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AL SIPARIO CAFFÈ, VIA SISTINA 140, 00187 ROMA
Rating: Standard, mid to low-end Roman coffee
Still on the Via Sistina, you have the Al Sipario Bar Caffè. It’s a monolocale, narrow and deep. And inside you’ll find a really nice 1930s interior that was just charming. The two baristas were dressed in white aprons, and both were interested in their newspaper, and little else. When I walked in the barista who served me seemed surprised that a soul would ask for coffee after 6pm, but well, it’s normal after all. He was a man of few words, as if they would ruin the perfect tranquility that was in that café. Since nobody else was in there.
This is what he served me:
Presentation: A nice clean, tidy cup of Joe. Except for the spot of coffee on the little handle. I like the shape, modern, somewhat dynamic. The spoon had a handle that was extra long… as if it was more for a tall glass than an espresso. No water offered.
Temperature of Cup: It was good, not too hot. I’m on a roll this week!
Quantity: It was an abundant espresso, the shot could have been shorter.
Temperature: It was a lot hotter than the cup damn it! I burnt my upper palate as I let the darned liquid lava go into my mouth…
Volume/Consistency: It was quite thin, and not really consistent. It was a water and a bit like dirty water.
Crema: It was thin, and as you see below, started to dissipate as I waited for the damned drink to cool down. I was so tempted to just let it die and not finish it, but I had to give it the old college try and see if at a normal temperature it was any good.
Odor: Wha? What is this? Yeah, it was there, but it was dark-burning charred smell…
Taste: Well, flat that was about it. A bitter piercing taste that was flat as it decrescendoed and the few taste buds still alive in my mouth realized that this wasn’t going to be a fun drink, but rather something a bit stale and simply bitter without any chromaticism of any kind.
Overall: It was a mid to low-end Roman coffee. Nothing more than that.
The setup: They had a large imposing, and ugly as heck Faema E71, with a nice large Mazzer grinder. The coffee was Trombetta Caffè, I’ve rarely had good coffee from them. I think they’re part of the Palombini group, and by the likes of their ever-bitter coffee, they probably get the discards from the char burning roast of Palombini blends… how’s that for a positive spin?
Al Sipario Caffè
Bar Meta S.R.L.
Via Sistina 140
00187 Roma
Tel. 06 4201 1003