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[title]Journalist, author, coffee sommelier, and the voice behind Menú del Día, the streaming show on Glup by Time Out, Nicolás Artusi has just released Atlas of Coffee, his new book about that beverage that is now part of his DNA. In this conversation, we talk about how his obsession with telling the world’s story through coffee was born, the dream of building a coffee library, the boom of specialty coffee shops, and why, even after so many years, a cup of coffee can still surprise him.
How did the idea of creating the Atlas of Coffee come about? What motivated you to travel (even if only with your pen) through 80 coffee-producing countries?
Atlas of Coffee is the fulfillment of an old dream, which was to found a coffee library. When I started 15 years ago with my persona as a coffee sommelier, the landscape of coffee lovers that we live today wasn’t even on the horizon. Nor were there many publications; there were practically no books in Spanish and very few books in English about coffee. Almost as an act of youthful arrogance, I said, "Well, if there isn’t a coffee library, why don’t I write it myself?" Together with Planeta Publishing, we have now published five coffee books — a history book, an essay, and the last three coffee books focused directly on exploring genres and formats. The first of this collection was a manual, the second a dictionary, and the third, an atlas. What motivated me to travel through these 80 countries was the spirit of exploration. Those of us who are coffee fans know a lot about Colombian or Brazilian beans, but practically nothing about the beans from Vanuatu or Sierra Leone. So it seemed very interesting and even suggestive to me to be able to travel through writing and learn a lot about those countries in relation to their coffee production, taking coffee as a symbol or emblem to tell other stories.
Atlas of Coffee is the fulfillment of an old dream — to found a coffee library
After so many years writing about coffee, do you feel it still surprises you, or do you have it completely mapped out?
The beautiful thing about this experience is that it still surprises me. Curiosity is infinite, and it’s very wonderful when someone discovers, at any moment in life — whether early years or in maturity — that there is something they really love and from that something, they can gain vertical knowledge, almost like drilling an oil well. While writing this book, I encountered countless stories from lesser-known countries, especially from sub-Saharan Africa or the smaller countries in Southeast Asia related to coffee. Here at my writing desk next to the computer, I have a globe, so it gave me great satisfaction to first locate the countries on the map, then see them in context, imagine their stories, and above all, discover how coffee has shaped much of the era and the formation of many countries worldwide. Some of them even have their economy and culture based around coffee. So it was a journey of discovery, and I hope readers can share that sensation of traveling — in my case through writing, and in theirs through reading this book.
It’s very wonderful when someone discovers, at any moment in life — early or mature years — something they love deeply and from that, gains vertical knowledge
What do you think about the boom of specialty coffee shops in Argentina? Are we drinking better coffee or is it more of a trend?
I think it’s a very positive phenomenon, not only because it puts Argentina’s big cities like Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata, Córdoba, Mendoza, and Rosario on the global coffee map, but also because it allows us city dwellers to drink better coffee. And drinking better coffee is not only in specialty coffee shops — where the raw material is handled with great care and much attention is happily given to the barista’s hand and art — but also because it raises the overall standard. A few years ago, I was a judge in a contest evaluating the best coffee in old or notable bars. One thing I confirmed was a generational shift and that as a reaction to the specialty coffee boom and the public’s greater knowledge about coffee qualities, the bars that traditionally cared little about coffee — substituting that with atmosphere or the history of the place — began to pay attention, helping improve what we drink. So I believe it’s all positive, and ultimately it’s about the most valuable thing: improving the experience.
Also of interest: Mar del Plata in a cup, the best specialty coffees of La Feliz
Is there an Argentine coffee that represents you, like your signature?
Literally, my signature is on a coffee, which is Cafetino’s coffee. Cafetino is a small specialty coffee company that initially focused on reusable capsules and then developed a full specialty coffee system. I have been roasting limited batches of coffee with them for several years, aiming to offer a unique experience, so far focused on Latin America. The first one we roasted together was a coffee from Bolivia, then one from Peru, and now we’re focused on some exotic beans from Colombia. I say it has my signature because it literally does — my signature is on the package. It’s a capsule collection, and although I never wanted, don’t want, and probably won’t want to have a coffee brand or my own coffee shop, it’s a nice way to get close to the bean and product and also to share with my readers something I really like.
Literally, my signature is on a coffee — Cafetino’s coffee
Among so much travel, research, and tasting, did you come across any country where coffee is very different from what we’re used to here?
Fortunately, coffee, beyond being the world’s second commodity, a universal drink, and according to some rankings, the second most consumed drink worldwide after water — although some say that drink is tea — strongly reflects the culture of the people where it grows and is cultivated. I remember on trips through the Caribbean or walking in Costa Rica, seeing how coffee plants grow wild by the roadside, and many coffee farmers simply pick the fruit informally and almost improvisationally. Also, in the big cities of Australia — a specialty coffee epicenter — you can see the seed, the DNA of small coffee shops that have become the epitome of cosmopolitan and modern life. So there’s something I really like about coffee: its ability to maintain its particular attribute and universal heritage, but also to represent with great certainty small extracts, almost like a ristretto-sized version, of the culture of the place where it is grown.
You have three decades of print journalism behind you. Is that chapter closed or a door you never fully close?
No, I never fully close it. In fact, I’ve been writing my Sunday column for La Nación for 13 years, and it’s still published in print, which is a true rebellion against the digital mandate. I’m a fan of print, and I hope — although I see it as difficult — it can make a comeback in its splendor, like vinyl did. I’d love to write more on different paper media, no longer necessarily as part of a newsroom like I was for 14 years at Clarín, but I’ve written and continue writing for various magazines. For me, there’s an incomparable pleasure connected not to smell, but to the tactile feeling of leafing through a magazine or newspaper and focusing not only on the content with my eyes but also with my fingers and even smell. Because the smell of fresh ink is as suggestive and incomparable as the aroma of coffee.
You’ve written fiction and even wrote a very Buenos Aires–style novel. What place does fiction hold in your life as an author now? Are you tempted to return to that field?
Yes, I will return. In fact, I plan to publish a second novel, probably next year, which is set in a different era than my first novel, which was set in the 1990s in Buenos Aires. For me, writing fiction was very liberating, especially after dedicating so much time to nonfiction writing, which is very dictated and organized around facts. It was “a true joy,” as the Spaniards say, to have the possibility to invent. Something my work as a journalist or researcher always forbade me. Once I embraced the idea that everything happening on the page would be born from my imagination, I fell in love with the process and was very happy with both my writing and the reception of Busco Similar, my first novel. I’m now stimulated enough to start writing a second novel and even explore other fiction genres, like drawing or comics.
Next year, I plan to publish a second novel
Let’s do a quick-fire round
Notable bar or specialty coffee shop?
Notable bar that serves specialty coffee. It seems like a contradiction or oxymoron, but I assure you it exists.
Chacarita or Palermo?
Palermo, because it’s where I live. I think it’s not only the most populous but probably the most beautiful neighborhood in Buenos Aires.
Subway or bike?
I learned to ride a bike at 40, overcoming a deep, ancestral fear, so definitely now that I know how, I ride a bike.
Espresso or filter?
I’m a big espresso fan despite the boom, trend, and craze for filtered coffee, because I think the intensity with which coffee is extracted keeps in the cup a very synthetic and powerful version of all the good that coffee has to offer.
Paper book or ebook?
I’m amphibious because I use ebooks whenever I need to read a book not yet published here or impossible to get for cost reasons. But, like with newspapers or magazines, I think tactile sense is essential to reading beyond just vision.
AM radio, podcast, or streaming?
Now streaming, which I’m discovering thanks to Menú del Día, the daily 6 pm show that I think is a good synthesis because it combines the best of TV, radio, and podcast.
Marathon writing session or chatting with friends at a bar?
I’m a conversation lover, which I think is an art, and nothing stimulates me more than meeting friends and getting carried away talking. Since writing is very solitary and I happily have many friends and love talking, I’d always rather come out of my shell and meet them.
Worst coffee you ever had? (No names, but tell us) And the best?
The worst was coffee on a bus traveling from Buenos Aires to Villa Gesell. The best is the ristretto I have here on the table now, very short and super strong, in a white porcelain cup a friend brought me from a trip to Sweden, which I think synthesizes different eras and the chance to get a delicious energy shock that clears drowsiness and unstiffens the brain in less than 15 minutes.