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Rating: Standard, mid-range Roman coffee
The Boattini Caffè Bar in the heart of Testaccio doesn’t announce too loudly its existence. Its got a decrepit facade, some small coffee sign outside, and the vestige of an awning. But walking in I was met with some heartfelt smiles and warm care. The interior, again is stuck in some indescribable year in the mid 1970s, and behind the counter it didn’t look to appetizing. Either way, nice find.
Asking for a coffee got me this:
Presentation: Yup, you know my angst at milking a double espresso for a single. Sloppy drip on the side of the coffe just killed it. Why the hell do you throw out a perfectly good double ristretto espresso if you’ve already loaded the damned portafilter for it? No water was offered, but probably would have been given if asked.
Temperature of Cup: Good, solidly warm, great start!
Quantity: Short shot for this rather large cup. So another good point.
Temperature: Coffee was great, all set for a good experience!
Volume/Consistency: And here it goes, the coffee was creamy, not runny, not watery. But not deep or round.
Crema: It was thin, not oily, and not lasting. This was the bad point, and reflects the double extracting of the shot, and some lack of tuning.
Odor: Nope, non here, yet again!
Taste: It was bitter, yes, very bitter, but not rancid in any way. No metallic tastes, nor fishy smells…
Overall: It was standard, decently done coffee. It was sloppy, but then again, I didn’t pay for a ‘pretty’ cup of coffee. Hell it was already pink! Isn’t that enough? It would have been a lot better if the crema was a bit thicker, creamier, it would have pushed this espresso way above normal Roman coffee. As it is, it was sloppy, lacking attention, but OK. Not offensive.
The setup: They had a nice President Faema three group machine, and what seemed like a nice Mazzer grinder hidden back there.
The coffee being served was, as the front of the cafe showed, MokaSirs. I’ve had this Pavia-Based roaster before and it was pretty bad, but here, it was decent. We’re on a roll with OK coffees!
The interior was quaint, if eclectic and ‘typical’… if that’s the word for it?
Boattini Bar Caffè S.A.S.,
di Boattini Sandro
Via Mastro Giorgio 58/60, 00153 Roma
