Thereโs a lot more to Argentina in 2017 than famous iconsย such asย Eva Perรณn. When youโre in Buenos Airesโa city that was once all about Evita, tango, and steakโthese days, itโs clear that the city is no longer just a European enclave; itโs aย contemporary haven for young creatives.ย Thanks to aย recent change in government, solid new investments and developments, andย strong immigrant growth,ย the city feels refreshed. Coffee, naturally, plays a perfect role in this very evolution. And the new Editor Market, right in the heart of the creative neighborhoodย of Palermo, recently overhauled itsย coffee offering inside the designย store cafe.
But first, coffee as a concept in Argentina deservesย a moment of reverence. After all, it hasย deep and very specifically rigid roots in the very culture of the countryโinspired by tippings over from Brazil, and itsย long strikes back to Europe viaย Spain and Italy. And as porteรฑos (local Buenos Aires residents) will tell youโthey do the best coffee in the world. Period. It may be anย overstatement at the very least, but with dozens of specialty cafes and a new respect for fresh beansย all over town,ย we might be more inclined to listen to the sweet hyperboleย these days.
Editor Market is a chic design store, which is a new retailย concept for Argentineans. The simple, stark whiteย warehouse space was founded in 2015 by Gabriel Brener, who believed that Argentinean designers needed a better, bigger, and more accessible platform. โWe decided to do it on Avenida Corrientes to showcase this beautiful avenue and give it a new meaning, looking toward the future,โ says Brener. โAfter its opening, we added two more stores, one in Palermo [our Soho and Williamsburg mix] and Nordelta.โ The name simply came from offering exclusive editions of brands, all curated by experts in each categoryโfrom fashionย andย beauty to home decorย and coffee, of course.
โWe love good coffee,โ says Agustina Fernรกndez, who works on the creative direction ofย Editor Market. โSo when we decided we would have a coffee shop as part ofย our project, we knew we wanted to offer the best specialty coffee in Buenos Aires. Along the way, we learned we would need four key points that represent our path towardย excellence: the raw materials, the baristas, the grinder [the La Marzocco Vulcano], and the coffee makers [the La Marzocco GB5 and FB80].โ
And so they went to work with these goals in mind. The barista side was difficultย becauseย โitโs a new profession here in Buenos Aires,โ says Fernรกndez. But the special blend from the coffee supplier Coffee Town was much easier to procure. โTogether we designed our exclusive blend for Editor,โ says Rodrigo Riccitelli, who is responsible for the kitchen and all its coffee.
And the beans come from Honduras, Sumatra, and Colombiaโwhich gives theย baristas plenty to talk about. โThe Sumatran coffeeโs complexity complements the Colombian coffeeโs acidity and the Honduran coffeeโs sweet and citric notes,โ says Fernรกndez. โThe blend was conceived to achieve the best extraction in both espresso and other systems, without losing its distinctive notes.โ
โThe coffee culture in Buenos Aires is directly related to social meetings and friendly gatherings,โ says Riccitelli. โWe use it as an excuse to drink coffee and chat, talk about work, relationships and life itself.โ But evenย Argentinaโs coffee intensives, who traditionally love espresso drinks, have come around to the French press, a Chemex, and even an AeroPressโall of which are offered byย Editor Market. โPeople still drink mostly espresso, cappuccino, plus our new tonic espressos and cold brew in summer,โ adds Riccitelli. โArgentineans enjoy drinking coffee at a table rather than running away with it. Although this modality has grown a lot in our city.โ
โWe are also big fans of matcha tea, which is already a global hit but wasnโt sold in Argentina,โ adds Fernรกndez. โWe decided to import it from Japan and offer it to our customers for them to enjoy its wonderful properties.โ And with that Editor Market hasย grown the rest of itsย menuย to include handmade pastries, sandwiches, fresh salads, and breakfasts.
Looking around the Palermo locationโs market, it is filled with young people hunting for home goodsย and grabbing a coffee to go, well-dressed women sitting around talking about the latest politicalย scandal, coffee fans who come every day to have their dripper cup, readers who stack up magazines and sip on a cappuccino. โOne of the best things about our work is that we haveย so many clients who travel 30 miles just to come here to enjoy a cup of coffee,โ says Riccitelli. Welcome to the newย Argentina.
Daniel Schefflerย is a Sprudge staff writer at large. His work has appeared inย Tย Magazine,ย Travel And Leisure,ย Monocle,ย Playboy,ย New York Magazine,ย The New York Times, andย Butt. Read more Daniel Scheffler on Sprudge.