Check back soon
Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.
Rating: Standard, low-end Roman Coffee
This is yet another one of those cafes in Rome that you encounter while ambulating through the maze-like downtown area of the Pigna district. In the least expected corner of town you encounter the L'Antico Caffè della Pigna. It looks straight out of a Woody Allen film about Rome. It’s got a faded exterior, an artistic nice plant growing over the door sign, and the interior- old Roman café charm. Well, if that wasn’t enough, and I don’t mean to be sexist here, but it was noticeable- at the time I was there, all the baristas were women clad in skin tight black attire with long tied-back hair. There were about 5 different baristas of differing ages. Something was up, and it was coordinated. Even thought this might seem presumptuous, the atmosphere was super low-key and relaxed, everybody seemed to be native Romans by the way the spoke.
Asking for a coffee got me this:
Presentation: The espresso was started by one barista, and another finished it. I got a full glass off water served immediately. The cup was the fluted short style that I really like and the spoon was small and beat up to taste. The cup also looked like it was washed a few thousand times. All in line with a chill attitude of the place.
Temperature of Cup: The temperature was good. Warm, not boiling deadly hot, but warm and made the espresso blend in with the cup.
Quantity: It was a ristretto by US standards, a traditionally short espresso shot here in Rome. The cup lends to very small amounts of coffee. And this is good in my book.
Temperature: The coffee itself was also at a good temperature. I expected an explosive surprise, but fortunately, non had. Strait-up decent.
Volume/Consistency: Hmm… it was thin. It was razor sharp, no body, no thickness, nothing to grab onto.
Crema: Caramel in color and in appearance. It was candy-like, with a bit of dark sugar not melted. It was grainy. Not persistent. It didn’t fuse with the espresso when I drank it so it didn’t do much to add to the consistency/volume of the drink.
Odor: Nope, none here. Nothing surprising in Rome.
Taste: Well the taste was very very bitter. Damned bitter, and touching hands with total rancidness. But it wasn’t there. The taste was not astringent, but sharp and bitter.
Overall: I’ve had Gima Coffee before, in lots of other locals, and this roaster is usually characterized by a very rich, oily and silky espresso that is one of the better brands here in Rome. This is by far nothing close to those good shots I’ve had from this brand. Thus, it wasn’t horrible, but by far not a mid-level Roman coffee.
The setup: They had the typical combo of Astoria espresso machine, but here instead of an Astoria grinder, its what I believe a Mazzer Major. The coffee is the Roman based roaster Gima Caffè.
L'Antico Caffè della Pigna, S.N.C.
Piazza della Pigna 57-58
00186 Roma