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Rating: Standard, very good Roman coffee
Its been a busy set of weeks here in Rome, its as if around every other corner I’ve been running into a new roaster that I wasn’t previously aware of. This is the case with the Scolastici Caffè e Torrefazione (Facebook page is here). Its on the viale Guglielmo Marconi, full of life and sitting right next to a Castroni emporium store, and just a few steps down from the Circi Caffè large illuminated sign that hugs the Shikafé. But the funny thing is that when you walk into the Scolastici place, you’re walking into a very similar, almost copy, of the Castroni store… they have pasta, jams, and what not for sale… well, in addition, and the focus of this here is that when you walk in you’re faced with a bar with roasted coffee on your right hand side, and then towards the back of the place you have the bar proper. Lots and lots and heaps of coffee merchandizing here from capsules to powdered instant coffee, to espresso blends, to other coffee related stuff. The packaging is very commercial and feels like you’re in a big Nestle or other corporate showroom. So, let’s get with the espresso first and then to their roasts.
Asking for a coffee back at the bar got me this:
Presentation: Before I got my coffee the barista served me a glass of water without having previously asked. Then I got this very beautiful cup placed on the counter. It was a bit big for my taste, round and a nice earlobe shaped handle. The spoon was substantial, used yet to size. The thing that threw me off was what was written on the cup: “Caffè Scolastici Cialde Capsule” So… yes, an espresso with a logo for capsule and prepackaged espresso pads… Not to excited, but the coffee for my cup was freshly ground when I asked for it. So I was glad about that.
Temperature of Cup: Very good warm but not scalding temperature.
Quantity: It was a full espresso, probably just a bit over an ounce (30 ml).
Temperature: The espresso itself seems to have been brewed rather light, as it was warm but not scalding again.
Volume/Consistency: It was a thin coffee, light, not runny and had a distinct oil-rich profile that coated my mouth immediately when I took in the first sip. It was silky and subtle.
Crema: As you can see the crema was rather uniformly light colored, this is due to the mix and brew temperature. It was similar to the excellent coffee at Marjani Coffee Roaster in the EUR area. It was very persistent and added a particular profile to the coffee drinking experience.
Odor: Yes, there was a warm nutty smell coming out of the cup, boy, it was nice, and definitely made drinking this a pleasure!
Taste: This was the nicest surprise, it was very acidic up front as light roasted coffee usually is. But then it gave way to a very rich buttery taste that opened up to a spicy yet nutty flavor. It was a pleasure to savor and sip.
Overall: It was a really great cup. The temperature, smell, presentation, and then consistency and flavor of this was excellent. It was decidedly Roman in character, it was bitter but a bitterness that was transparent to these other factors. One of the better espressos I’ve had in the past couple of weeks. Bravo!
The setup: They had a nice and well kept La Cimbali duo: Espresso machine and older looking grinder. The coffee they were brewing was the ‘bar’ blend.
Now let’s look at what they offered in their loose bean categories:
As you can see they are kept in the open air.. argh…
1. Colombia Supremo – de Piantaggione. 25 Euro a Kilo.
This was at the top of their price range. Since I had such a great espresso I decided against going for this, as I’m usually disappointed by the higher priced offerings by most roasters here in Rome. Learn this: Price does NOT equal quality here, all it is, is ‘marketing’. So when I pass by this, I’ll go ahead and give it a try… but not this time.
According to the person who was at the counter, their blends go from 100% Arabica down to 50/50 Arabica-Robusta blends with the price.
2. Miscela Arabica. 20 Euro a Kilo. This was supposedly a 80/20 Arabica-Robusta blend.
3. Miscela Oro. 15 Euro a Kilo. This again, supposedly a 70/30 Arabica-Robusta mix.
4. Miscela Decaffeinato. 15 Euro a Kilo. Not specified the Arabica-Robusta mix.
4. Miscela Bar. 11 Euro a Kilo. I was told this was a 50/50 Arabica-Robusta mix. And the most ‘creamy’. This is what I got as I was told this was what I was being served at the bar.
When asked how often they roasted their coffee, he said that since they have such high turnover with their ‘supermarket’ sales, that they roasted on a weekly basis. Yet, when I asked about the composition of their different blends, I got the typical and very annoyed look and response that they go down with the price. People here in Rome don’t like to be asked about the details of their goods or services. You’re supposed to take it and leave with a smiling face. Any type of question here is understood as a ‘critique’ instead of a compliment.
So this is what I got. Even though I asked for the ‘bar mix’ I got my beans packaged in the ‘Oro’ or gold mix bag.
When I opened the bag, I got a very fragrant aromatic whiff of medium roasted coffee. This is what it looks like and you can see the two different roast levels and different beans here.
I ground it quite fine, and had to give it about 3 different tries before I got something decent out of it. I feel that if I brewed it at a higher temperature I would have gotten more ‘crema’ and body out of it. However, I brewed it at a 90 Celcius, and it came out ok.
The final result was not as good as I got served in the bar. While very aromatic, its taste was flat and unremarkable. It is not rancid nor bitter, and very mild, a good espresso, but I’ve had better from Carra Torrefazione. This is of course speaking about ‘Roman’ style coffee, as the Rinaldi and Marjani roasters are definitely a whole different class of roasters.
As it is, the espresso is top notch and I’ll have to return to them and get a different type of bean, etc.
Scolastici Caffè e Torrefazione
Caffè Club S.R.L. Viale Guglielmo Marconi 98
00146 Roma
Tel. 06 558 4366
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