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Rating: Standard, mid-Range Bolognese coffee
The Gran Caffè Feliziani offers one of those traditional coffee experiences most tourists crave for here in Rome. For locals, it’s a straightforward semi-traditional cafe, that has the old Rome feel of Monti/Esquilino. It’s a long narrow place, that sits on a corner, and had a duo of man and woman working the bar. By they way they interacted, they might have been husband and wife. But who knows. The narrow space between the windows and the bar got packed quite soon, with everybody crowding the area in front of the espresso machine in order to get the barista’s attention to order their coffee.
Asking for coffee got me this treat:
Presentation: I was given a rather large espresso cup, that’s more for cappuccino than espresso, but that’s what it was. The saucer had seen nicer days, and it was a busy used cup. The spoon as generic as I might ask for. The cup itself was clean, crisp though, and the black on white was fun. No water offered, but it was given to other clients when they asked.
Temperature of Cup: It was very good, warm, emanating heat, but not scalding.
Quantity: It was indeed a good short-shot. Not too long, not ristretto by any means. It sat very low on the cup and was probably a good ounce at most.
Temperature: When I brought the drink to my lips it was good. We’re happy.
Volume/Consistency: It was lightish, thin, not flavorful, and not very volumetric or filling in the mouth. It wasn’t razor thin either, but just light.
Crema: It was also very light, thin, not persistent. Not sure what blend they were using, but I feel that the coffee could have been brewed better.
Odor: Very nice, quite aromatic indeed! There was smell of coffee inside the cafe and I was glad to have it rising into my nose as I drank this coffee. It might have been thin, but it was aromatic!
Taste: It was not very complex, thin, there were some signs of coffee oils in the cup, and it was a bit silky, and this gave it a rather mild non-rancid taste.
Overall: It was a thinly brewed, non-offensive coffee. No complex taste spectrum, and it makes you think of why one would choose this roaster over another? Or this caffe over neighbors? This was decent, mid-range coffee. You won’t go wrong, but you won’t get an amazing extra-memorable experience either.
The setup: Well… maybe because of the Victoria Arduino amazing espresso machine they had! And a Mazzer grinder to boot! The machine was kicking out espressi like crazy and tea and what not. It was busy and I’d have loved to get a taste of a really good coffee brewed on it. The brew itself was a new one for me, it was Attibassi Caffè. This is a early 20th century startup roaster (1918) that’s based out of Bologna, and has world-wide conquest aspirations. It seems they’ve got locales in California, Dubai, etc. But again, what is it that distinguishes this coffee from peers? Not entirely sure.
Gran Caffè Feliziani
Bar Feliziani,
Di Feliziani F. & C. S.A.S.
Via Gioberti 45
00185 Roma