Coffee in Chile is, well, quite bad! It is almost always instant - and I even had a mug of "Cafe con Leche" that was microwaved so long, I had to peel off the hardened skin of milk to be able to drink it!
Well on our tour, the tour guide admitted to the fact that coffee in Chile is pretty darn bad. Then he drew our attention to some nice looking coffee shops in downtown Santiago. One example of which is Cafe Haiti. He told us tha these nicer looking coffee shops still "brewed" the same Nescafé, but they charged more for it... So what is the draw you may wonder - why would anyone pay 3 to 4 times as much there?!?!?
The answer is "Cafe con Piernes" or "coffee with legs" .....
These shops hire young, pretty women to serve. Back in the 1920's til about the 50's at an 'unofficial' set time of the day, the shop would be crowded with businessmen being served by these women.... Then the owner would lock the door and draw the curtains for a minute or two or maybe five. The shop was closed and during this "happy minute" as it was known, those leggy waitresses would do a quick strip routine on the tables of the coffee shop. Then the music stopped, they got dressed, the curtains were opened, the door unlock and it was back to business as usual.....coffee with legs
Now the question is, do they still do this today? I don't think so, but the history of the cafe certainly draws in many individuals to drink overpriced really bad instant coffee. Of course, if you are reading this and really want to find out firsthand - then come visit Santiago!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Santiago, Chile
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