UN CAFFÈ ... CON TE, VIALE DEL VIGNOLA 46-48, 00196 ROMA

Rating: Standard, mid to low-end Roman coffee

So, I’m surprised by the handling of Mondi Caffè coffee. I’ve had it at one of the ‘Io Bevo Caffè di Qualità’ events here in Rome, and it was very decent, good, and while not the fruity-floral third wave roasts by far, a good coffee that was definitely above most of the Roman-roasted fare. But I’ve almost never had it prepared good. The last cafes I’ve visited that brew this coffee, treat this CSC (Certified Specialty Coffee) like any old dumpy rotten Roman coffee and burn the hell out of it… I walked into the Café ‘Un Caffè … con te’ and was glad to see the Mondi Caffè brand being brewed. They had a nice Faema machine and the staff was young and upbeat. I thought, maybe we have a good coffee establishment. It was treated very well, but let’s read on.​

This is what the barista, who seemed to run the locale put in front of me:​

Presentation: While my cup was being brewed, I got a nice cup of sparkling water placed in front of me. The cup was rather large, but this is the standard fare for Mondi Caffè. It was clean and all in order. The barista didn’t flush the group head.

Temperature of Cup: Super hot cup. Why? What’s the point?

Quantity: It was a bountiful espresso, quite long for Roman standards.

Temperature: It was still very hot, while I waited, there was steam coming out of the cup continuously…

Volume/Consistency: It was powdery, not particularly oily, and a bit thin in profile.

Crema: It was light, had a nice ultra fine grain to it, and didn’t seem over-extracted. It wasn’t cakey nor fluffy, right on. It started to dissipate quite fast, which is not necessarily a bad thing at times.​

Odor: Very dark roasted coffee smell, I’ll take what I can get.

Taste: It was a bitter sharp up front taste, powdery, and acidic that then moved to a flat taste. The finish was a bit nutty which is nice, not extraordinary.​

Overall: It was a normal, staunchly mid-level Roman coffee, but it didn’t seek to bring out the potential of this coffee, and for that a bit disappointing.

The setup: The espresso machine was a nice Faema Legend. You can’t control lots of things with it, but you can get very thick, rich coffee. The grinder was a nice Casadio which you don’t see too often here in Rome. The coffee was yes, the Mondi Caffè coffee an east Roman roaster that promotes third-wave events here in Rome.

Un Caffè ... Con Te Bar

Lomar 2003 S.R.L.

Viale del Vignola 46-48

00196 Roma

#UnCaffecontevialevignolaroma #MondiCaffeRoma #Faemaespressomachinerome