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Rating: Standard, solidly good mid-range Roman coffee
The SciaScia Caffè e Torrefazione dal 1919 is a Roman coffee institution that is much more famous among locals, than a place like Sant’Eustachio which is primarily a tourist beacon than a true Roman’s Roman café. Scia Scia is away from the tourist highways, and its in a calm residential area. It’s been around for almost 100 years (yea the 'Cha Cha' dance!), and has been toasting coffee since. Its interior is dark-wood lined and it’s got an old world warm ambience that I found nice. I’m usually off put by this stuff, but this was cool- it wasn’t over the top and it was balanced, nice. And it’s a place I want to return to and just chill. I’ve been asked to give this a try and I was curious.
When I ordered a coffee, the barista immediately noticed I wasn’t Roman, and while I was quite clear that I wanted a normal coffee I got the following:
Presentation: Well, it was an odd and nice surprise. I hadn’t heard about their special cup, but this is their ‘thing’ they serve their espresso with chocolate. No water offered, but I could have asked for some. I did later and I did get it for free. The cup was old school old style. It had a nice pre-deco 1920s ‘S’ decoration that was fun and ‘classy’ at the same time. The spoon was just right. I saw the barista pouring and shaping the chocolate design very carefully. So each cup is very meticulously prepared. Fun. The good part is that there’s not a lot of chocolate in the cup.
Temperature of Cup: The temperate was good. Not hot.
Quantity: It was a long cup. Not really an espresso, more like a double.
Temperature: Hmm.. Sheezzzz super hot! I was not happy, but I managed not to get burnt. I had to let it chill for about 3 minutes.
Volume/Consistency: It was light, rich and thick as anything with coffee and chocolate will be. It was very pleasant.
Crema: Well, it was brown, murky, and thin. It was not really persistent. And didn't seem to add much to the drink.
Odor: Very nice warm chocolate and coffee smell. Super nice!
Taste: It was very light, very mild, very light bitter taste, and the chocolate really made this a pleasant espresso. No rancidness, no real deep bitterness.
Overall: I really liked it as a ‘novelty’ drink. I found it very enjoyable, and I’d totally have another one!
Now, let’s get to business, this is a site about ‘espresso’ and this is what I’ll review. I went in and asked for another coffee. I made sure I said, ‘espresso’ without chocolate. This is what I got:
Presentation: This time I got water after I asked, the barista was cool about it. The cup was of rather thin ceramic, long fluted upwards and a bit too big. It had a different feel, but still I felt it fit the scenery.
Temperature of Cup: Good temperature, warm, not scalding, not cold, nor was the cup wet.
Quantity: In the cup it was a short shot, cool.
Temperature: This was also very good.
Volume/Consistency: It was thin, it was thinner than I expected, especially since it was a lot shorter shot than what I had with the chocolate drink. Nor was it as silky and oily as I expected. It was rather whispy.
Crema: The crema was a repetition of the previous drink. It was thin, not persistent. The color was rather uniform, something that is prized in Rome, but not necessarily a good sign in terms of oil content in the coffee, etc.
Odor: Light coffee taste, less than with the previous drink. I’d expect the opposite, but this was how it was.
Taste: The taste was bitter, nowhere going towards rancid, but very bitter. It was not astringent and again, light. Overall: Normal, thin, non offensive coffee. It was light and I think it was good. Not an espresso lover’s espresso, but a solid, very solid and very mild espresso. I liked it, and would gladly have it again.
The setup: They had a very nice thing going- they had two Wega espresso machines and a grinder that I can’t identify (email me if you know it!) it was octagonal. The coffee they were roasting was the third choice below, their ‘bar blend’.
So, now, on to the other part of this café. It is a roaster. I spoke briefly to the cashier selling the coffee, and he wasn’t too keen on telling me what the heck was in the bean mix. He told me that the more expensive was 100% Arabica with the price descent reflecting a lesser percentage of Arabica. I asked what percentages, and he repeated, in the typical Roman manner of saying, ‘shut the hell up and don’t ask any more questions’ that it was in ‘descending percentage of Arabica’. So, when in Rome…. I kept my mouth shut and proceeded to order the most expensive coffee.
This is what they had for sale, and it was all left in open bins. Yup, fresh as…. Well… as all the humidity killing the beans. Mamma mia…
1. Gusto Deciso. 1.50 Euro for 100g
Mix of coffee, suggested for breakfast, with Moka Bialetti or similar.
2. Gusto Dolce, 1.80 Euro for 100g
Mix of coffee, low caffeine content, delicate taste, suggested for filter coffee,
French Press (Stantuffo Napoletana)
3. Gusto Crema Bar, 1.80 Euro for 100g
Mix of coffee, balanced, suggested primarily for espresso machines but equally good for
Moka Bialetti or similar
4. Gusto Soft, 1.90 Euro for 100g
Mix of coffee, delicate full taste, very good with espresso machine or with
Moka Bialetti or similar.
I took 100 grams of the ‘Gusto Soft’, and this is what it was presented in:
The beans were not really uniformly roasted. They were dark roasted, and had some of the oil already showing, others were lighter in color. The beans were rather even in their being complete and not mutilated, and there was some sizes variation.
I ground it very thin and made a ristretto.
The result was very nice. It had a very thick persistent crema that really worked some body into the espresso.
It wasn’t very oily, but that’s a product of how much coffee I put in the porta filter an the pressure I’m able to exert on the lever. The taste was very pungent, strong and almost rancid, but never getting there. Its texture was very silky, smooth, and pleasant.
Overall it was good, but not better than the Carra Torrefazione or the Mokolimpia in Monteverde. Yet, a lot better than others.
Scia Scia Caffè e Torrefazione
Scia Scia Caffè 1919 S.R.L.
Via Fabio Massimo 80A
00192 Roma
Tel. 06 321 1580
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