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Rating: Standard, mid-range Neapolitan styled coffee
Il Palchetto Caffetteria is a small monolocale facing the front of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. So it’s got a guaranteed clientele. However, it’s not your normal ‘opera’ inspired locale (i.e. not very fancy and upper class wannaby, don't pay any attention to their webiste, it's totally a cut and past job with stock photos not reflecting what the actual locale is like!). Instead its interior is lined with black shinny tiles, and dark red accents with lots of metal, etc. So a semi ‘cool’ décor, that seeks to be modern, a bit edgy, and kind of biker all at once. When I walked in, it was packed with cops and other local folk all having a good time. The two barista ladies running the show were very courteous and seemed to know exactly what every face wanted. When I walked in, I got greeted and was almost told that I wanted an espresso, somehow she knew that I’d want that, even thought it was in the morning.
This is what she served:
Presentation: Lovely, utterly lovely cup. This is a typical Neapolitan styled cup. Short, fat, round, thick, and stout. No water was served but I’m sure she would have obliged. It was packed in this small bar, the counter space was all taken up…
Temperature of Cup: It was a rather cold cup. I walked in the café quite early, so maybe the espresso machine was turned on rather recently?
Quantity: A very short shot. I would say about a third of an espresso.
Temperature: It was also quite light in temperature, quite cold. This is good in my opinion!
Volume/Consistency: The espresso was freshly ground right when I was walking in and right as they took my order, it was very oily and rich, but somehow thin and not heavy. It was an interesting experience, as if you’re having sunflower seed oil vs. olive oil.
Crema: Crema was dark, uniform, and about half of the drink it added to the drinking experience, and afterwards decided to take a hike and disappeared.
Odor: No real odor here that I could make out.
Taste: It was a sharp, punchy, very tangy, all tart up front. Then it opened up to a flat bitter taste, and gave way to an empty finish that rekindled some of the deeply bitter monotone colors of dark-roasted coffee.
Overall: It wasn’t particularly exciting. No chromaticism in taste, no variety, no subtletly. It was like asking an Italian to speak English, it just won’t happen. This coffee was designed to be a punch of tartness, and that’s what it is. It wasn’t bad, just not extraordinary.
The setup: They had a beautiful setup. They had a proprietary Caffè Izzò three lever espresso machine and like grinder. If you go to the Caffè Izzò website, you see that they produce espresso machines as well. The roaster is Caffè Izzò, they’re based in Frosinone and they have a really large plant. I’ve past it often on the highway, and some day will do a post on the premises. They are generally associated with Neapolitan café, as they’re all over the place there. So while they’re in the Lazio region of Rome, they’re more a Neapolitan roaster and coffee tradition. They’re almost exclusively lever-based espresso. Not a bad thing.
Il Palchetto Caffè
Il Palchetto S.R.L.
Via Del Viminale 48
00184 Roma
Tel. 06 9436 5754