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Rating: Poor, not a good representation of Illy coffee
Yup, the place you see below, the big metallic box protruding out onto the asphalt is ‘patio’ of the Café Il Chicco e il Calice Bar Caffè. It’s a place that has a rather large interior and quite a lot of tables on the outside. It’s a café, but it’s outfitted more as a restaurant. I noticed this a bit later, well, especially when I asked for a coffee and they very politely asked if I’d like to have something to eat with that coffee. It’s the fist time I’ve been asked that. But the place is clean, has that rolled metal and plastic feeling that lots of places in Rome have, and yet has a very agreeable ambience. When I walked in there were about 15 people about it’s interior in different parts of the bar area that felt like it wrapped around the whole back end of the interior. The barista was very attentive and after he served me my cup, and had asked me if I wanted something to eat, he checked back to me a few times to see if all was kosher.
This is what he served:
Presentation: Yup, a nice round cup of Illy Espresso. For some reason, when I see this design, it makes me think of either Jamaica or something across the Pacific in Africa. It’s a nice departure. But it doesn’t go with Illy. The cup is rather larger, the handle is symbolic and fun, and the spoon was sitting there face down. I like that. No water was offered, but the guy came back to check on me enough times to make me realize I could have asked it without a problem. Hell, I did see him give it to an older lady who made room for herself next to me.
Temperature of Cup: Hmm.. it was hot! Very hot – touched it and had to let it go immediately.
Quantity: It was a short shot, this was good, and a brief experience.
Temperature: After I waited for the cup to cool down, I proceeded to try the coffee, and darn, it was still very hot. I had to wait yet a bit more. So in all probably 3-4 minutes passed buy. Too hot.
Volume/Consistency: It was a thin espresso, sharp, cutting, and watery. The temperature it was brewed at simply slaughtered the possibility of any complexity here.
Crema: The crema was thin, and it started to disappear almost immediately. It had a grainy, almost pimply looking face to it, and was very uniform, moving from a very dark complexion to a lighter one. Not very oily.
Odor: No real odor here. Nothing strange, but I do miss fragrant coffee!!
Taste: Well, it was extremely rancid. It was sharp, thin, almost as if it was an ice-pick - very sharp and jutting. I tried to taste other aspects of the coffee, but all I could make out was a very dark, sharp, deeply bitter and rancid taste.
Overall: I tried my best to finish it, but I couldn’t do it. I’m not sure what it was that day, but this coffee didn’t invite me to finish it. It was too rancid - too bitter, and I was simply not up to ruining my day by trying to finish it.
The setup: Boy, is this setup nice. They had a new looking Faema Theorema espresso machine, this is a machine that can literally kick ass with any subtle coffee making contact with it. They had an older Faema grinder who’s boxy shell looked more like an Anfim than anything else, and then a small direct-dose Rancilio for the decaf. The coffee being handed out was Illy caffè.
Now, lastly, a thing that might have turned this whole espresso around is the fact that they had a bowl of crema di caffè right there. Had I placed a spoonfull of this magical stuff in the espresso, I’m certainly sure it would have been very good... so if you’re inclined for sweet espresso. Give this a try! There’s really very few places nowadays that I see offering this!
Il Chicco e il Calcio Bar Caffè
A.E.M.M.A S.R.L.
Bar Tavola Calda Gastronomia
Viale Europa 288
00144 Roma
Tel. 06 591 1996