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Rating: Excellent, Third Wave Roman Coffee
***See at the end of article/page for recent reviews***
So this is going to be a long post. After nearly a year of daily search for a Third-Wave coffee house here in Rome, we’ve finally hit the jackpot. Literally. Marjani Coffee Roaster is a Third-Wave establishment and keeps its feet rooted in the local Roman coffee tradition. It is a small, one-man operation run by Alessandro Pau that allows him to experiment with everything that gourmet artisan coffee has to offer. The locale is situated in the EUR area, a few steps away from a handful of other very good Roman traditional roasters. And thus, in the heart of a place with lots of cafes, lots of competition, and resulting in a really interesting coffee culture hub here in Rome. It’s mission is presented immediately by it’s logo: ‘Caffè Gourmet’ on the outside. A Caffè Vergnano decal also let’s you know that it’s not buying into the Palombini-like coffee culture here the EUR area. The café is divided into two parts, on the left there’s a locale called ‘Bred’ that has lots of different food offerings aimed at a quick grab and go, and on the right of the locale you have the bar for having coffee. There’s tables outside and the whole place had tons of light bathing the interior. It’s a very cool, minimalistic and straightforward atmosphere that makes you want to come back and chill. There’s no empty pomp as in some other cafes the Barista-Roaster Alessandro is super welcoming, and friendly.
Given that this will be a rather in-depth post let’s get straight to the first part. The espresso. As my first venture in the locale, I had to start with my personal favorite, espresso. This is what I got:
Presentation: Nice, clean, and not too big. It was a rather thickish cup that I liked, and had a spoon that was good size to measure. Marjani Coffee offeres two different types of espressos. A traditional ‘Roman’ flavored espresso roast (more on this below) and another, ‘gourmet’ artisan roast that costs a bit more. Being that it was Friday afternoon, and at 45 minutes before his shop closed for the weekend, he was already out of this latter roast. I have tried it before and it is very good, and really worth coming out here. Now back to the ‘Roman’ blend.
Temperature of Cup: The cup was warm, not hot, and just right.
Quantity: The quantity was on the mark. It wasn’t a Roman ristretto, but a full espresso. On the shorter end of an ounce, problem shy of it. I was happy.
Temperature: The espresso itself was not boiling, it was on the low-end of the spectrum and I asked about it, and yes, the espresso was brewed at 89Celcius. This is the lower limit for Romans, if not they’ll spit out the espresso at you saying that it’s cold….
Volume/Consistency: It was very creamy, it was light, I could taste the oily consistency very well and it was really balanced and delicate. It felt silky but not raspy, and literally filled the entirety of my mouth with the smoothness of its brew.
Crema: It was light, persistent and didn’t show signs of lots of oil. It was interesting because it was completely mono-tone and didn’t show signs of under or over extraction.
It was very syrupy, and creamy in consistency. Very nice.
Odor: There was a definite aroma to the coffee, sharp at the beginning, rounded out at the end with sweet tones of honey.
Taste: The front end is all bitter, lots of bite, but then each sip opens up to a very light, caramel with licorice tastes that is really so pleasing. The creaminess of the extraction and the uniformity of oils in the espresso really coated the whole of my mouth and after the four sips I took to drink the coffee, I could really taste quite a good gamut of flavors in it.
Overall: Very good. Very different from what I normally have in a Roman espresso. This is definitely a different take on ‘Roman’. First, it has the bite and kick of a normal espresso here, but then it opens up to reveal some damn good flavor. It has a definite aromatic profile and taste that at this temperature lets you figure out that it is indeed a carefully controlled espresso.
The setup: Alessandro uses a very beautiful and top notch Della Corte ‘DC Evo 2’ espresso machine. Totally independent and digitally controlled boilers, this is perfect for serving different roasts. He had four different grinders, a large Anfim for the ‘Roman’ roast, a smaller Fiorenzato F4E Nano grinder for his weekly differing ‘artisan’ roasts, and then another Anfim for the decaf. And lastly, up above, on the section for the pour-overs, he had a hand-held Hario grinder.
Now let’s get to the other coffees he had available: If you look here, you see that he offers your choice of an Aeropress, Hario V60, Chemex or French Press. The price is listed there.
Above, he had five different types of roasts and blends.
These are artisan Roasted coffees which Alessandro purchases from Andrea Matarangolo (one of the leading artisan coffee figures in Italy, and member of the Community Coffee Research Group that hosts Third-Wave events here in Rome and elsewhere in Italy).
So in good American tradition we had a V60: We had a Single Origin 100% Arabica Ethiopia (Sidamo, G2 Bagersh Washed).
Alessandro weighed the grounds, the water, everything was calculated and after letting the temperature of the water cool for a few seconds, he went in for the brew.
It was great, light, citrusy, and delicate.
It sat in my mouth, again, very smooth smooth. The aromas from the cup were very floral and reminded me that coffee has all the complexity that we get out of teas, and of course more. It was bright and really very pleasant. I was so glad that I couldn’t resist asking now for a different type of brewed coffee.
So we went for the Aeropress: This time we changed the beans and added another parameter. Still 100% Arabica, but this time a mix from Brazil (Sul de Minas, Fazenda Monte Allegre), Guatemala (El Hato, Blue Estate), and Ethiopia (Unwashed, Djimmans GS).
This was really a tasteful surprise. Alessandro went through the same meticulous grinding with the Hario on the spot, weighing the coffee grinds, and then as he poured weighing the exact quantity of water.
As we both sat there drinking the coffee its sharper beginning opened up to a really aromatic finish that really turned out to be great. Again, very aromatic, floral, and the taste fresh, crisp, fruity.
Before I left, Alessandro let me have a taste at his new batch of ‘Roman’ roasted coffee: It is the same blend that I tasted above (Colombo 70/30 Arabica / Robusta Blend: Brazil, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, India- see pix by Espresso machine).
The new batch is on the left, vs. the darker one I tasted above in my espresso is on the right:
This time he explained that he’s roasted a new batch (just the past week) that is a bit lighter than usual. I took some home for tasting. Alessandro explained that he’s been forced to cater to local coffee tastes. The lighter he toasts, the less clients appear and the more the steadfast regulars complain that he’s not serving the proper ‘coffee’. Rome is conservative, and especially so in its food and coffee tastes. So he’s been able to balance out both traditions slowly through trial and error. Hence why he’s able to offer a very decent traditional ‘artisan’ roasted Roman espresso (with lots of flavor parameters) and also, do more complex ‘gourmet’ coffee on the side.
This coffee was very aromatic, it had lots of honey, floral smell and when brewed it had a very light thin crema. It was very silky, and it’s oils came out in beads when I brewed it in my Caravelle Arrarex. It was tempermentally light, and still fruity. Can I speak of bitter? Not really, it was acidic and caffeine heavy, complex and delightful.
Lastly, what’s the scoop with obtaining coffee form Marjani Coffee Roaster? You should contact him ahead of time to get some coffee as he roasts very small batches and once they’re out you have to wait until the next round is done. Here’s how his Moka coffee blend looks.
And if you wondered what the Caffè Vergnano sign on the front of the store was about, he also sells this brand’s ‘capsule’ coffee for Nespresso-like coffee machines.
So glad that we’ve finally found a Third-Wave establishment here in Rome. More info on this locale and associated places in the following months!
*** Cascara Coffee and Ethiopia Cold Brew***
Alessandro Pau, the man behind Marjani Coffee Roasters Lab is continuously innovating in his café both to continue to explore coffee, and to try to educate the Roman regulars that stop by his café to appreciate the many different flavors coffee has to offer. I saw some of his Instagram posts brewing something called ‘Cascara’… is it really ‘fruit husks’?
I had no idea these were being put to use. Well, I stopped by and he brewed some ‘cascara’ for me. If you’re not aware of this, essentially it is the dried rind or husk of the coffee cherry. Before they used to make fertilizer for the coffee trees out of it, but now, increasingly, they’re putting it aside and serving it up as a delicate by-product of coffee. The ‘cascara’ that Alessandro has at his shop is sourced by the Has Bean Coffee shop in London, and sourced in Italy by Griso Torrefazione e Cafeteria, a roaster and café shop in Seveso (north of Milan). It’s a café and roaster that sources tons of single-origin gourmet premium coffee.
Either way, it is good. It is great actually, and a really nice discovery for me. It is brewed here in the French Press. Before its brew it has a strong dried cranberries smell.
While it was brewing it opened up to an apple cider like smell that was very warm and inviting.
The taste was very nice. It kept on opening up and up the colder it got. It had a very strong fruity profile, very open. The opening was a punchy, berry-like taste, with strong notes of honey.
It was rich in color, amber to gold, and the precise brewing it was quite full bodied.
Alessandro let me try the rest of the brew that remained in the French Press, and the longer it steeped in the coffee, a very earthy, woody taste started to come out, which was also very interesting. It was a beautiful drink, and really worth trying.
Since the going was terrific, I decided to try the cold brew that is prepared in house at Marjani Coffee.
The beans he uses is always a 100 Arabica and he changes it according to the different coffee’s he’s displaying each week at his café. He uses 80 grams of coffee per liter, and lets it steep for 10-12 hours depending on how it’s finishing. What I tasted was an Ethiopia Arabica and it was definitely smooth. No rancidness, no bitter after bite as I’ve had with bad cold brews (yeah, some that I’ve done myself!). The coffee he served was in an espresso cup, and the opening was a bright zesty taste, with the ever so slight acidic retro-taste. It was smooth, full bodied and the best part is that it opened to a round slightly sweet taste.
Alessandro noted that he purposefully sought the punchiness because its what his clients are expecting. He notes that he’s slowly drawing some of the regulars who have his cold brew towards smoother and softer brews. It’s a slow process, but he’s bent on having people learn what sugar-free and light-roasted coffees have to offer. Bravo!
Here's a regular customer having a V60...
Marjani Coffee Roaster
Caffè Gourmet
Alessandro Pau
Viale Beethoven 43-45
00144 Roma
Tel. 39 2689 9283
Fb: marjani coffee roaster
Instagram: marjani.coffee
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