SETA CAFFÈ, VIA DELLA SETA 3, 00144 ROMA

Rating: Standard, mid-range Udine-based roasted coffee

The La Seta Caffè is a busy place, in the south end of EUR, what is actually Torrino, near the Grande Raccordo Anulare (G.R.A.) freeway. It takes its original name from the street.... 'Street of the Mushroom', a great name if you're from NorCal and like to take trips... Whatever, from the outside you have quite a lot of tables under an open portico with folks smoking away their life and their worries. On the interior you’ve got some more tables, and on the right hand side a very long and expansive bar that reaches all the way to the end of the bar. Two beautiful espresso machines, three baristas. Pretty impressive and big. Inside was also bustling with lots of talk, chatter and lively spirited baristas. It was a fun environment and a real big difference from the austere and calm Pagoda Caffè just on the other side of the small roundabout separating the two places.

This is what I got when I asked for a coffee:

Presentation: A rather large cup, suitable for milk-based products, probably what is consumed here most early in the morn. The cup was splattered with coffee, probably from the other espresso that was extracted at the same time, and well, I don’t like this as it means … partially… that the coffee is over extracted. No water served, but it was given to others after they had asked for it. I didn’t bother.

Temperature of Cup: It was warm, not scalding hot, but borderline, I would have liked it a bit cooler.

Quantity: Solid espresso, looked bigger than it was due to the large cup, but it was sitting down there without going over the 1/3 of the cup. So not bad.

Temperature: It was decent, not as warm as the cup, so good. Slightly colder, but probably brewed at a good 92C or there abouts.

Volume/Consistency: It was a heavy espresso, actually felt chunky and crunchy as I went into it. The crema was definitely doing its part in the texture. It was oil heavy and rich, with a thickish body to it.

Crema: It was very dark going to light, with a visible over-extraction to it in the form of a nice blond island of bubbles. It started to die out very soon, so I’m surprised.

Odor: It was dark roasted coffee, peppery and punchy, looked like a mean drink ahead.

Taste: It was a gradual start, it had a nutty, smooth introduction that then moved towards the crunchier, sharper bitter coffee taste. It had quite a flat profile and a bitter finish. It wasn’t rancid nor poor, just strong and stout.

Overall: It was a decent coffee, middle of the road, more or less executed in a decent manner. There’s a café that’s serving very decent coffee just a block away so I’d pick that one over this one, but you won’t go wrong here with this.

The setup: It was beautiful. They had two very nice Fiorenzato machines, the grinder also the fiorenzato hezagonal top grinders. The coffee was Oro Caffè, this is roaster from the outskirts of Udine North Italy that does pretty decent coffee. Here in Rome most place that are trying to do something of better quality go with them. I’ve had better espresso of theirs at other places here in Rome.