The ice-cream parlor El Tio Che at Poblenou is a famliy business that sells horchata (tigernut milk) since a century ago. They produce it handmade with tigernuts brought from Alboraia, in the region of Valencia. This Saturday it celebrates a century of life with a local festival and on Sunday at noon they offer free horchata.
The ice-cream parlor is located at the number 44 of the Rambla del Poblenou and can be found at one of the most emblematic corners of the Avenue. At the party there will be lots of kids competitions for drawings and photography, ice-cream for everybody, dances, concerts, storytelling and above all horchata (tigernut milk) and fartons (a type of bun).
The history of El Tio Che goes back to 1912, the year in which Joan Iborra, the first of the five generations that directed the ice-cream parlor left Valencia for Barcelona to go on a ship leaving for Argentina. He did not get on board as he fell in love with the streets of Barcelona close to the sea.
Back then at the passeig Nacional and current passeig de Joan de Borbó he decided to open an ice-cream parlor called Tio Che, remembering the “Xe, prova” (“Hey you, try this”) that he said to all neighbors so that they would try the horchata (tigernut milk) and the leche merengada (milkshake with cinnamon and lemon) that he and his family produced. Years later, around 1930, the Iborra moved their ice-cream parlor to the current location at Poblenou.
This Saturday El Tio Che will have 100 years of history and will celebrate it with a local festival.