Good 'cheap' coffee for a change!!

There are 17 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 6,587 times. The latest Post () was by serafina.

1st Official Post

    Being a big coffee drinker I've always been disappointed with the shop bought coffee available here....coffee beans and ground coffee especially. To be fair I'm based out in the sticks so don't have access to the Buenos Aires offerings.

    So bad is the standard of 'real' coffee I've had to make do with Nescafe brand of instant which is always available in the two chain supermarkets we have here...La Anonima and Vea. I used to drink Nescafe in the UK so am familiar with it. However the price they charge for it here is extortionate compared to the likes of the UK...we're talking three times as much!!


    The other week we were in Dia where I usually ignore the small coffee section they have as all that it contains is the usual crap Cabrales or Artisan instant. However a new Dia branded instant coffee jar caught my eye so I took a closer look.

    The Produce of Colombia looked interesting, the colour was dark and the price of 122 pesos for a 100gr sealed the deal. I have since bought a further three jars as I can't stop drinking it....it's fabulous!!

    If you are into coffee I recommend you give it a try.


    • Official Post

    I started drinking Nescafè a few months ago because I was getting a few health issues with regular coffee (which I drink in 3-4 cups per day). I have only two basics requirement - no sugar and no milk. Of course this made it into a quest since everything here has milk and sugar or just sugar.

    The cheapest Nescafè 'classic' is more expensive than a posh coffee beans in a specialty store, not to mention the finest variants imported from France which costs twice as much (350 pesos and over), which are those with the golden cap.


    So I decided to buy premium coffee beans, as there is no way to pay more for a Nescafé when it costs more than the real deal. I have bought decaf beans and limit myself to real coffee only for the first cup of the day.

    Yes I sometimes buy the Dolca as well if it's on offer.....I've never mastered the whip though. Unfortunately I have to use two spoonfuls as its pretty weak stuff. And even then I get no 'kick' from it.

    Quote from Rice

    Good job, UK Man ! How many cups will 100 g make?

    Rough guess around 40. I like my coffee pretty strong so could be more depending on the size of your cup of course. The taste it leaves in the mouth is the thing I like most about this blend.

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    Quote from Splinter

    On the other hand...

    The coffee snobs banning milk and sugar

    Guilty as charged! ^^



    On subject of coffee, on April 27-28 there is the annual FECA (coffee fair) in Palermo (Figueroa Alcorta y Salguero). The city page is not working fro me right now, so I just have this FB post to share the event:


    https://www.facebook.com/event…96/?active_tab=discussion

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    I was reading the article that Marc posted, and I was struck by this paragraph:


    Quote


    Of course, so-called zero tolerance policies aren’t unique to coffee and are expanding throughout the food service sector. These days, more restaurants refuse to serve steak well done, cater to different meal requests or even serve the condiments that some customers may request.


    I see where they come from, but business-wise it doesn't seem a smart move.


    There is an Italian restaurant in Capital run by an Italian who has been here for some 10 years. He was a chef in Italy, former bar and restaurant owner. When he arrived here he started doing what he had always been doing: cooking. He opened a small informal place serving pasta for lunch, just 2-3 dishes, one dish of the day and two regulars. It was a hit and his client asked him to please open at night. So he moved to a larger venue and started to work at night, as well. However, he told me it took him two years to source quality ingredients to be able to fully reproduce Italian tastes.

    Frequent issues were inconsistent quality -- 'I found a good tomato sauce supplier, one day he delivers me a box of yellowish sauce... I told him "what is this stuff?!"?, he looked at me 'this is how it came out this time', answered the supplier. I sent back those yellowish sauce bottles...'"

    Irregular supply - 'I wanted to offer this signature dish where we need this ingredient. I travelled the whole country looking for a dairy factory able to make this kind of cheese and nobody did. So I tried to have it imported from Italy but the times in custom made it not worth the expenses and subject to decay'.

    'I had to travel 400 km to find a bakery able to actually make a panettone with sour dough using my recipe from Italy'

    And so on...

    So when he finally opened his restaurant - lunch and dinner - he put a series of rules on the menu to avoid people spoiling 'his' creations with loads of cheese everywhere, or to stuff themselves with bread instead of ordering actual food, or to share plates to order less.


    Another Italian restaurant owner received a bad review because a party of two came into his restaurant just to have a cake with coffee - this is a small, posh restaurant in an affluent neighborhood. Another, owner of a pizza place, received bad reviews because 'the pizza was too thin / had too little cheese / was too expensive compared to Guerrin'... the guy has his flour shipped from Neaples, brought here an authentic Neapolitan pizza oven, had Italian restaurants in NY,... and people here expect just another pizza chain.


    So I can see where these food place owners come from when they set 'rules'.


    But as a customer I am also applying the logic 'I pay, I decide'. Another example... I went to an Italian coffee place in Palermo (that no longer exists) because I had read a piece on them saying they had their coffee machines brought from Italy, used only a certain brand of Italian coffee I love, did specialty pastries typical of Italy, etc. I traveled from San Isidro - where I lived back then - to Palermo Viejo... over one hour... just to have a cappuccino with a croissant.


    The waitress was not Italian and was probably instructed along those 'strict' lines. So I ordered a cappuccino with cocoa powder on top. She replied they do not put cocoa powder on top because in Italy they do not put it. I replied that I had been to Italy and could guarantee that I saw cappuccinos served with cocoa on top. She said 'sorry' and I scorned her 'well, forget about it!'.

    After a few minutes she comes back with our orders... and my cappuccino had cocoa powder on top... with an apology. She said 'I didn't know in Italy they also served it with cocoa powder'. I never went back to that place because even if I had what I had asked for, I was so livid that it ruined it for me.

    I won't be frequenting that cafe. Although I can drink coffee black if I have to I could never have it without sugar. Same with tea.


    It's similar to whisky...some aficionados dictate you should never have it with ice but a splash of water is acceptable in certain blends to bring out the flavours. I'm not much of a whisky drinker but if I have a blended whisky I put ice in it and if it's a malt I drink it straight.

    And Yerba Mate? The missus never has sugar in hers yet it's quite common to see others do it. Can't stand the stuff myself.

    Quote:

    “Of course, so-called zero tolerance policies aren’t unique to coffee and are expanding throughout the food service sector. These days, more restaurants refuse to serve steak well done, cater to different meal requests or even serve the condiments that some customers may request.”


    This made me laugh, as it reminded me of a friend who used to fantasize about owning a restaurant she’d call “Mom’s Home Cooking.” Her plan was to wander around the restaurant smacking people with a spatula when their table manners were lacking, refusing to serve them dessert until they’d finished their vegetables, etc.

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    Rice that could have worked... in Rome there is a restaurant where the waiters and the owners swears at you. Apparently, it was a hit and it was soon copied in other Italian cities.


    If you are interested, when in Rome, visit da Cencio, La Parolaccia in Trastevere. According to the English wikipedia page, they do not spare tourists, but I am unaware if they swear in English.

    • Official Post
    Quote from serafina

    Rice that could have worked... in Rome there is a restaurant where the waiters and the owners swears at you. Apparently, it was a hit and it was soon copied in other Italian cities.


    If you are interested, when in Rome, visit da Cencio, La Parolaccia in Trastevere. According to the English wikipedia page, they do not spare tourists, but I am unaware if they swear in English.

    Basil Fawlty would be right at home there.