DEI FUMETTI BAR CAFFÈ, VIA RINALDO D'AMI 6, 00127 ROMA

REGNO DEL CORNETTO CAFFÈ, VIA NOMENTANA 879, 00137 ROMA

FIRENZE CAFFÈ, VIA FIRENZE 33, 00185 ROMA

VASCELLO GRAN CAFFÈ, VIA GIACINTO CARINI 88, 00153 ROMA

Rating: Poor, low-end Roman espresso

The Gran Caffè Vascello is an interesting coffee house. It’s situated on a corner on the other side of Piazza Rosolino Pilo, it’s got some tables outside, plenty of shade, and lots of elderly folks enjoying the sun. Because of the plaza and the cross-streets, it’s in a great place to thrive as a business.

When you ask for a coffee you receive the following:

Presentation: No water is offered, but they’ll give it to you if you ask. I was glad I asked… as I realized I needed it! First off, clean cup, saucer and spoon. The dripped coffee on the cup shows that the barista was paying attention to the espresso (he was actually milking it for another tandem espresso).

Temperature of Cup: Ok, we start off bad. Super hot, I mean, very very hot cup.

Quantity: The cup was rather big, and although the barista was looking at the espresso while it was in the works, it was a long shot for me. A bit too long given the cup size.

Temperature: And yes, the espresso was extra hot. Painfully hot!

Volume/Consistency: This equates to killing the beans. It was very watery, we could expect this by now.

Crema: Although the crema wasn’t as light, or blond, as I’d expect it from this temperature, it was indeed paper thin – and didn’t last long.

Odor: Yes, that characteristic charcoal burnt smell- if downing this doesn’t wake you up, what will?!

Taste: Yes, this will! The taste! Very rancid coffee. No hints of aroma, nor of fruits or any of the wildlife that surrounded these beans as they were cultivated. Just rancid coffee.

Overall: So yes, the main attraction at this cafe is a very rancid coffee that will put hair on the sole of your feet.. hence why I rate this as a poor coffee experience.

The setup: Here’s the interesting point. If you read the cup, you’ll see they were brewing Caffè Fantini. This is a local Roman roasting company, and if you search Bar Quattro Venti Caffè here on this site, you’ll see that they roast the same beans. Well, low and behold, the barista there knew what he was doing, and was able to get a good espresso out of Fantini beans, here… quite the opposite. The Faema machine and grinder are actually better (minus the grinder) than at Quattro Venti Caffè… yet the final product worse. Here’s a clear case where an hour of tuning their setup would give such great results…