TRE EMME CAFFÈ, VIA CAMILLO SERAFINI 47, 00164 ROMA

Rating: Standard, good Florentine coffee being served

Out in what feels like the boonies of Rome, in the northern part of Monteverde there’s a cafe called ‘Tre Emme’ which is kind of hidden by the outside terrace. Tucked under the awning you can find the name of the cafe. But I saw the two coffee brand logos on the outside so I’d give this a try. The place is not fancy, not jazzy, just looks like a coffee house that hasn’t been changed since the 1978 oil crisis.​

Asking for a coffee got me the following response:​

​Presentation: The cup was nice, it had a prominent logo on it of the coffee being served and then the name of the the restaurant. It showed a lot of action, washed and dried hundreds of times. No water was offered.

Temperature of Cup: It was very hot, had to wait to about a minute before being able to handle the cup.

Quantity: It was a bit long espresso for the size of the cup, but upon drinking it, it was actually just right. Good length.

Temperature: By the time I drank this coffee it was at a good temperature, could drink it immediately.

Volume/Consistency: It was a silky drink, it had a certain thickness that was surprising to discover. The drink definitely got better.

Crema: It was light brown, blondish and I expected a worse drink, especially on looking at it while I waited for the drink to cool.​

The crema was not lasting, and by the time I finished the drink, it had all but dissipated.​

Odor: While I waited to drink the coffee, the barista stared at me a few times as I stuck my nose into the cup to try to catch the fragrance. There was indeed a mild smell of dark roasted coffee. No fruityness, just the straight-up dark coffee.

Taste: Here is where I was totally surprised, everything was aiming for a low-quality (yet not poor) normal Roman coffee. But instead, I experienced a decent caramel taste behind a strong bitter yet not at all rancid coffee. I was happy! ​

Overall: This was a ‘surprise’ experience. The service was OK, not spectacular, especially since I was the only client there. Then, the coffee was a mixed bag of good and bad signs, but out of the main of sub-par coffees being served, this was actually good and distinctive. It’s not up in the best of Rome, but if you’re lost in this neck of the woods, worth a try.

The setup: There was a three-group semi-automatic E-61 based Wega Sphera that looked crisp, clean and cool. The grinder was large, but I don’t know the brand (this is my homework here!).​

As you can see from the cup, and the large sign above the coffee machine and yes also if you look at the damned bag dumped upside down in the hopper (!!freshness?? what is that!!??), the coffee being roasted is Jolly Caffè. This is a Florentine roaster and hence the real reason why I noticed immediately the difference in relation to the normal Roman coffee being served. Northern Italian coffee roasters tend to think a bit more about ‘color’ in coffee. The owners of the bar are pretty proud of their brew, especially since the name of the bar actually seems to be ‘Jolly Caffè’ instead of Tre Emme (Three M’s) as it’s actually called!​

The place is rather large, and has ample space in the front that’s all shaded (it was hot as hell that day!) and then inside there was another room. They sold lots of sandwiches and sweets, so plenty to choose from.

Tre Emme Bar Pasticceria Caffè, S.R.L.

Via Camillo Serafini, 47

00164 Roma