MASSIMI CAFFÈ, VIA DEI COLLI PORTUENSI 163, 00151 ROMA

Rating: Standard, normal Roman coffee

The Massimi Caffè is a quaint and charming place. I liked it immediately. You walk in to this small-thin mono-locale and you’re in this Tiffany acqua-blue colored space, a chandelier right above you, a super inviting vitrine full of sweet pastries in the front, mirrors on every side, and somehow, you feel you’re in a chocolate box. It had cool music that somehow glued all together, and the atmosphere was neat… I can’t put my finger on it, but it was definitely cool.

Asking for a coffee got me this:

Presentation: Water served immediately, the counter was a sleek black marble, it was all in style. The coffee cup… also designer.

Temperature of Cup: It was hot, it was Roman and that’s how it’s gonna be…

Quantity: While the cup was rather large, the espresso shot was good and short. I was a happy camper.

Temperature: Still warm, too warm to really taste anything.

Volume/Consistency: It was watery, not thick, nor heavy. Very light.

Crema: Crema light thin, non persistent. Too uniform in color and texture for my taste.

But picture perfect, looks like a bran new coat of paint.

Odor: A dark roasted smell. Some tones of wood.

Taste: This prefigured the woody taste I felt in the coffee. I’ve had this experience with this brand before. So, it wasn’t that far off.

Overall: Just a bit oily at the very end, and quite bitter almost rancid, and at the very last drop not watery anymore. But as is, it was a normal run-of-the-mill Roman coffee experience. Nothing remarkable, but definitely nothing bad.

The Setup: They had an Astoria grinder, a nice La Cimbali M22 Premium straightforward espresso machine and were squirting out Paraná Café. I still haven’t been impressed by this roaster, but maybe, it’s the front-end users (coffee shops) that aren’t doing their best…. Here in this incarnation, it was better than others tried before.

But the place, somehow, was charming. Not that that this is my particular cup of tea in terms of style, but there was a certain rhythm to it that I liked and enjoyed. It is very small and sitting there tucked into the corner made me happy, and I’ll do it again when I can! Definitely worth stopping in if you’re on this avenue.

Massimi Caffè

di Massimi Enea

Via dei Colli Portuensi 163, 00151 Roma