Buenos Aires · Argentina
LAB Tostadores de Café
LAB Tostadores de Café is one of 5 Buenos Aires roasters tracked on day9, in Palermo Hollywood.
Since 2014 · Alexis Zagdañski, Paula Zyssholtz
Overview
LAB was founded in 2014 by Alexis Zagdañski and Paula Zyssholtz in Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires, with a two-storey Humboldt 1542 space that puts the bar and kitchen on the ground floor and the roastery on the second. The business grew out of a 2012 Buenos Aires Emprende competition win, which funded the early micro-lot roasting model. They now run a sister bean-to-bar chocolate operation (Cacao Roasters) out of the same group.
Known for
- First wave of Argentine specialty roasters; opened 2014 in Palermo Hollywood
- Won Buenos Aires Emprende 2012 startup competition before opening
- Two-storey Humboldt 1542 site: ground-floor café, second-floor roastery
- Diedrich IR-12 production roaster
- Sister operation Cacao Roasters — bean-to-bar chocolate from the same founders
Why it matters
LAB introduced African coffee acidity and fruit-forward profiles to a Buenos Aires market that, until 2014, was almost entirely Brazil-via-Italy. Their decision to keep the roastery visible inside the cafe was deliberate consumer education, and the Buenos Aires Emprende win effectively turned the Argentine specialty industry into a fundable startup category for the first time.
Production
- roaster machine
- Diedrich IR-12
- roastery location
- Humboldt 1542, Palermo, Buenos Aires (second floor of café)
Café
Humboldt 1542, Palermo, Buenos Aires
Recognitions
- Buenos Aires Emprende 2012 winner