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Rating: Standard, very good North-Italian coffee
Obicà doubles both as a small corner café that then communicates with a bigger pizzeria. Since the corner café does indeed preserve the spirit of a normal coffee house, I decided to stop in. It was a good decision. I wasn't aware this is a 'chain' of 'mozzarella bars' as they call themselves, so whatever, I'm here for the coffee... The interior is very sleek and chic. Its got a fusion white and steel and glass that is cool, and if I remember right a dark floor that gives it all a very clean, crisp and modern feel. It’s a hip place and I’m sure the café area is a cool space to be in at night when cocktails probably start spewing out- since, in almost 99% of all cafes, the ‘bar’ becomes indeed a ‘bar’ at night. That’s just the way it is here in Rome. The fact that its in the small and cozy Piazza di Firenze, another big bonus. The barista was very courteous and super open to any question I had, which is nice for a change. Another 99% of times here in Rome, when you ask a question, it feels like you’re saying ‘this is crap so tell me why’, - questions are criticisms here in Rome. If you like it you have to simply like it blindly.
Whatever, this is the nice cup I got:
Presentation: A rather large espresso cup, more like those you get in the US. It was off white and I liked that. It didn’t have a logo and I liked that even more. The spoon was contoured, solid. Looked new and I liked that for a change. No water was offered, but the barista seemed like she’d oblige.
Temperature of Cup: It was very hot, disappointingly hot.
Quantity: The cup seemed large, and the espresso shot seemed long. Well over an ounce.
Temperature: Yup, even after waiting the espresso was too hot. I waited even more. I sat there and watched a very elegant group of business women in their late 30s to early 50s having their coffee and discussing business things. This kept me busy until the espresso was ready.
Volume/Consistency: It was good that I waited. It was silky, thin, almost like having a delicate piece of seaweed in your mouth. It was very light yet not insubstantial. It was very delicate and balanced, and managed to coat the interior of my mouth very fast, quickly and uniformly.
Crema: The crema was thin, even, and looked like a particular 70/30 blend. It was oily and added to the drinking experience.
Odor: There was a light and fragrant smell of coffee. It didn’t seem very dark, and it was very soft and pleasant.
Taste: It was a nutty, soft, silky and tart espresso. It was very good, and definitely a different world than the run of the mill Roman coffee. It wasn’t acidic as I expected and yet peppery and spicy.
Overall: It was an excellent espresso for the price (.80 cents) and the quality. It was well in the same category of coffee as the Tram Depot coffee, and in my happiness of finding a gourmet coffee at a coffee stand, I labeled it as ‘third wave’. But indeed, it is more one of the better espresso here in Rome. But since they don’t sport their own roasts, nor offer a variety of different coffees, it’s not the same as Marjani Coffee Roaster, or Rinaldi Caffè in Ciampino.
The setup: The machine was a EVO looking Wega Sphera model, sans the independent group temperature controls. But it looked nice and still used the E-61 group heads. The grinder was also a Wega, which I don't see so often.
Le Piantagioni del Caffè is a north-Italian Livorno (west-coast) based CSC (CertifiedSpecialty Coffee) certified roaster.
Boy I’m glad I stumbled onto this because it was very good! The particular blend was the Lab #74. I wasn’t able to get info on the blend by the barista, as she didn’t know what it contained, and I didn’t find it on the website. However, it’s a blend indication, the pity that I don’t know where they come from. But, as a look at the website shows, it’s all single origin, controlled, and well.. CSC quality products. Which is just terrific! And incidentally, and for whatever this is worth, it has bee labeled as one of the ten best roasters in Italy here.
Obicà Caffè
Mercato SRL
Via dei Prefetti 26
00186 Roma
Tel. 06 683 2630