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Let’s go back to talk about specialty coffee in Barcelona: Let me introduce you to another barista who prepares delicious coffees in the city. A few weeks ago I told you about Mariëlla, who gave us her list of favorite cafes in Barcelona where she usually goes to work on her blog while enjoying a good specialty coffee.
Today I want to introduce you to Nito (@nit00ns), the head barista at Orbea Cycle Coffee, a coffee corner from Café de Finca inside the Orbea bike shop.
Nito had his first coffee at the age of 12, and he says since then he probably has not spent a single day without having the taste of coffee in his mouth, which is a taste he likes so much. At the age of 16, he began to make coffees in the family bar, and almost four years ago he returned to the coffee scene. After coming back he has dedicated his body and soul to the world of specialty coffee which, for him, it’s more a way of life.
Nito defines himself a perfectionist and even more so when we talk about the coffees he prepares for his customers. The drink he prefers to prepare is espresso, because he says: “the personal satisfaction I feel when I nail an espresso is infinite.“
Every morning, as soon as he arrives at Orbea Cycle Coffee, he takes the time to get the perfect adjustments to get the perfect coffee and to make his customers gawp when they taste his creations.
I asked Nito to tell us about his favorite coffee shops in Barcelona, and he explained that his choices are based not on the physical cafes, but rather on the people and their passion for specialty coffee, who work in these cafes at the moment or are involved in the coffee scene.
1. Café de Finca
Passatge Mercè Rodoreda, 2 – Castelldefels
For various reasons it is, by far, his favorite cafe. It is thanks to the guys at Café de Finca that he has discovered and entered the specialty coffee world. That’s why he can’t help but get sentimental when he remembers its beginnings. According to him, Café de Finca represents much more than a coffee shop. Its creators have managed to achieve a special atmosphere as if it was a large family. In addition, from the beginning they were able to create a great relationship between the baristas and the customers, which is something peculiar and not easy to find. There is a reciprocal affection between the two parts that has been achieved with time and thanks to personal treatment. In addition, despite large volume of work, they manage to always get great coffee extractions.
Pic by Café de Finca
2. Syra
Carrer de Siracusa, 13 – Gracia
Syra is only a take-away coffee shop. Nito is fascinated by Bea’s work, the head barista who has a close relationship with her customers. He says that she is a person with “no bragging around”, an authentic person who carries out her work with passion. What she wants is to work with coffee, regardless of the machine she uses for her creations. With her extractions, she manages to extract 120% of the coffee qualities and a balanced extraction that not all baristas would be able to obtain. In Syra, Nito usually orders a double espresso.
Foto de Syra Coffee
3. Wer-haus
Carrer d’Aragó, 287 – Eixample
The head barista at Wer-haus is Carlos, current aeropress national champion. According to Nito, Carlos is one of those people who does not mind sharing his knowledge, on the contrary: he enjoys to share it. In addition, he is carrying out major work on spreading the culture of specialty coffee and filter coffee. He organises events and cuppings in order to activate relations between roasters and local baristas. According to Nito, in Wer-haus they serve the best filter coffee in Barcelona.
4. Onna
Carrer de Santa Teresa, 1
Onna Café is a cafe where they they roast their own coffee and it is the only coffee they serve. Anahí is the person behind this project. She is from Costa Rica and the coffee she uses comes only from that area. Nito believes that her philosophy of being a micro-roaster for her own coffee shop is an authentic philosophy. Onna café is an ideal place to grab a good specialty coffee, and one more reason why Nito recommends it is for its eggplant sandwich with goat cheese and pesto.
Pic by Foodie in Barcelona
5. SlowMov
Carrer de Luis Antúnez, 18
As it appears on its website, “SlowMov is a platform for direct purchase from local producers that promotes a more responsible consumption” And in fact, Carmen and François, their founders, go beyond promoting the culture of specialty coffee. They themselves are roasters in Barcelona but roast with the French brand Coutume, who are the ones making the coffee selections. In addition, all the products they use in their cafe are all local and mainly ecological. This is what Nito likes, their philosophy of combining their products with handmade products from the land, in addition to the love that they put on to uncover the specialty coffee lifestyle.
I’d like to thank Nito for his recommendations and for sharing his point of view.
You can follow him on Instagram account @nit00ns or meet him in person at Orbea Cycle Coffee.
I’ll keep looking and asking about more places with Specialty Coffee in Barcelona. If you want to keep updated, follow me on my Instagram and/or Facebook account.
Do you have any cafe that you’d recommend?
