CIAMPINI CAFFÈ, PIAZZA SAN LORENZO IN LUCINA 29, 00186 ROMA

Rating: Standard, normal Bolognese coffee

The Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina is a place of luxury. It somehow stays away from the gargantuan crowds of tourists, tends to be very quiet, and is lined with ultra expensive clothes and watch shops. Very VIP or whatever. But as usual here in Rome, you can dress everything as fancy as you want, but the typical ‘Roman’ is still a very ‘earthy’ character, to put it that way. Ciampini Caffè (FB page here) has a very nice outside patio that is always packed. The interior is has a bar and then a back space with some tables for folks to cram in and eat during winter. The staff tends to be quite jolly, and up until a certain point that’s the attention I received, but read on for some typical ‘Roman’ hospitality!

Asking for coffee at the bar got me this:

Presentation: It was straightforward. No water offered, but it seems that it would have been offered without fuss. The cup was nice, it was bit big, but fancy-shmancy. It was in the style typical here of Rome what wants to speak ‘upper class refined’. It reminds me of the wood paneling and leather décor of many ‘traditional’ places. The spoon was normal and to measure.

Temperature of Cup: the cup was at a good temperature.

Quantity: Good decent shot. It was short in this large cup and I was glad.

Temperature: Ouch! First sign of ‘Romaness’ it was scorching hot. Really hot.

Volume/Consistency: It was flat, powedery, thin, not oily. It was simply scorched.

Crema: This is interesting because the crema didn’t seem particularly over-extracted. It was creamy, chunky and yet non-persistent. It really didn’t seem to enhance the drinking experience.

Odor: Dark dark charred smell of coffee. I’ll still take it over a non-scented coffee!

Taste: I admit that it wasn’t bitter. That’s a big surprise, it was a tame, light coffee. It had woody tones and yet I had to search this taste out like crazy. I had to let the coffee sit in my mouth for 10 -15 seconds to try to get at anything substantial in it.

Overall: It was a coffee that’s repeatable, light and non offensive. This is a departure from most ultra touristy places, and from most cafes here in Rome. But who knows, maybe it was the barista, a young guy and well mannered that made the difference.

The setup: And I say this because when I asked him what coffee was being served he immediately told me it was Essse Caffè (this is a Bologna based company). However, when I asked how it was spelled as he didn’t have any bags on hand to show me, an older barista, quite stout and in his late 50s and scarred from years in the restaurant industry, interrupted our short interchange with the typically charming Roman hospitality by saying in the most rude manner possible ‘it is ESSE and that’s it!’, and made a gesture to leave the bar! Whatever, fortunately, some type of family education didn’t make me shoot back some stupid angry response. But as I say here in this blog so many times, any questioning of anything in Rome, is taken as a criticism. And the funny thing is that those expats that I meet here in Rome, are so blindly enamored by this city that they take this rude attitude as one of of the 'charms' of Rome.... there's a reason why Rome is stuck in time, and this might be one of them... So yes. The setup was a nice older workhorse Wega Sphera that was accompanied by a Mazzer Jolly.