DEI FUMETTI BAR CAFFÈ, VIA RINALDO D'AMI 6, 00127 ROMA

REGNO DEL CORNETTO CAFFÈ, VIA NOMENTANA 879, 00137 ROMA

FIRENZE CAFFÈ, VIA FIRENZE 33, 00185 ROMA

CAMPIDOGLIO BAR CAFFÈ, PIAZZA D'ARACOELI 11, 00186 ROMA

May 5, 2016
2 min read

Rating: Standard, mid to upper range Roman coffee

Something’s afoot here. Is it me, changing my coffee taste (and the lack of seriously good third wave coffee), or more probably, a spell of good luck? I had coffee at the Campidoglio Caffè the other day, and well… I was expecting char-brewed-tar in a cup, and got a decent espresso in it’s place. This café is facing the Campidoglio and is right in the middle of two different cafes. One I’ve reviewed before, and the other I will do a soon as I see the place is actually open! Either way, this place was full of Roman locals when I walked in, it is small in the front with a large eating area in the back room. They were polite, courteous, and didn’t have an attitude, this already is whole lot considering the touristy location.

This is what I was served:

Presentation: Nice clean cup, crisp, new looking, spoon a bit too large and non descript, but it was also clean. Water wasn’t offered, but a regular client walked in and it was immediately put there next to his espresso without him having to ask for it.

Temperature of Cup: It was on the hotter side, but still didn’t burn me.

Quantity: It was a shorter espresso, on the ristretto side of things. Not a bad thing.

Temperature: It was very warm, but again, not scalding. It was borderline, I waited about a minute and it was just right.

Volume/Consistency: Oily, powdery, a bit crunchy in the beginning due to the powdery nature of the drink.

Crema: Dark, cakey, looked like a macchiato texture, but it was good. Persistent and added considerably to the drinking experience.

Odor: A dark roasted coffee smell. Nice!

Taste: It was interesting, short punchy as expected at the beginning. Bitter all up front, and then yet it was buttery. Buttery in the sense that it was a darker taste that opened up to a nutty, peanutbutter texture like experience in your mouth with a nutty finish. It wasn’t rancid in any way and the finish was a bit tangy. It opened up.

Overall: It was a decent, very decent Roman espresso. I was so surprised to get this quality at the foot of the Campidoglio!

The setup: They had a nice La Cimbali machine, dependable. They also used a Faema grinder that has nothing to complain about. And the coffee was Caffè Miami, a local roaster here in Rome that tends to squeeze out good espresso.