Coffee-lovers get their brew on at FECA

Coffee-lovers and novices flocked to Palermo last weekend for the two-day open-air coffee fair known as FECA (Festival de Café) – though the weather meant the clear-skied Sunday was better attended than the rainy Saturday afternoon. FECA, an event organised by the City government’s BA Capital Gastronomy programme, took place this past weekend, running from Saturday April 27 to Sunday April 28, at the Republic of Peru Plaza located in the Palermo

neighbourhood of Buenos Aires City. This latest edition of the fair was already the fourth time that the event has taken place, the first having occurred a year and a half ago in October, 2017.

Throughout the weekend, the plaza was outlined by white-tented, coffee stands housed by a variety of popular local coffee shops and brands including Usina Cafetería, Tienda de Café, Cabrales, and Tostado. Tucked in the back corner, there was a small auditorium where coffee-related talks and workshops took place each day.

Within the mix of the coffee shops that were in attendance at the event, was local favorite El Gato Negro, the famous 90-year-old coffee house located on Corrientes Avenue that carries and roasts their own coffee beans and specialises in spices, teas, and coffee.

Juan Rodríguez, a porteño and the manager of the coffee shop, says that they have been involved with FECA since it first began.

“[FECA] is important because, in reality I believe that in Argentina a lot isn’t known about coffee. Argentines go to coffee bars and drink coffee without knowing what type of coffee they are drinking,” said Rodríguez.

Einat Rozenwasser, a journalist who started to specialise in coffee and gastronomy over the past few years, is the woman who organised and ran the programmes that took place at the auditorium throughout the weekend.

“Buenos Aires is a city very much known for its coffees and its coffee culture, but in reality, until recently the coffee that was drunk in coffee shops was not ver y good, neither was the coffee that was drunk in people’s homes,” said Rozenwasser. “The idea is to change the coffee culture so we all can enjoy a better beverage, and that’s why it is important to spread the word.”