Nicolás Armas is a Sound Engineer and several years ago he turned to the coffee shop industry motivated by his love for coffee.
With a lot of effort, in January of this year he was able to open the doors of El Faro, a new place where residents and tourists can enjoy specialty coffee accompanied by something delicious to eat.
“We opened 6 months ago and this would be the third non-consecutive coffee shop that I have opened. It arose from the need to work and invest some savings to have a job and move forward,” he said about the motivation to start again in the field.
Nicolás highlighted that at different times during his residence in Esquel he was able to promote two cafes. One of them, “Dimitri”, is remembered by many residents as it had a large space and was located in a visible location for all those who frequented the city center.
The business had to close its doors, but shortly after and before the pandemic, Nicolás and his partner at the time opened a mobile cafe in Plaza del Cielo.
“After six months, everything closed down and at that moment we changed direction and started to focus more on food and delivery. Afterwards, things continued pretty well until I left and couldn’t continue on my own,” he recalled.
Years later, Nicolás decided to bet on the business again and invested savings to open El Faro.
“I really like coffee, and everything that is part of a coffee shop. Even though I studied something else, I later dedicated myself to this,” he said.
Specialty Coffee, a quality coffee
In recent years, specialty coffee has become popular, chosen by lovers of good quality coffee.
“It is the coffee that exceeds a certain score, it has to be 60% or higher, it does not matter if it is from Brazil or Colombia. It is a very good quality coffee that can be extracted very good flavors, that also depends on the way in which the bean is worked,” said Nicolás.
What El Faro offers is specialty coffee from the El Barco brand, promoted by a group of roasters from Bariloche.
“I buy different types of beans from them from Brazil and Colombia. Each bean is handled differently, you have to grind it differently, apply different pressure to the machine and you get different results,” he said.
He also pointed out that Specialty Coffee is related to how the coffee beans are harvested and how they are roasted.
He also pointed out that the quality of the coffee is reflected in what a customer who stops by El Faro to have something hot receives.
“What amazes me and what I see here is that I hardly spend any money on sugar, people don’t use it and that gives you an idea. It is a coffee that can be drunk without added sugar. For me it is a compliment and “It’s healthier. If you don’t add sugar, it means it’s coming out well and it’s also much healthier,” he highlighted.
Varieties of coffee and hot drinks
El Faro offers a wide variety of coffee to take away or to drink on site as it has a comfortable and pleasant space for those people who want to enjoy a snack or breakfast in peace.
We can find the classic, such as a latte, double coffee, double expresso, common or cappuccino. Also “modern” varieties such as caramel macchiato.
Nicolás also offers coffee with alcohol. “I have a wide variety of coffee with alcohol, especially because it is a cold climate and even though it doesn’t get much, it does. I have the cold-break with honey and milk, the carajillo with whiskey or the Irish with cream and whiskey,” he said.
The coffee that customers like the most is the flat white, ideal for those who don’t like it with so much foam. Another of the favorites is the caramel macchiato, a coffee that has more foam than milk and contains caramel sauce.
If you’re not a big fan of coffee, there’s also loose leaf tea from “Los Abuelos”, a local producer’s venture.
To accompany coffee or tea you can opt for Ankatú alfajores, sweet and savory scones, toasts, chocolate cookies, croissants, croissants with ham and cheese, pancakes and white bread toasts and sweet black bread.
There are also options for the summer, as in the cafeteria you can find fruit salads, iced coffees or yogurt with granola.
“Everything is prepared so that they can take whatever they want. It is fast-paced but it is also designed for those who want to stay,” said Nicolás.
The El Faro cafeteria is open from Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 12:30 and from 17:00 to 21:00 and is located in the heart of the city, in San Martin 1080.
C.S.
