The Four Hundred: The Monocle talks Montevideo's 'Morning Joe'
mathias facello
The latest episode of The Monocle’s series The Menu explored an unexpected country that is seeing a recent increase in the popularity of specialty coffee: Uruguay.
British foreign correspondent and Monocle contributor Lucinda Elliot traveled to Montevideo to meet a few independent coffee roasters who are bringing the trending artistry of specialty coffee back to the roots of its cultivation.
Brazil is known for being a main producer of coffee, exporting more than $1 billion dollars of coffee to multiple countries, according to Statista, so it may come as a surprise how late this South American country is joining the trend of specialty coffee.
Co-owners of Montevideo coffee shop Seis Montes, Francisco, and Martín spoke to Elliot about how they are trying to work with more local coffee farms to make their specialty espressos and lattes.
“Mostly the good coffee, it’s Italian coffee, if you think about the way that that coffee arrives in Uruguay,” Francisco explained, “it’s mostly Brazilian coffee that was grown in Brazil, that went to Italy was roasted in Italy, then it comes back to South America to Uruguay, so it’s like a very, very long trip for something that is grown like, 1,000 kilometers away from here.”
Seis Montes proudly states on its website that they promote traceability and working directly with farms to ensure better quality coffee and building support for local bean producers and companies.
According to National Coffee Association, sustainability has become a growing priority for coffee consumers and tastemakers globally, with organizations such as the Global Coffee Platform, which aims to hold coffee producers, roasters, retailers, and traders accountable to practice sustainable farming and producing.
Seis Montes serves 15 varieties of espressos and most of their customers try 3-4 of the varieties, enjoy the different flavors, and spread the word about their cafe. Martín explained that it excites them when customers come back with more people to enjoy the coffee that they put so much craft in to create.
Their shop just opened in 2018, but they made it clear to Elliot that they want to provide to the people and make coffee a more appreciated and accessible art.
“We wanted to make specialty coffee a little bit more democratic, it was way too expensive here in Uruguay, especially in Montevideo,” Martín continued, “We felt that the margin we could make out of coffee was enough to have a very good product [at] a really reasonable price and that’s the main reason, very good coffee at a very good price.
And that is like coffee roasting company Culto, which found a way to provide its customers with specialty coffee at an affordable price even when the pandemic forced in-person businesses to close.
Fernando Pacheco is the one who spearheaded Montevideo’s first coffee subscription, in an effort to get its customers a bountiful amount of beans, costing only $20 for two large bags delivered at your doorstep.
Their toaster selects the variety of coffee that is delivered every two weeks, allowing members to try a diverse selection of blends and roasting profiles.
“The market is fully open for specialty coffee, we have maybe 2-3% of the market who consume everyday specialty coffee, there is a lot of room for other players, the room for growth for us and for them is enormous,” Pacheco said.
Described by Elliot, Culto coffee roasters also has two establishments near the Old Town that include an industrial-style coffee bar that also holds brunches and events and a remodeled 1920s-inspired cafeteria that won design awards in 2020.
It is not uncommon for many of these newer coffee shops to provide a calming atmosphere and experience to enjoy the brew, much like Cafetero Montevideo entirely.
Juan Jose Moncera, Colombian coffee maker and former coffee shop partner of Martín, owns Cafetero Montevideo, a traveling coffee truck-turned cafe located in a large, airy cinema complex.
“We are in the new building of the Uruguayan cinematec, which is a historical institution here, it’s one of the most interesting cinematecs in the world,” Juan Grunwaldt, Moncera’s business partner said.
From the small, mobile stand that Moncera once owned to getting the cafe’s first permanent location, he expressed his excitement in how far the market and coffee tastemaker community has grown for specialty coffee.
No longer is it just a quick caffeine boost, but an art that can be taught and appreciated.
The Lab, a highly-rated Montevideo coffee roaster, has skilled baristas who educate their customers on different manual brewing methods and the equipment that they also sell on their website.
Much like a lab, they have four locations, all very aesthetically pleasing, with a bar full of different coffee brewing machines imitating the appearance of a lab filled with beakers and test tubes.
The family-owned shop is run by barista Verónica Leyton, who said that the aim of their roasting company is “to serve more than a cup of coffee, as we can explain and somehow teach our clients about the coffee culture.”
This new demand for specialty coffee proves true; coffee corporation and chain Starbucks opened in Uruguay in 2018 and hasn’t done as well as its other locations globally.
“I believe they aren’t going to do as well as they imagine, the Uruguayarian market really anticipated the arrival of Starbucks which is very important, it’s curious how the discussion around better quality coffee has come from us as local coffee makers and not the big brands,” Juan Jose Moncera said, “We have a very solid background, a group that’s educated themselves about coffee, talks about it and presents what it’s all about in a clear way. I think Starbucks is in for a real challenge here.”
These small coffee roasters and cafes are inspiring the spread of more knowledge and appreciation for the craft, in hopes that the customers will see just how aromatic and flavorful the world of specialty coffee can be.