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Rating: Standard, very good northern-Italian coffee
There are surprisingly on only a handful of cafes on the Viale Angelino in the Vittoria neighborhood. Fortunately the few that are there seem to be very decent. I really liked the Ristretto Cafè. It’s a very small monolocale, has a bar inside that takes up half of the space and about 4 tables outside. Its got a nice, fresh, and although it sounds contradictory, a dark wood interior, but it’s done without being taky or heavy. They had a nice bunch of flowers outside, and although that might sound stupid to some hipster wannabies, it was really nice. I liked it. Its staff were super chill and friendly, and they was no problem with sitting on their terrace working at the computer. It was very slow paced and relaxed. A nice thing for a change.
This is what they brought me:
Presentation: It was nice, I went to order at the bar, but since it was full I decided to stay outside, I couldn’t photograph their espresso machine, but alas. They were very glad to bring the coffee out to me. The brought a nice heaping cup of water (which was complementary and which I didn’t ask for, very nice!) and then sugar to calm this coffee. The cup was a shape that isn’t too large, and I was glad, this brand of coffee is usually super strong… let’s see how it goes.
Temperature of Cup: It was warm, not piping hot- nice!
Quantity: Short shot, very nice. A good longway short of a 30ml espresso.
Temperature: It was also warm but not too hot, I was again, very happy. This story was developing nicely.
Volume/Consistency: Smooth, silky, not powdery nor sandy. It wasn’t necessarily heavy nor oily, but simply silky.
Crema: It was dark, only slightly over-extracted. It persisted and added to particular texture of the coffee throughout the whole drinking experience.
Odor: Dark roasted coffee, I’ll take anything.
Taste: It was a simple, non-offensive start. Smooth and then opening up to a soft bitterness. It became creamier as I drank it and no rancidness anywhere. The only thing missing was a bit more depth of flavor that simply isn’t present in the beans. It was very balanced and really well executed.
Overall: I was very glad to have this coffee, it was a very good mid to upper range coffee. It wasn’t a Roman roaster, but by far the best version of this coffee that I’ve had ever. That speaks volumes of how this was curated, as usually people that serve this coffee simply serve up burnt boiled tar… so this place is doing wonders with this coffee.
The setup: They had a La Cimbali espresso machine and like branded grinder. The coffee is the Trieste based international roaster Hasubrandt Caffè. I usually really don’t like their coffee, but here, wow, simply enjoyable!
Ristretto Cafè
Carmilla S.R.L.S. Unipersonale
Viale Angelico 36A
00195 Roma