Spring Break Cafe Hopping pt 3: Curio Coffee

I did not have breakfast this morning, and I was rushing to go to a meeting that I found out was cancelled when I arrived (I did not have time in the morning to check before I left), and so I made my way here without much preparation. It's a bit away from campus, but since I was on the east side of campus, and this place was located east of campus, I decided to make my way here.

Unfortunately for me, this place sells waffles as their only food item, and so I was kind of disappointed that I couldn't have something a little bit more filling to eat. It's alright, it's an exercise in moderation for me.

Curio Coffee

Rating: 4.25/5
Location: 441 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02141
Ordered: Latte with oat milk (5 + .75), Liege waffle (4.75)
Time spent: 2.5

Vibes: Small coffeeshop located along this road that runs through suburban Cambridge. Pretty dark, with wood furniture painted black and dark green painted walls. There are plants hanging from pots along the window, with fairy lights strewn about them. Not that much seating, and the place is generally very quiet, with minimal conversation and soft jazzy, low key music (I don't know my genres). Near the back is a corner that's piled with cleaning supplies and other coffee-shop supplies. It's honestly a very intimate environment. The baristas quite honestly look to be two lesbians (to be more objective, they had short hair, face piercings, and tattoos along their arms) and they're very sweet. I watched them banter with the regulars about their orders, and the one who took my order handed me my drink and waffle personally :) The second one came in a while after I settled down with a cloth bag of creamer and other supplies and they had a brief conversation about their miso latte (which I don't think I'll ever be trying but it's cool to know that they have it). Also, it's warm, which is not the case in the other two coffee shops that I've been to so far in this journey.

Latte: Came in a mug and a saucer! I took my first sip and there was basically no bitterness to the drink, and this is the first drink that I've had so far where I haven't put a packet of sweetener in! The coffee is definitely acidic, or kind of sour, which makes it also the first drink to do so, so far. I've honestly been waiting for an acidic and not bitter drink. It's not the most aromatic, and the coffee taste is less pronounced. I can taste the oat milk dulling the taste a little (though I suppose the word mellow would be proper here), but it still leaves a nice aroma in my mouth after I drink it (and it's a little bit fruity too!). I think it's very well-balanced, and it does not leave a heaviness in my stomach afterwards, which is what some lattes tend to do. 10/10 would drink again.

Waffle: Is a waffle with sugar on top that gets caramelized in the heating process. I'm not really a waffle connoisseur (though I do believe waffles >>>> pancakes), so I don't really have much to say. It's not too sweet, and you can get a little bit of the sort of savory waffle taste hidden beneath the sugar on the outside. It's decently crispy on the outside, though I think it's on the softer side of Belgian-style waffles that I've had in the past. It's kind of nice to not have a super crunchy exterior so the roof of my mouth doesn't get destroyed any more than it already has been from the previous sandwiches. It's not the most impressive waffle that I've ever had, hence the somewhat dryness and brevity in my comments, but it's a solid waffle.

Value: I think the waffle was pretty much standard price, though I do think it's a bit pricey given the amount. The latte was also a bit on the expensive side for a coffee shop, but it's honestly a really light and clean latte and so I don't have that big of a problem with it either. I suppose since I'll be going to small cozy coffee shops that I should not be expecting to get super cheap items since they're local-owned (hopefully).

Rating: It's a good, feel-good coffee shop that's very low-key for if you want a light waffle and coffee. The coffee is honestly really good in the sense that it is subtle, and so I don't feel too strongly about this place.