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It's not just a matter of taste. The world of coffee is captivating, even more so if you start to delve into the technical details and all those aspects that make it special, such as the importance of where and how it is grown, the type of roast, or the final brewing method. Pioneers like Nomad, Hidden, Right Side, or Tornado Coffee Roasters have contributed to making this exclusivity, tinged with a premium air, a highly valued and appreciated product in Barcelona today, with must-visit establishments if one wants to enjoy the best solo or a superlative latte.
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Getting into technicalities, specialty coffee is one that the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) scores between 80 and 100 points. Coffees that score lower are considered commercial (between 60 and 80 points) and those that exceed the 80-point threshold are considered special, hence the nomenclature specialty coffee. This effort to highlight coffee is also known as the Third Wave, a product of the evolution of both coffee consumption and production.
If in the 60s its consumption spread and democratized due to a reduction in production cost (the first wave), in the 90s Starbucks expanded beyond the borders of the United States, reaching the entire planet. With this expansion, its philosophy of exposing the coffee supply chain (especially the origin) and presenting it as an almost luxury product, exported the second wave to these countries, one that is more concerned with where and how it is produced at the industry and consumer level.
The third wave elevates this knowledge, seeking to disseminate how to grow, roast, and prepare it so that, from bean to coffee cup, the cycle is recognizable and a guarantee of quality. Thus, the experience of drinking a coffee of more than 80 points must be liturgical: it involves the owner of the farms where the bean is obtained; the roaster —who applies a roast that does justice to the fruit—, and a barista, responsible for performing an extraction that keeps intact (or even improves) the work of the previous links.
The arrival of specialty coffee in Barcelona
The arrival of specialty coffee in Barcelona had several actors, at the beginning of the last decade. Young independent roasters who delved into this world out of passion, swimming against the current in a society that sweetened with grams of sugar a bitter coffee due to the historical excessive roasting of the bean.
These pioneers were Jordi Mestres (Nomad Coffee), Joaquin Parra (Right Side) and Nino Tusell (Tusell Tostadores). They would have had a more difficult path without the fundamental catalyzing role of Marcos Bartolomé (Satan's Coffee Corner) or the barista and disseminator Kim Ossenblok (also known as Kim Barista). All of them worked hard and were perfect evangelizers: Mestres, from Nomad's first premises in Passatge Sert, Bartolomé in his corner in the Raval or Ossenblok with his specialization courses in coffee culture. They were, and are, tireless communicators and educators, not afraid to often scold customers who dared to add sugar to their coffee or ask for a decaf. Without forgetting another important role: the army of baristas they have trained in recent years, authentic defenders of the product and executors of impeccable and precise extractions.
Thanks to them, specialty coffee is already quite established. Good proof of this is the proliferation of specialty coffee shops in Barcelona, in all neighborhoods. In practically all of them, the coffee comes from small local independent roasters: Nomad, Right Side, La Finca, Hidden Coffee, Onna Coffee, Mafia, Tusell Tostadores or El Magnífico —the older brother—, to name a few examples. The common denominator is respect for the fruit in all steps, from the bean to the extraction. And as a fruit that it is, it is seasonal, and this lasts one year.
The process that culminates in a glorious cup begins with the cultivation of the coffee plant. The preferred one by specialty roasters is Arabica, because it has more aroma, more nuances of fruits and nuts and because it contains little caffeine. Arabica coffee is grown from 900 meters of altitude. If we understand that caffeine is the plant's defense against insects, the higher the cultivation altitude, the fewer insects and, therefore, less caffeine. The roaster buys the green bean from the producer, whose farm names the purchased coffee to guarantee its traceability.
Then he roasts it with great precision and professionalism because for him, roasting is a way of honoring the producer's work, preventing the nuances of the fruit absorbed by the soil in which it has been grown from being lost with the roasting. Finally, the roasted coffee —packaged indicating when it was roasted and from which farm the bean comes— arrives at the specialty coffee shop, where the barista applies the appropriate grind depending on the extraction technique chosen by the client: espresso, Italian, or filter.
The extraction methods to achieve a good coffee are diverse and deserve a separate chapter. Meanwhile, for those curious to taste the best specialty coffees in the city and learn more about this rich culture, here is a small selection where you can enjoy and converse with their exceptional professionals:
NOMAD COFFEE
C/ Pujades, 95, 08005 Barcelona
Nomad is the institution, with a presence in the vast majority of specialty coffee shops that do not roast their own coffee because Jordi Mestres has managed to create a powerful and solvent brand based on effort and vision. From his roastery in the Poblenou neighborhood, he distributes throughout the city and beyond. You can taste their novelties in espresso or filter at Nomad Roaster's Home (Poblenou), at the Raval location (Joaquim Costa) or at the mythical Passatge Sert.
THREE MARKS COFFEE
C/ d'Ausiàs Marc, 151, 08013 Barcelona
If we scratch beyond the name, which literally states that there are three Marks behind it (Marco Paccagnella, Marco de Rebotti and Marc Aguye), we discover three great professionals in this small Fort Pienc establishment. Seasoned in Jordi Mestres' team, they seek their own path with single-origin coffees that they select and roast, offering variety and rotation.
SYRA COFFEE
C/ de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats, 8, 08012 Barcelona
Yassir Raïs opened his first establishment in 2015 to be able to consume quality coffee, in Gràcia. In an initial phase, Raïs selected coffees from independent local roasters until he decided to roast them himself. Currently, his own coffee, selected at origin, can be enjoyed in the four establishments that Syra already has in the city (Gràcia, Poblenou, Poble Sec and Eixample).
NEWS & COFFEE
Pg. de Sant Joan, 17, 08010 Barcelona
News & Coffee is not a coffee shop, it is a kiosk in Passatge Sant Joan where you can find one of the best selections of national and international books, magazines and newspapers, with a focus on design, art or photography... and enjoy a good coffee (which is no small thing!). But this premise implies unnecessary modesty: the coffee served by Pablo Pardo, roasted with Christian Meier in Girona under the brand Approachable Coffee Roasters, is pure luxury. And a visit to him brings a good chat and a good coffee, if you happen to meet him.
HIDDEN CAFÉ
C/ Constança at the corner of C/ Déu i Mata, 08029 Barcelona
The passion they have for coffee at Hidden Café, in Les Corts, is noticeable in every sip. With Mateos González directing the project, they master the process: they buy the green bean at origin, roast it and know how to prepare the extraction so that it does justice. Add to that that they take advantage of any hint of interest from the client to tell and disseminate about coffee culture and this is a great thing.
BREW
C/ Roger de Flor, 102, 08013 Barcelona
Its name, Brew, indicates its specialty, filter coffee. In Barcelona we are not very used to this type of extraction, we have always associated coffee with espresso. Junzhi Liu, owner and barista, is a broad connoisseur of filter extraction and a great defender of how important the filtering method used is to obtain nuances of flavor. The wonderful coffees he prepares with Chemex, Aeropress, Kalita, V60 or Origami are not easily forgotten.