Rating: Standard, mid range Roman coffee
The Opere e Caffè is a small cool place in the East side of Trastevere. It’s filled with works of art that appear to be either the owners, or a temporary exhibition space. I’d say the former because they all make the place look really cool and really fit in nicely. The café has a beautiful (or gaudy depending on your taste) hand made glass chandelier in the middle of the small bar that really commands a lot of presence. When I walked in the barista/owner was very kindly entertaining a guest’s child who seemed to have no patience for their parent’s coffee drinking. The French dad was enthusiastic about his coffee, so much so that he ordered two of them. The environment was nice and welcoming and it was a place that looked like you could lounge in, even if it was small.
This is what I got:
Presentation: Nice clean cup, short, fluted outwards, and crisp. I liked it. The spoon was beaten by use, a good sign, but a bit too big for this cup. No water was offered, but I saw the barista offer a plastic cup with still water to somebody that asked. So it was there.
Temperature of Cup: Mamma, it was hot, super hot.
Quantity: It was a solid ounce shot. On the mark.
Temperature: I waited quite a while for this cup to cool down, and the espresso itself was decently warm by the time I could drink it, so not a real gage here. I had to wait too long. It was probably quite hot as well.
Volume/Consistency: Thin, watery, light. I wouldn’t say delicate, nor oily either, but light.
Crema: It started to dissipate very quickly and didn’t seem to add to the texture of the drink. It was slightly overextracted as you can see, about 2 or 3 seconds. I.e. it should have been pulled away once the ‘stop’ button was pressed.
Odor: It didn’t give out any nice perfumed odor that I could notice.
Taste: It wasn’t very bitter up front. It was mild, and once in the mouth, I could get a somewhat metallic taste, but not rancid, nor overly pronounced. It was flat in profile, and it didn’t coat the mouth nor tongue with any kind of coffee oils.
Overall: It was a normal, mid to low end Roman coffee. That is, totally drinkable, and with a hint of sugar probably quite good. But in comparison to other locals, it could have been a bit better procured.
The setup: They had a La Cimbali espresso machine along with a Fiorenzato Doge model grinder that should be quite decent. The coffee being served was Bartolomei Caffè, a Roman roaster that also runs Caffè Gran Brazil. This is a lot darker, sharper roast than the latter, and I haven’t been necessarily impressed by those brews I’ve had of theirs.
Opere e Caffè
Tabaccheria
Pavan Ester
Via delle Lungaretta 18
00153 Roma