CAFFETTERIA MORI, PIAZZA DEL VIMINALE 18, 00184 ROMA

Rating: Standard, excellent Roman Coffee

Let’s say that this place blew me away. The Caffetteria Mori is down town, right in front of the Ministry of the Interior, on the Piazza del Viminale Caffè. It is small, all late 19th century looking wood paneling, and no tables, just an open long room where you’re to stand and have your coffee and go. It is totally unpretentious to tourists or cheesy ‘rome’ tourist stuff… I walked in, and I was the only soul in there. The two baristas were chilling talking about something I couldn’t make out. This place exemplifies that hipsters all try to emulate, but are too much wannabies to capture. It was really a great place. And this is what made it better- the coffee. Without this, it would have been just another of the hundreds of roman cafes… Now it's not a Casa Manfredi or a Marjani Coffee roaster coffee, but quintessentially Roman. And in the best way possible.

So let’s get to the meat of it:

Presentation: Well, let’s say that it’s not the best presentation. A super large back plastic feeling saucer, with a small spike-like tower of a espresso cup. It is distinctive, that’s for sure. The profile of the sensuous woman (ha, I wonder how many coffee pickers actually look like this… and well, aren’t we in 2016?) either way the small spoon seemed to be able to get into the bottom of the cup. There was a chocolate also added for good measure.

Which I appreciate since I drink the coffee black, this helps finish the cup in a nice way. A big cup of Sparkling water was served immediately, without asking. And then look at the ‘sugar row’ right behind the cup, pretty cool.

Temperature of Cup: Cup was warm, not scalding, it was great.

Quantity: It was a short shot, very compact way in there in this long fluted cup.

Temperature: Also perfect, it was warm, but just right, I could taste all of the coffee and wasn’t in any cold, nor scalding. I could really savor the cup.

Volume/Consistency: It was excellent. Creamy, yet light, oily, but not heavy. It was a complex texture that coated the mouth and tongue in a very silky-like manner. It was buttery also in consistency.

Crema: It was dark, persistent, elastic, and alive.

Odor: A poignant tone of dark roasted coffee that didn’t give any hints of charred beans. It was really fragrant and fresh.

Taste: Wow, here was the best part. It was very nutty, buttery, creamy and simply lush. I had to have a big gulp of water to clean my palate and make sure I wasn’t making this up. But yes, there it was all again. It wasn’t rancid in any way, it had a slight bitter bite, but it was more an experience of smooth oily buttery drink.

Overall: It wasn’t third wave in taste, but it was definitely an excellent, one of the best, espresso. It was really what an truly great Roman traditional espresso should be. Simply off the charts here!

The setup: They had a setup I’ve seen countless of times. A La Cimbali espresso machine, an older La Cimbali grinder (and look at the Eureka gold monodose grinder for decaf), and the coffee, well, it was Tazza d’Oro. This is a local roaster, with the flagship store near the Pantheon. It usually kicks out rancid like black tar, even there, at their flagship store you get crappy coffee. But here, man, here is where the best Tazza d’Oro is!