In Argentina, coffee is an excuse
In Argentina, coffee is almost never just coffee. It is the mid-morning break with medialunas, the sobremesa after lunch that stretches into an hour, the chat at the corner bar with the waiter who already knows your order. It is drunk from a pocillo, a jarrito or a cup, always sitting down and almost always in company.
That way of drinking coffee is what we wanted to bring to Nuremberg. At Patagonien we make specialty coffee with proper café equipment and a lot of care, but with the Argentine idea behind it: stay a while.
How coffee is ordered in Argentina
If you are from Argentina, you know a Buenos Aires bar menu has its own names. If you are from Nuremberg and curious, here is the quick guide:
- Café or "un café solo". A short, intense espresso. In Argentina it usually comes with a small glass of sparkling water.
- Cortado. An espresso "cut" with a splash of hot milk. The most Argentine order there is.
- Lágrima. The opposite of a cortado: almost all milk with a single "tear" of coffee. Perfect for the afternoon.
- Café con leche. Half coffee, half milk, in a big cup. The classic breakfast, always with medialunas.
- Jarrito. A slightly longer black coffee served in a small metal or stoneware jug.
What to order from our menu
Our menu uses the names everyone understands across Europe, but every Argentine coffee has its equivalent:
Cortado
→ Espresso Macchiato
Café con leche
→ Latte, or Cappuccino with more foam
Café solo
→ Espresso, single or double
Lágrima
→ Large Latte, very mild
Long and mild
→ Americano or Iced Latte
Something different
→ Flat White or Affogato
All the coffees are in the "Café" section of our menu, with prices and allergens.
What "specialty coffee" means
Specialty coffee is not a brand or a style, it is a way of working: selected beans, recent roasting, grinding just before brewing and a careful extraction with a machine calibrated every day. You taste it in the cup: the coffee is cleaner, sweeter and less bitter, no sugar needed.
In Argentina this wave arrived strongly in recent years and lives alongside the classic bar coffee. We wanted the best of both: the care of specialty coffee and the ritual of the Argentine bar.
What to have with it
The Argentine combination par excellence: café con leche and medialunas. Medialunas are our version of the croissant, smaller, sweeter and glazed with syrup on top. We have them plain or filled with dulce de leche.
Other classics with coffee:
- A handmade alfajor, especially the cornstarch one, which is soft and melts in your mouth.
- Chocolate and walnut cookies, or white chocolate and pistachio.
- A slice of cake, the varieties change every week.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a cortado and a macchiato?
Almost none: espresso with a little milk. The Italian macchiato gets foamed milk, the Argentine cortado gets hot liquid milk. In practice, if you order an Espresso Macchiato at Patagonien, you will be very close to home.
What is a flat white?
A coffee of Australian origin: double espresso with velvety textured milk and a very thin layer of foam. Stronger than a latte and creamier than a cappuccino.
And the affogato?
A dessert and a coffee at the same time: a scoop of ice cream with hot espresso poured over it. Eaten with a spoon, quickly, before it all melts.
The coffee is waiting
Come to Patagonien at Kressenstraße 33. If you are Argentine and miss your cortado, you will find it here under another name. If you are from Nuremberg, try the coffee with a medialuna and you will understand what we mean.
