CAFFETTERIA MADIA DROGHERIA, VIA DEL FOSSO DEL TORRINO 73, 00144 ROMA

Rating: Very good coffee roasted in east Rome.

A little gem hidden in the thicket of the Torrino area, that’s what the Caffetteria Madia Drogheria is. Let me qualify it, if I may with saying that to a Californian it would be categorized as a chick den. … yes not ‘chic’, but chick. Well it's also chic! But look below. It’s a really nicely and delicately attired place by somebody who’s been to upscale and nice locales having a dandy retro-nineteenth century feel. And this place pulls it off great. It’s got a counter full of cakes in glass covers, lots of mint green walls and stuff for gourmet food everywhere. There was a couple of baristas who were very nice and accommodating. It had a really nice patio area outside, and simply, in the harsh 1960-1970s concrete jungle of Torrino, this place felt like it should have belonged in Milan or some other place with a bit more stile than Rome does.

Let’s see what they served me:

Presentation: Well, positive! Definitely not the typical cup you get here in Rome. No logo, no junky industrial cup, but instead, an organic, hand finished looking cup. Looks like something out of Alice in Wonder Land. Cool, no? Water was given when I asked.

Temperature of Cup: It was good. Warm, not scalding, excellent.

Quantity: The cup was big, large, the espresso, US sized, meaning probably like at double espresso. But hell, the environment was right, I didn’t mind!

Temperature: Ahh.. great! Again, we have a very good temperature. This espresso just kept on getting better!

Volume/Consistency: It was thick, silky, rich, full-bodied and had a definite heft to it. Like having a good heavy Bailey’s or something. Very smooth is what characterizes it best.

Crema: Very dark, very uniform, rich, thick and persistent for the whole duration of the drink. I was very glad, it almost seemed as if it wanted to crawl up the sides of the cup.

Odor: Strong nutty scent, warm smooth coffee not uber burnt. This coffee just kept getting better and better!

Taste: Here’s the test, and well, it was very good, a very good coffee here in Rome. It was a smooth and gradual incrementing bitterness that never got out of control. It opened up very nicely to a nutty, almond like taste that then decrescendoed with a bitter dark-chocolate like taste. It was very good!

Overall: I will say that it was one of the better coffees I’ve had here in Rome. Definitely ranked with the best coffee here. Nothing third wave, as it was simply to mono-thematic in taste, but rich, not heavy, substantial, not rancid nor overly bitter, and simply with the presentation and setting, a definite to have if you’re in this neck of the woods!

The setup: They had a beautiful and spanking new Vibiemme (VBM) espresso machine Lollo model with the E-64 group heads. Really great, top notch machine. The grinder was a Mazzer, and the coffee, a new one to me. It was Ciemme Caffè. This is an East Roman roaster based out of Subiaco, a town about an hour east of Rome and still with its territory. It was really great coffee, and by the crema, surely a 80 Arabica / 20 Robusta blend. It was their ‘Gourmet’ blend. But the website doesn’t give much details about its composition. Really nice to find yet another roaster!