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ROUGE CAFE, VIA DELL’AMBA ARADAM 19, 00184 ROMA
Rating: Standard, mid-range Roman coffee
The Rouge Cafè is all about that- Bright red décor, 1950s, red lipstick and women running the place. Yeah, there were three women, all with slick black hair, slick black dress, slender and a no BS attitude. It seemed like the perfect counterpart to the ‘guy’ squad at the So & So Caffè just across the street. Where there it was all guys being guys, here it’s women being women, sans the girlyness. Either way, it was a fun contrast to be in a total guy cave, and then to a woman cave. Food for thought. I walked in and got very good service, the barista asked me from across the room if I wanted coffee. A simple ‘yes’ got everything going into motion.
This is what I got served:
Presentation: Nice round, rather large cup. Spoon is a bit weather, and looks beat up. The cup is not necessarily distinctive, but does the job. No water was offered, but I saw it being given to other customers who just asked for it.
Temperature of Cup: It was warm, good, not scalding. For this brand of coffee, this is a very positive thing.
Quantity: Not too much, a bit long for me, but definitely within the definition of an espresso here in Rome.
Temperature: It was warm, good, actually, very good.
Volume/Consistency: Smooth, silky, creamy, full, rich. Nice!
Crema: It was dark, thin, and yet, funny enough, started to die as I waited to start drinking the darn thing. Odd that the coffee itself had such body.
Odor: none, nothing new.
Taste: It was a gradual start of bitterness, it moved onto a flat profile, not really dynamic very quickly, and then gave way to a strong bitterness that characterizes this java brand. The odd thing I did not like was the tingling sensation in my mouth. Not fun and well I’m always suspect of coffee that does that.
Overall: But besides that, it was a decent coffee, straightforward, no frills, no bells whistles, whatnot. So simply straight middle of the road I’d say.
The setup: The machine that they were using was a La Cimbali, I couldn’t see the grinder but it would probably have been a La Cimbali as well or simply a Mazzer as all the duos do this. The coffee is a Roman-based Braccio Caffè, which usually is super extra strong.
Rouge Cafe
Albi SRLS
Via Dell'Amba Aradam 19
00184 Roma