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Rating: Standard, mid-range Roman Coffee
The Grimaldi Bar Caffè is on the north end of the Portuense area, just before it becomes Trastevere. There are tons of cafes in these few streets, amazingly tons. Since I usually frequent an neighborhood tens of times in order to do these reviews I get to pass by cafes quite a lot before actually going in them. This place is always full of people. And if it’s not brimming, then like today, there where people in there lounging, it is never empty. Let’s see why.
This is what I got served on the bar:
Presentation: Nice barrel shaped thin, kind of tall cup that I’m seeing everywhere now. It seems Marziali Caffè is rolling out a new type of cup to replace their shorter ones. This cup was clean, new, and the spoon utilitarian, kind of flimsy. No water was offered.
Temperature of Cup: Quite extremely hot. I really had to wait a long while before it cooled down. This is typical of Roman taste, and usually how Marziali coffee is served.
Quantity: Yeah, it was a short shot alright! Can you find it in there?
Temperature: It was cool by the time I was able to comfortably grasp the cup. Not a bad thing, but of course not how it came out of the machine.
Volume/Consistency: It was a light coffee, not thick, a little oily, but not the most dominant trait here. It was not runny either, simply light, smooth would be too much to say. A thin silk.
Crema: Persistent, not terribly thick or pillowy, and I didn’t notice it helping the taste out much.
Odor: Dark roasted coffee smell, this is good!
Taste: It was tangy, had an acidic bite, and it made my tongue kind of numb at the end, it was hella bitter of course, but not rancid. The numbness of my tongue, I really dislike and I’m almost sure its because of the roast level that the beans are taken to. Way over second crack, and 18 minutes, that’s for sure!
Overall: It was OK, it was mid-level, solid inoffensive. So why is the place packed all the time? I think it’s because of the staff, the folks running the place had a special relationship with the older, retired folk that frequent this place and he made them, and me, feel like I could pull up a chair and relax for some time, without worrying if I’ve had 1 or 10 espressi. It was a really nice place to relax in.
The setup: The espresso machine was a robust Wega with three E61 based groups. The grinder, now look at that beauty! It was a Mazzer Super Jolly with electronic presets to grind fresh beans. The first of this size that I see here in Rome. Bravo! The coffee was Marziali Caffè… it is a very punchy, robust, and bitter (puts hair on your chest kind) of coffee. Not my favorite, but it’ll get the job done, ... of giving you a real kick!
Grimaldi Bar Caffè
di Tempesta Alessandro
Via Francesco Grimaldi 135-137
00146 Roma
Tel. 06 9992 7002