Coffee Shops in Mexico City / Quēntin Café, headquarters of specialty coffee
The origin of the coffee changes every week; it is carefully roasted and one can witness different brewing methods.
By Alejandro Pohlenz
Now hunger and the desire to eat have come together. I am the most arrogant person when it comes to coffee. When I travel, I carry a portable espresso machine, a teapot, a grinder, and my own coffee that I roast myself at home in my suitcase. It is inadmissible for me to drink coffee in places where it is known to be terrible (like on airplanes, or at Vips). The coffee I drink is high-grown. It comes from Chiapas, from the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve. It is a blend of caracolillo, planchuela, and márago. (Surely you will confirm my diagnosis regarding presumption).
The Amsterdam branch
So I arrived at the Quēntin branch on the beautiful, quiet, and tree-lined Amsterdam Street. I learned that Quēntin (surely named after the film director with the last name Tarantino, although they write it with that little line on the e) has three branches: the first, on Álvaro Obregón in Roma; the one in Amsterdam and another one on Yucatán Street, also in Roma. I also learned that the owners are Messrs. Menachem Gancz and Salo Askenazi.
The founders of Quēntin
After a trip to Chiapas, they realized that what they call "specialty roasters" already existed in Mexico. Roasting well is one of the tricks to making good coffee, although I leave it very (too) dark. Menachem says that "coffee is an endangered species." I do not agree. It seems to me that the opposite is happening. He is also proud because "we are trying to serve the best coffee (...) in the history of mankind." Perhaps that would be difficult to calculate, but the owners of Quēntin do their best; in fact, every week the coffee (its origin and its roast) is different.
It is fascinating to watch how coffee is prepared because the bar is open. They offer coffees with beans from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Brazil, Colombia, and the Mexicans from Chiapas and Oaxaca. As for the food, they have a weekly menu: for example, on Mondays, there is a potato omelette; on Tuesday, pork chops; on Wednesdays, chicken pie; Thursday, beef milanesas, and Friday, empanadas. Of the sweet treats, I suggest the banana bread, the chocolatín, the Danish pastry, and the pastry cream and chocolate croissant. In all branches there are tables on the street: the one in Amsterdam has a very cozy place in the back (because the place is small). Do you want a different coffee? Quēntin.
- What we love and you should try: espresso.
- What we don't like so much: the potato omelette.
- Address: (Condesa Branch) Ámsterdam 67a, Hipódromo, CDMX.
- Hours and days of operation: Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Saturday, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday, from 8:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Ideal for: coffee.
- Payment: cash and cards.
- Accessibility: yes.
- Parking: no.
- Reservations: no.
- Phone: 55 7312 6188
- Nearby public transportation: Metro Sevilla.
- Pet Friendly: no.
- Suitable to go with children: yes.
- Vegan options: yes.
