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Rating: Standard, solid mid-range Roman coffee
I decided to walk from Tiburtina train station up and around to the Piazza Sempione area, and first I wanted to cut through to the Via Numentana, but then decided to take a less trafficked street, the Circonvallazione Numentana. It obviously gets more motor traffic, but no foot traffic. And indeed this resulted in the presence of only one solitary café. The L’Angoletto Bar Caffè Tazza D’Oro Latteria. Yup, a mouth full name, but that’s how it is here. People put everything they can to show what they’ve got. The area I walked thorough isn’t dangerous, it’s just kind of bleak, with a big avenue cum highway fronting it, the houses look like battered trees next to a freeway. The place seemed crushed under the weight of the houses above it, and the floor to ceiling iron bars didn’t look to inviting. You’re either safe inside, or in a prison. When I walked in, there was an MTV like station with a music video and half dressed women dancing about, and one single soul in the bar. The barista, a 20 something young person, had the style of a ‘roman goth’, somewhat fancy, but somewhat pitch black theme, and was dressed as if she would be getting ready to go out on town. Maybe she was it was evening and the place probably would close in an hour. Funny thing, was the owner of the place had the following name: Francesca della Morte. Or Francesca of Death… pretty cool name, I have to admit!
Since I only found this out after I got the receipt, I didn’t know I was potentially playing a Russian Roulette with my espresso, and ordered one anyway:
Presentation: It was a nice compact cylindrical kind of tall cup that I’ve seen once before and I liked it. I like the variant of ‘I Love NY’ that it has, but with the symbol of “Tazza d’Oro” on it. The spoon was think solid (not flimsy) and hidden behind. It was very small and fit to get the sugar mixed with the coffee down at the bottom. The other guy there, an older gentleman, was using his spoon to very methodically stir all the sugar very evenly into his espresso. It took him a good minute to do this, but then he downed the espresso in one go, and briskly left. That’s how they drink coffee here, in one or two shots.
Temperature of Cup: It was good, not scalding. That’s odd for this brand of coffee.
Quantity: Very short shot, the espresso was nicely nestled in there.
Temperature: The espresso was almost seamlessly the same temperature as the cup, it was as if the cup melted into my mouth. Very nice I must say!
Volume/Consistency: It was silky, smooth, only ever so oily, light taste.
Crema: It was light brown, even in consistency, thin, and only slightly persistent. As I waited a few second before taking my first sip, it started to open and show some of the coffee below.
Odor: Yup, again, there is some nice faint dark-roasted coffee smell. Nothing from the ‘coffee color wheel’ type of stuff, but just old fashioned ‘dark coffee’. I wonder sometimes if the ‘smell’ is ‘added’ like they do in a Folgers instant coffee can…
Taste: It was smooth, not rancid in any way, and yet very strongly bitter as is so incredibly common here in Rome. Towards the end of the drink I noticed how it left a slight tingling sensation in my mouth, which is not necessarily pleasant, but it shows how bitter and at times towards the rancid side a coffee is.
Overall: I was glad, it was pleasant, sharp, strong, but not rancid. It was a solid quality espresso, characteristically flat in its taste profile, but that’s what Romans like. No complaints at all, and one of the better Tazza d’Oro espressos, this is saying a lot since this brand is a bit low in my scale of Roman roasters.
The Setup: It was solid, Spartan, and effective. The had an older looking (and more attractive with its square lines rather than the newer ‘sleeker’ lines that simply go nowhere for me), but it was a La Cimbali M22 Premium espresso machine. The grinders were both La Cimbali, and the coffee was of course, Caffè Tazza d’Oro. This is a brand I usually don’t like, but here it was very good considering everything. One of the better instances of this in my opinion, all hidden away in this neighborhood café.
L'Angoletto Bar Caffè Tazza d'Oro
Francesca della Morte
Circonvallazione Nomentana 162B-C
00162 Roma
Tel. 06 8632 4177