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Rating: Standard, mid to low end South Italian coffee
The Bistrot Al Carttoccio Caffè is a large, very airy place, with tons of seating and tons of light. It sits on a corner on a short strip of Via F. Grimaldi, which has a roaster, and tons of other cafes. What I think distinguishes it from its competition is not so much its coffee, but the locale. Its got upbeat music (Italian and Roman pop) very tidy, and a chill attitude where tons of older upper class folk relax. You see lots of pink polo shirts, white pants, and flashy watches. At least that’s been my impression the few times I’ve past by. The baristas were very courteous and really able to crank out the shots on a whim.
This is what I got:
Presentation: Yup, the second time in over 300 espressos ordered here that I get it on glass without having asked for it. But it’s so nice that I decided to roll with it. No water given, small spoon to fit, and a nice cool small shot glass.
Temperature of Cup: Yup, super hot. And this is why folks say they like the glass cup, so that it keeps the temperature longer. Whatever the ‘bro-science’ behind this is, it was super hot. I had to wait a bit not so long before I could drink it.
Quantity: Short shot, nice ristretto by US standards.
Temperature: After a good minute it cooled down quickly and it was possible to drink it without getting burnt.
Volume/Consistency: It was light, not oily, and actually powdery of sorts. So a bit chalky and flatish.
Crema: It was dark, and grainy, sandy in consistency and look and it was persistent. But somehow didn’t add to the drinking experience.
Odor: Dark charred deeply black coffee.
Taste: It was bitter, no depth, cutting and simply bitter dark. It had no profile or oiliness to it that would help me get some type of different impression. It also had the effect of making my mouth tingle at the very end, which is something that only happens to me with deeply dark roasts (French roast styles). It is great I’m sure with a bit of sugar, as this type of coffee tends to transform when you add sugar to it.
Overall: It was an OK coffee on the lower end of the scale, but not terrible. It was comparable to Marziali Caffè a local roaster that does similarly uber-black coffee roasting.
The setup: The setup was decent, a three group Wega espresso machine and a Mazzer/Astoria grinder. The coffee was the brand I’ve encountered before, Guglielmo Caffè. This is a Reggio-Calabria based roaster that’s really down there in the boot of Italy. This coffee was better than the one I had before by them.
Al Cartoccio Bistrot Caffè
Accartocciati S.R.L.S.
Via Francesco Grimaldi 52
00146 Roma