argentine Coffee Needs to Up Its Game
By Drew Benson
You’re sitting there in a Café Notable, a 100-plus year old building with high ceilings, big windows, elaborate woodwork and a black-and-white checkerboard floor.
One of the white-haired waiters in a white tunic and bowtie spins by your table and lays down a cup of coffee, a small glass of seltzer, a small glass of orange juice and a small plate with some sort of cookies on it.
You only ordered a café cortado, but you get the works, and that’s what makes living in Buenos Aires so unique.
Then you try the coffee and it’s among the worst you’ve ever tasted, despite the $5,000 espresso machine that it came out of.
That’s because Argentines don’t have a coffee culture, but are instead merely accustomed to drinking joe, Argentine coffee expert, or “barista,” Analía Alvarez said this weekend in an interview with Clarín.
“What happens with coffee is what happened with wine years ago – we only knew the house wine, served in a Penguin carafe,” Alvarez told Clarín. The culprit, she says, is the cheaper robusta beans used to make most Argentine coffee. Better coffees come from arabica beans.
When asked if there are good places for coffee in Buenos Aires, Alvarez, an international coffee judge certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America, said yes – “there are a few – four or five.”
Alvarez declined to identify her favorite coffee spots, but The Argentine Post has a recommendation - Establecimiento General de Café, a local chain that has grown to five locations in Recoleta and Downtown.
Argentine Post-fixture Starbucks also has excellent quality coffee, but it serves up its java in paper cups, which is sort of like drinking fine wine out of wáter cooler cups – or maybe out of white ceramic penguin pitchers.
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It sounds rather peculiar to me (a Dutchman) to hear North Americans talk about good coffee. The brownish water I got served in the states doesn’t have much to do with coffee. And Starbucks is a fraud.
No, to know about coffee you’ll have to go to The Netherlands or, even better, Italy.
Speaking of coffee, but then home made, when traveling South America one should buy coffee in Colombia. Any supermarket brand is better then anything made in Argentina. I haven’t tried the Brazilian supermarket coffee, I guess it’s the same as Colombia.
I fully agree with Bas on this one. I am from the United States and the coffee that is consumed in this country is a travesty. Most coffee served in the U.S. tastes like hot, dirty water. Starbucks is no better. The only thing different is that their dirty water is stronger than the usual cup you would consume.
I couldn’t agree more. Coffee here in Argentina is very mediocre (still better than a lot of diners and such in the States, but what I think Bas and Mairead might not realize is that specialty coffee spots in the States have come a long way). I do love the preparation here though. That little shot of bubbly water and those tiny alfajores help make up for the weak joe. Can’t wait to try the Establecimiento.
The only coffee sold in supermarkets that I think is drinkable here is Cabrales (the lila one not the other). All the others are so nasty I’d rather drink Fernet straight. Oh, and I disagree about the pinguino pitcher being the same as a paper cup from Starbucks. I love my pinguino
I just beginning to switch from coffee to yerba mate. In my house, I like to buy the whole bean usually Eight O’Clock. I’d grind it and brew it right then in order to obtain a fresh, full flavor. When I’m traveling I just enjoy the experience: like a cortado en San Telmo where you can see the pictures of tango celebrities of yesterday. You will find Starbucks in Buenos Aires, but their bigger rip-off is Via.
All true. The biggest scandal is that Argentina’s neighbour Bolivia, a country whose exchange rate make it an excellent trading partner, produces fantastic coffee. Their run of the mill lower end “Cochabamba” brand is better than the Cabrales Colombian fare which seems to be the best you can buy in Argentine supermarkets.
And the Arabica being produced in Peru is some of the best I have had anywhere.
Coffee in the U.S.A. is different than in Europe and South America. Most people who visit the U.S.A. complain that the coffee is like sewer water and not strong enough. To them it is not any better than a cup of tea. The reason for this is simple. Most countries in Europe and Latin America like the robust taste and aroma of a bean that is well roasted. In the U.S.A. by default most people drink the coffee from a bean that has only slightly been roasted. What people do not know is that expresso is not stronger than the coffee that is consumed for the most part in the U.S.A.
Of interest is the fact that since the caffeine molecule is heat labile, when you expose it to heat it loses its potency. Milton H. Hershey Pennsylvania State University Medical Center is by far one of the centers that has done a lot of research on caffeine. The reason for this is the Hershey Chocolate Factory.
According to their studies the coffee with the highest caffeine content by ounce is automatic drip. Followed by percolated, French pressed and then expresso.
If you think you are drinking more caffeine by drinking expresso you are wrong.
The longer you burn the bean, the more you inactivate its caffeine content. In addition,
the volume of coffe when you drink expresso is minimal. So if you drink coffee for its stimulant effect you are better off drinking automatic drip. And it is better to drink it black to get that caffeine buzz. If you add sugar you will get an insulin surge and before you know it you will need a nap.
I like to drink my American coffee black and using the automatic drip method. When I crave that strong expresso flavor and not necessarily the caffeine buzz, I drink either
Illia, Kimbo, Lavazza or El Pico, which are available in many places throughout the U.S.A.
One also needs to keep in mind that Argentina does not have the climate to grow good quality coffee like Colombia or Caffa, Ethiopia where coffee originated. The same goes for bananas. If you find good bananas in Argentina, they must be imported from a country with warmer climate.
But try to find a good grape, pear or apple in Colombia and compare it to Argentina.
Different climates, therefore different crops.
Drew: “That’s because Argentines don’t have a coffee culture” , Jaja best northamerican joke of the month. Give me a break!!.
Now answer this:
Do you want with Cream on Top?
Boiled for 3 or 5 hours?
Extra bold heavy extra burned roasted from X place in the world beans?
What flavour of paper cup do you want? Recycled or Premium? (sorry we ran out of the two porcelain cups we have).
Drew, you have no idea.
Hey AC,
You’re speaking to Drew as if he were the one who made that comment. Your complaint shouldn’t be with the person who wrote the post but rather the person whose analysis you disagree with, and that’s Analía Alvarez, who, by the way, is Argentine.
If the custom of drinking lots of coffee means you have a coffee culture, then clearly Argentina does have one, as drinking coffee indisputably is a pillar of Argentine ritual. But if having a coffee culture entails a broader interest in blends, brewing and the constant seeking of the perfect brew, then Argentina may not have a coffee culture, as Alvarez notes. Indeed, that seems to be her very point. Specialty shops, that is those that really focus on blending and taste, are only now starting to become more common.
Saludos,
Taos
Or maybe I misread your comment and your were being ironic? I have no idea now
Abrazo
This is true for most coffee in Buenos Aires. The way we process our beans differs completely to any country that knows how to trat their coffee, sucha as Brazil or Columbia. Aside from the cheaper beans, Argentine coffe is distinctlhy bitter. This bitterness is usually attributed to the fact that beans are roasted with sugar. You will note in argentine coffee packs, that the word “torrado” is written on the label. This means “sugar roasted” beans. In my personal opinion, this is not a good idea, as it interferes with the flavor of the bean.
Another draw back is that we porteños love our coffee steaming hot. This burns the beans as the water goes through it, and also adds bitterness.
Hey! I love white ceramic penguin pitchers! Am I alone here?
@Lucy, this guy Brew is an absolute snob. He probably doesn’t drink wine from the penguin pitcher unless you call it “oxygenating decanter”.
Now, speaking seriously. I bring to the US 5 kilos of Café Martinez each time I return from BsAs. I used to bring more until the bag restrictions. Coffee beans from several origins, but most importantly, *not* charcoal roasted. I can’t find that kind of roast here in the Bay Area. Even the so called “light roast” in the US is too dark for my taste.
The first commenter who dissed American coffee has obviously never been to Seattle! I live in Italy (used to live in Argentina) and Seattle’s coffee is right up there with Italy’s coffee. (I am NOT referring to Starbucks however. I’m referring to the local companies such as Caffe’ Vita, Caffe’ Umbria, Vivace, etc….)
Just had to say that.
See also http://baexpats.org/food-drink/10333-best-coffee-city.html
One of the joys of the city is the constant top-notch uniformity of the coffee in all the bog-standard corner cafes. I love it. And I’ve found that whenever I’ve gone somewhere which claims to be a specialist coffee shop, it’s been dreadful.
Great comments. AC – may I suggest some decaf… Seriously, tho, I’ll have to buy some beans from Cafe Martinez to brew at home. Thanks for the tip. My day-to-day home brew grind is the Super Cabrales mentioned by Angela, which isn’t torrado (thanks for noting that Maria).
In other news, this month’s JOY magazine has a review of the chain coffee shops in Buenos Aires. (It nails Aroma.)
http://www.planetajoy.com/?Lo_mejor_y_lo_peor_de_cada_cadena_de_cafeterias&page=ampliada&id=1727
For ambiance, check out the Cafes y Bares Notables as designated by the City of Buenos Aires:
http://www.bue.gov.ar/actividades/index.php?buscar=1&info=bares&menu_id=74
They used to sell a sweet Cafes Notables book at Clasico y Moderno, but I’m not sure the book is still in print.
For the record, I’m very fond of my white ceramic penguino, but tend to pour wine straight from the bottle to the glass.
Many thanks to everyone here for the interesting comments. Good stuff and good recommendations. Saludos!
No one ever seems to agree on Argentina and there are the deluded segment of the expat community who trash their homeland at every opportunity they can and bend themselves into a pretzel trying to defend Argentina. I live here fulltime. Standards are rock bottom low. Coffee is a serious disappointment. Supermarket coffee is lousy, ground with sugar and the lowest quality bean. The bread I just bought in the supermarket is also lousy. Prices are soaring here. I just looked at Walgreens in Florida where friends are visiting. Large packages and low prices. We pay nearly all our income here for food, and its low quality.
Unfortunately most products from BsAs supermarkets are rock bottom quality these days, from coffee (torrado, la morenita kind) to paper towels.
If you want good coffee you have to buy coffee in a coffee house, like Martinez or Casa do Cafe, or Gato Negro (or apparently Establecimiento General de Cafe)… and pay international price for it. Most coffee bar are open to indicate what coffee provider they use (they usual sponsor the sugar sac or the espresso machine) so you can track and look for quality.
I don’t like bent pretzels and I don’t defend Argentina too often. But, Café is one of the things I miss from BsAs being in the US. From the café place, to the coffee type to the pastries and tostados, and the material of the cup, it implies.
Now I know why I never had a really satisfying cup of coffee in BA. I mostly ordered it for the ambiance and relaxing environment of a streetside cafe. However, I did respect and enjoy the works that’s served along with a terrible cup of coffee!
Until free enterprise and competition is allowed to freely do business, statist will continue to think about their interests and the interests of their union friends, instead of the general public. A product of low quality, for an overinflated price and sold to you as if they are doing you a favor. Free enterprise and competition allows companies to fight among themselves for your pennie and in the process they make you feel like a millinonaire.
Fun post. While the quality of coffee may not always be the best, the quality of the experience is really what matters. You might also like to check out Vicky Baker’s recent post about Buenos Aires cafe culture for The Real Argentina: http://www.therealargentina.com/argentinas-cafe-culture/