TIME OUT CAFFÈ, VIA GIUSEPPE VERONESE 77, 00146 ROMA

Rating: Standard, mid-level Roman coffee

This is a Café that I tried getting the name from, but only found it on the net. I didn’t get a receipt here, and then, when I asked the owner/barista, he said, ‘bar’… so yes, a dime a dozen with the naming! But the place looked newly refurbished. It was quiet inside even though there was a soccer game being shown, and there were a few souls looking at the game, and then some at their phones. There was a weird stillness about this place that I appreciated. It looked like a medical operating room. There was plenty of white linoleum and ceramic tiles with a strong blue contrast in some places, like the marble of the counter.

Asking for a coffee got a silent response, but after a few seconds this was placed on the counter:

Presentation: The cup was sleek, nice in design, and not too think. The spoon was clean, a bit wet still, and I generally liked the presentation. Cool I thought.

Temperature of Cup: It was warm, emanated a nice and reassuring temperature, I was glad.

Quantity: It was a full but controlled espresso. It was good.

Temperature: The temperature of the espresso itself was on the warmer side, but still good.

Volume/Consistency: Unfortunately, it was thin. It was light, watery and a bit runny for my tastes.

Crema: The crema was very dark on one side, and yellow on the other. All up front was there and the shot should have been finished earlier. He should have put more grinds in the porta filter and then cut the espresso sooner, it would have been richer, thicker and better.

Odor: No real odor, no surprise here.

Taste: It was very bitter, flat taste, sharp and yet not rancid in any way.

Overall: It was a solid, mid to lower end espresso. Nothing remarkable other than its presentation in a very nice cup, a cup which spoke of some sophistication. It was reflected in the décor of the place, but somehow, not in the coffee itself. I must admit that cutting costs is a part of things here in Rome… the guy was counting, literally, his pennies on the counter, and when he didn’t give me a receipt, I said, well…. Can I blame him?

The setup: It was a very nice setup- they had a nice San Remo espresso machine, with a Mazzer grinder. The coffee, Bartolomei Caffè - ‘Il caffè di Roma’ is one that I hadn’t tasted before, but I know that it’s roasted by the same folks who do the Caffè Gran Brazil, and operates under the 'Sogecaf' corporate name. It’s a roaster working out of Cervereti, a north western town, still within Rome’s county, that hugging the Mediterranean coast.