DEI FUMETTI BAR CAFFÈ, VIA RINALDO D'AMI 6, 00127 ROMA

REGNO DEL CORNETTO CAFFÈ, VIA NOMENTANA 879, 00137 ROMA

FIRENZE CAFFÈ, VIA FIRENZE 33, 00185 ROMA

RUDY BAR CAFFÈ, PIAZZA D'ARACOELI 15, 00186 ROMA

Rating: Standard, low-end Roman coffee

The Rudy Bar Caffè – Caffè dell’Aracoeli (there’s two names on the front… so maybe a relic of past owners?) is right in the heart of Rome. Overlooking Piazza Venezia and the Church of S. Maria Aracoeli, a better location would be hard to beat. It was late in the afternoon when I walked in and the place was desolate. Not a soul in there except the barista guy, and the cashier lady. Both weren’t talking to each other and you could hear a pin drop in there. Interesting I thought, it was so loud in the outside with all the traffic, here it was calm and quiet.

Asking for a coffee got me this:

Presentation: It was a familiar cup, one that I like, and yet a bit off, the saucer was too big and belonged to a different cup. No problem, no water offered either. And the barista and cashier seemed awfully solemn for some reason. I tried starting up a conversation, but nope, no speaking to tourists they must have thought….

Temperature of Cup: It was very hot, I had to wait quite a bit before it got cold enough to have.

Quantity: It was a good solid espresso right on the mark.

Temperature: Aw! It was still extremely hot and I had to wait a good other minute before being able to comfortably drink it.

Volume/Consistency: It was thick as heck, sandy, rich, and nice actually!

Crema: Boy, look at this, dark-dark, cakey, and very persistent.

Odor: No real odor. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Taste: Well, here we are, it was bitter, very bitter, so bitter that I could not distinguish if it was rancid or simply pungent. It was extremely powerful and I don’t know why I simply couldn’t enjoy the intensity of this cup. It was so strong that I could barely stomach it.

Overall: The consistency was the best part of this drink, but that was it. It was so hot, and so bitter that it was really not pleasant. Maybe with a full spoonful of sugar it would have been a rich sweet conction, but as I take it-, straight up and black, no love.

The setup: They had a bare-bones La CImbali three group machine, with a like grinder. Enough to kick out a good espresso, and thick as sludge as it was here. The coffee being served is one of the ones I like, the roman based roaster GranCaffè Santos.