After starting out our trip spoiled with Itelligentsia Coffee, it wasn't long before we realized we had had the end of acceptable coffee. It was sad really. There are no US coffee chains in Argentina and very few in all of South America. What they do have in the way of coffee is pure swill.
The quality of coffee doesn't however deter the Argentines from enjoying the numerous cafes in each part of the country. The cafe scene is very much like it is in our lovely cafe each morning. Business men drinking quick espresso at the bar, the students getting big frozen drinks, the retired sitting sipping cappuccino or tea; these are all common place each and everyday. It seems to be much more about the community and social interaction than the actual product being consumed.
That being said, it makes sense that they have table service, and if you aren't getting a single espresso from the bar then you really can't order unless you are seen by a server. There is never a line that they wait in. They wouldn't know what to think in a US cafe, with the fast paced - order, pay, get out model.
They do however serve that wonderful fresh squeezed juice and simple breakfasts. We pretty much got used to the bad coffee and just downed it for the caffiene. The cafes were too much fun not to go to them each day.
We visited many different cafes and had coffee all over. There is pretty much coffee in every restaurant, party store, drug store. They drink a lot of it.
Cafe Tortoni is the oldest and most written about cafe in Buenos Aires. It is however a Tourist Trap! The service is all around bad and like I stated above the coffee was foul.
We had the best coffee at a small local chain called Havana. They served decent coffee and nice chocolates. I tried to find them on the web but I couldn't find any website.
Check out this good article about Argentine Cafe Culture. "Cafe Culture in Buenos Aires"
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment