The porteño coffee on the bench: they say it's "ugly" and they defend themselves in bars – 04/12/2019

The indisputable pillars of the culture of Buenos Aires, the unmissable references of the city to the world and the meeting point of successive generations of porteños, an article of the BBC World interviewed the most traditional cafes in Buenos Aires, baduring that the drink in the well that is served in these places is, literally, ugly.

This is described by Colombian Daniel Pardo, correspondent for British media in the country, who coincides with a political scientist and a consultant in local gastronomy. According to the article, "Here they are Tortoni, La Biela and Las Violetas, among a vast portfolio of beautiful spaces; full of legends, charismatic waiters and high ceilings, designed floors and carved finishes. These are historical remains of a country that no longer exists: Argentina, power of the first half of the twentieth century. Are from the most beautiful cafes in Americabut at home the coffee is fairly regular.

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The person signing the note defines himself as a "strict coffee consumer" and writes downright: "The coffee that is found in the most popular cafes in Buenos Aires It is bitter and needs added sugar or milk and sodas or water to avoid chills. In a word, it's ugly.

Coffee experts and bar owners in Buenos Aires defend their work. They are based on the fact that, in addition to maintaining the traditions, they often started working to improve the quality of the coffee that they serve. For this, they incorporate new machines, which they add maintenance, and even experts to improve the quality of the drink.

Since TortoniFor example, they claimed that they were not only training their employees; They also venture into areas less related to taste, such as the art of latte, which are renewed demands from customers.

As for the type of coffee they use, they say that he is of Colombian and Brazilian descent and that they primarily seek to preserve quality. This is a variety that produces a brand and is special for bars. Companies that produce infusion too they were upset by the note that the porteño coffee is "ugly".

The text is based on the badessment of Flor Migliorisi, who offers coffee tours and special badtails in the city, and Sergio Mazzitelli, gastronomy consultant. For Migliorisi, "neither the quantities of coffee and water, nor the time of extraction, nor the hygiene of the machines are treated with care". Although Mazzitelli understands that "the lack of culinary knowledge and commercial opportunism have created a fusion that has resulted in much of what we currently know on the ground".

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The problem is that the note refers to the city's most iconic cafés, which carry years of history on their backs. And it is precisely this characteristic that would be guilty of the bad quality of their espressos, cut and ristrettos. "Which explains the paradox of bad coffee in beautiful cafes, according to experts consulted by BBC Mundo, is that this drink is not the reason why people visit them, "says the note.

"The purpose of coming here is not to drink coffee, but to pay tribute to the past," says Migliorisi. Mazzitelli adds that "Argentinian cuisine is in fact the Spanish version of Italian cuisine". A rare fusion that illustrates the chance of "melting pot", or melting pot of cultures, which was the capital half a century ago.

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It was the Spaniards who brought Torrado coffee to Argentina, a low-quality, sugar-toasted variety that now dominates the South American market. For immigrants, says BBC Mundo's consultant, "the art of making good coffee" has never been a concern: they care more about belonging to an identity, or of not having a job. an institution, only to develop a good gastronomic product.

The girl who organizes tours of premises served by baristas, especially on the circuit of Palermo, closes with a strong opinion: "Here is a stigma of the old. The idea that things can be better is blocked. We live in a cultural gerontocracy (the old government). "

For Nicolás Artusi, journalist and coffee sommelier, the concept of publication is not wrong, but it is clumsiness. "It is true that historic cafes have not improved much in recent years, but it's a partial aspect, because the note is not recorded with the same intensity. the growth of specialty coffee locally. Historically, we have given little importance to the quality of this drink. We should not take it for an affront to pride, but we had not forgotten the "third wave of coffee," he said.

It is in this movement (the first occurred in the late 50s, when, after the war, economies began to resurface and the coffee became mbadive, the second in the 90s with the birth like Starbucks). "specialty coffee", which, according to Artusi, already exceeds 80 places in the city and far exceeds the limits of the "Buenos Aires version from Williamsburg to New York", as defined by the correspondent of BBC Palermo.

"There are Chacarita, Villa Urquiza, Devoto, Núñez, Belgrano and Microcentro. And the phenomenon is notorious in bars, because the consumer began not to be satisfied with what was used before, as in homes. A few years ago, for the first time in Argentina, they were sold more espresso machines than filter machines for home consumption. Whether it's capsules or cereals, people are looking to replicate at home the experience of specialty coffee, "says Artusi, who has already published two books with this drink for protagonist.

The expert provides another piece of information: the country is one of only five in the world that allows the sale of roasted coffeewho is the one contains sugar in its composition, which is added during the roasting process.

"It's a shit that the Food Code allows in Argentina, but the other side of the story is that the brands that sell to the cafes are improving, they are getting better and better driven by the generation change. And although in the notable bars, where I had to be a jury, I noticed a lot of routines and outdated practices, I did however observe a great concern to stay in touch with the world. So this vicious circle is about to become a virtuous circle, "Artusi concludes.