DI GIACOMO CAFFÈ, PIAZZA SAN GIOVANNI IN LATERANO 34, 00184 ROMA

Rating: Standard, mid to low end Roman coffee

Right across the street from St. John Lateran is the Caffè di Giacomo (it also has the name 'Shake' on the outside). It is one of those typical 50s Italian cafes, lots of wood, marble, and a fun atmosphere of ‘jolly’ Romans. At least that’s how I’ll portray their loud yelling and cussing 100s of bad words a second all in good fun. The place as a bar right as you walk in and then on the right hand side some tables. The typical price change if you take it at the bar vs. the table is done here. Besides this, the place seemed clean, tidy and welcoming. The barista was very well mannered and would magically change face and demeanor every time he spoke to me. At one instant he would be yelling obscenities to his cashier friend and then with the calmest voice ask if the coffee was OK. Very amusing.

This is what he gave me:

Presentation: Nice cup, I like this type of cup. Inverted cone shaped, fluted outwards. The spoon was the typical vintage looking one, which fit well with the light brown marble counter and décor of the place. Water was given to others only after they asked.

Temperature of Cup: Crazy blazing hot. Too hot.

Quantity: Short shot, good.

Temperature: Very hot as well. I had to wait another 2-3 minutes for it to cool.

Volume/Consistency: It was light, thin, consistent with brewing it at too a temperature, and with overextraction.

Crema: Cakey, spongy, persistent until the point that I started to drink it, then it gave way. Bubbles, and over-extracted in this small volumetric space.

Odor: Dark deep charred coffee. No fruits, no floral scents anywhere.

Taste: Bitter up front, but a flat, profile-less taste that was thin and not really holding its own.

Overall: It was a mid to low end Roman coffee. Nothing special, nothing horrible. With a spoonful of sugar it would have bounced back to what it should have been. This should be taken into consideration.

The setup: They had a decent Faema E-nova espresso machine, they had a vintage Faema grinder, that’s fun! Who knows how good the burrs were? The coffee was the Roman based Morganti Caffè, who does very dark roasted coffee, with the typical flat-taste profile.