The Cartagena bar that invented the Café Asiático faces an uncertain future

Bar Pedrín in El Albujón is looking for a new owner as the current manager prepares to retire after more than 80 years

If you have lived in or around the Cartagena area, you’ll have heard of the café asiático. A coffee famous in these parts that was invented in Bar Pedrín in El Albujón, Cartagena. This family-run bar has been serving the drink for more than 80 years, but with the current manager preparing to retire, its future is now uncertain.

The café asiático is a strong coffee with condensed milk and Licor 43, plus foamed milk, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a few coffee beans on top. Bar Pedrín is often called “the cradle of the asiático,” and while the recipe has been copied across the region, few places match the original.

Cartagena has been an important port since Roman times, bringing in trade and exotic ingredients from around the world. You can see some of that in the local coffee, not just the café asiático. Condensed milk became part of the coffee culture in this area, and Licor 43, the sweet orange liqueur made in Cartagena, is a local product. These ingredients have helped give the local drinks their distinctive flavours.

Bar Pedrín was opened in the 1940s by Pedro Conesa, known locally as Pedrín. Since then, it has been passed through several generations of the same family, becoming more than just a place to grab a coffee. It also runs a lottery office that has handed out major prizes over the years!

The challenge now is finding someone to take over. Many young people are choosing different careers, and few are interested in running a traditional family bar. The motorway has also diverted traffic away from El Albujón, so the bar no longer sees as many passersby as it did when the main road went through the village.

Over the years, Bar Pedrín has had some famous visitors, from the actor Paco Rabal to the musician Manuel Cárceles and footballer José García Murcia. Their photos still hang on the walls. But for most people in the village, it’s never been about famous faces. It’s a place to meet, have a coffee in a bar that has been part of the village for generations. The Cartagena City Hall recently added a sculpture nearby to celebrate the café asiático and the man who created it, a reminder of how much the bar and the drink mean to the area.

The bar is now on the market, along with the house next door. The hope is that a new owner will step in and carry on the family tradition, keeping Bar Pedrín open and serving the café asiático for years to come!
 

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