I am writing this post after a long absence. After returning from Colombia in January I had several months of terrible fatigue and extreme lack of energy. Only later did I realize that the fatigue and tiredness was due to mononucleosis, a virus that can be debilitating but usually clears up after a month or two.
Fortunately I have made a complete recovery, but during that time I made the decision to return to the states, and thus will be leaving Buenos Aires at the end of March. Having lived here for over two years I can say I have mixed feelings about the decision, but the date is set, and I must thus take full advantage of the little time I have left in this fine city.
I would like to dedicate my last string of posts on Buenos Aires to sharing some of my favorite spots, both the touristy and the not-so-touristy. I'll start with a local cafe that serves some of the best coffee in Buenos Aires.
1. Lattente
Buenos Aires is known as the Paris of the Americas. It has the French architecture, the parks, and picturesque cafes on nearly every corner. Surprisingly, however, good coffee is hard to find here. Most of the cafes use old machines and the coffee has a weak, headache-inducing flavor that I almost always need to mask with half a packet of sugar. I always measure the quality of a coffee by how much sugar I need to put in, and at Lattente, located in Palermo on Thames 1891, I've never put a single grain of sugar into the coffee.
The reason for this is that they use a blend of pure arabica coffee from Colombia, which they get from Coffee Lab, a coffee roaster and cafe also located in the Palermo area. All the baristas are expert coffee makers, and many have won coffee-making competitions in the past. The location has just been renovated and has a very community-oriented atmosphere. Instead of individual tables, there are several long tables in which the clients--all from diverse backgrounds--can intermingle and socialize.
They do not offer much in terms of food, but they do have some delicious almond and pistachio pastries to go with your Americano or cafe latte. And if you're a coffee connoisseur in search of that good cup then Lattente is one of the best cafes to try. Now, they even have single origin coffees which they prepare either using an aeropress or V60. Unfortunately they do not use the French Press, which is my favorite method of coffee preparation as it allows for a more rugged, earthy cup. But, there are many ways to prepare a good cup of coffee, and Lattente certainly does a good cup.
Cheers to coffee, the most important meal of the day!
Kyle
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