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The Bird Who Pooped in My Latte— Café Chronicles from Buenos Aires
Coffee snobs once looked down on Argentinian coffee, but the scene is evolving
I was sipping coffee outside a sun-drenched café in Buenos Aires, sometime around 2013. Bright murals lined the nearby walls— birds and Hindu gods with winding arms tangled in flowers. Colors popped in teal, light green, black, and violet.
As I sat admiring the art, a sparrow landed boldly on my table, just inches from my plate. For a moment, we locked eyes. I thought we had shared something — a flicker of connection across the species line. Then, just as quickly, he fluttered away into the branches above.
A second later: plop.
A splash of coffee erupted from my mug and onto the table. When I looked up, it became clear: the sparrow hadn’t been as moved by our encounter — either that or he just really had to go.
Thankfully the waitress, kindly and a bit befuddled by my awkward Spanish explanation, brought me out a fresh cup of coffee.
Buenos Aires offers some of the best food I had in South America. The coffee, though — well, that’s a slightly different story, even without the bird-creamer additions.
