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Rating: Standard, good mid-range Roman espresso
The Tiberino Caffè, or the Antico Caffè dell’Isola as it’s also called is literally on prime real estate. Its on the Tiberina Island which is just a bit bigger than a football field. There’s a hospital, the bones of the Apostle Bartholomew on the church there, and this cafe (and maybe another). Thus, it’s got a steady flow of healthy tourists, and the healthier and luckier people visiting their relatives and friends on the hospital. Let’s see what they do with this advantaged position.
Asking for a cup of coffee got me a reply in English, and when I stood there not understanding what the hell the person was saying to me (really! I couldn’t understand what damned language the barista was speaking to me in!) she repeated it in Italian, ‘you just want a coffee?’ and I said ‘certo!’ she then said she thought I was a foreigner…. and I told her I was! In any case, here’s what I got:
Presentation: No water offered… maybe it’s because I was just another ‘tourist’? I’ll never know.
Temperature of Cup: Yup, hot as hell, what’s new in Rome?
Quantity: Good rather longish shot, this is what I do like about Rome! Shots are still espresso, but they vary and here we had a rather full espresso length.
Temperature: The liquid brew itself was… yup, hot as hell!
Volume/Consistency: Yet this was interesting, it was very light. Maybe because I was an American they gave me a ‘light’ espresso… thin, watery, but not offensive in its ‘thiness…’
Crema: Thick, dark, persistent- dig it. Nothing out of this world, but still… better than a blond uninteresting company.
Odor: Again, why do we need more odorous coffee when you have the 2000 year old pluming still active in Rome?
Taste: It was watery, very light, slightly bitter, not rancid, and I could drink at least 3 of these in a row.
Overall: Good espresso!! Nothing out of this world, but very good. Something about 10 times better than I would expect in such a touristy place.
The setup: they had a nice modern E61 Faema, a very nice Faema. Look for yourself. A nice Mazzer Grinder, and well…
They were roasting Caffè Haiti Roma, which has been quite good so far. So I’m glad they were brewing this.
Tiberino Caffè
Antico Caffè dell’Isola
Via Ponte 4 Capi 17/18, 00186 Roma
