Where's my Tazza D'Oro?

If there's one consistently disappointing aspect of our travels so far, it's the coffee. I can't find fault with anything else really. The food, the wine have been excellent. Even when we've picked up some street food on the run, it's been tasty. But the coffee on this trip to date has been mediocre at best. Finally, at Finca Valentina in Salta, I'm served a decent cup. Naturally, Valentina and Federico, the owners, are Italian.

But where is all the Brazilian and Columbian coffee I'd been looking forward to? Seems all the best beans are destined for export. 

Starbucks in Cuzco

I blame Starbucks (easy target), but I suppose it's also down to the local tastes. In any supermarket or grocery we've visited, you'll find aisle upon aisle of mate tea, but if you're lucky just one sort of non-instant coffee. 


The sweetened stuff that sold pre-ground makes a passable Turkish cup. Everyone brews mate instead, young and old alike, esp in Argentina and Uruguay, but even the climbing crew in Chile had their thermos of hot water to brew a communal cup - or gourd - with. It's all about the mate, and at higher altitudes the coca leaves. 

Caffe' Tazza D'Oro in Rome:
serves only the finest beans from Brazil