Parroquia Vs. Portales
by Kiyoshi
Those of you familiar with Mexican coffee lore will no doubt have heard about the Cafe de la Parroquia in the city of Veracruz. This place has been serving coffee since 1909. Their machines, which are very early examples of italian espresso machines, are supposed to have been in service since at least 1913.
The coffee served here is very far from a traditional italian style espresso, though. A blend of local beans is used, and brewed to produce a syrupy concentrate with none of the crema we are used to seeing today. This concentrate is served in a regular glass and gallantly topped with milk to taste.
A family dispute split the business into two locales, and the original name and machines moved a few blocks away. While the original cafe changed it’s name to Cafe Portales and acquired new Victoria Arduino machines which are sadly now only used for steaming milk.
Regardless of these feuds, both are delightful places to stop for coffee during a visit to Veracruz, and each one has a distinctive characteristic to their coffee preparation. Check out the flickr set of my visit to both places to see the more pics of both places.