Cursive Coffee

What amazed me so much about this place was not the simple layout and pleasant atmosphere or the great service. What did was that the quality of coffee at this place is of a caliber I am used to only drinking in big cities like New York, Chicago, etc. This place is kind of in the middle of nowhere, in the hamlet of Middlebury, and they’re serving up beautiful, high quality espresso with local Vermont dairy. This place really was a diamond.

This is, without a doubt, the best espresso in town. Or anywhere near town. Really, its the only place where I can go to enjoy the flavor of the espresso, as opposed to the caffeine. Go there now!

Best small-​batch coffee roaster in Vermont. A no-​frills shop with amazing espresso!
This place might be out of the way for some, but is definitely worth the drive from wherever you are. Sam and Jim are extremely knowledgeable about coffee. From the purchasing and roasting of beans, to the pulling of perfect shots of espresso, these guys consistently get it right.
As is somewhat trendy these days, they’ve decided to abandon the classic coffee drink names in favor of giving the customer a choice in the amount of milk they’d like with their espresso. This takes away some of the guessing involved with many coffee shops about drink sizes, and what a «cappuccino» might mean in one shop compared to another. At Cursive, you can count on milk (Kimball Brook Farms) being steamed to the perfect temperature/​texture, and espresso shots pulled to the peak of sweetness and flavor.
«Espresso with a Dash» of milk has been my go-​to. It’s small and delicious, bold and creamy. For something on the sweeter side, but that still packs a punch, try the «Great Northern» with an extra shot of espresso. Although I love maple syrup, I was skeptical at first about mixing it with such a fine cup of coffee. It is, in fact, the perfect way to lightly sweeten espresso without masking flavor.
They roast beans every Monday (they’re closed that day) and have them available Tuesday. I’ve recently been making cold-​brewed iced coffee at home, and their beans yield delicious results.
Ok, I can’t say enough good things about this place. Just Go!

Awful. Coffee was not exceptional, and have NO clue why the sugar tasted as bad as it did.
Water left at counter was super hot, atmosphere was bland, the barista was not at all friendly.

Best coffee in town, perhaps in VT.

5 stars is almost always an exaggeration but I don’t intend to use hyperbole in any part of this recommendation/​review.
As a coffee shop they succeed completely. Providing the bare-​essential fare of a double espresso straight-​up or with varying amounts of steamed milk, even the option of freshly squeezed orange juice seems above and beyond. Especially when one considers the effort these guys put into roasting their own beans and honestly sharing every part of their vision with each customer. Despite not having ‘regular’ or ‘drip’ coffee, they manage not to alienate or intimidate most people willing to try something new.
What they appear to lack in options is truly all about showcasing what is important to appreciating coffee as a luxury; not just a box to check off on your to-​do list. It also casts aside the confusion jargon of the fragmented coffee industry. You could ask 3 different baristas to make a ‘cortado ’ and it’s possible that you could get 3 different drinks but at Cursive, you just order espresso with a dash of milk and you know exactly what you’re in for.
I knew I couldn’t keep this short but these guys are rad and the world would be a better place with more guerrilla coffees hope and better coffee in general.

Cursive Coffee just opened in Middlebury at the 58 Main Street location of Boo & Roxy’s design atelier (a partnership of very cool local design/​artist people). What a cool idea! So the space is very cool, with an urban edge that fits right in to the storefront location on Main Street — thank Anna Barakat for the look, she’s a local architect and designer with spectacular tastes (full disclosure– also a friend and fantastic person). Motorcycles in the window — very cool and eye-​catching!
OK, on to the coffee. So I walk in a few hours after they opened for the first time and one of the co-​owners, Jim, pulls me an espresso with «a bit of milk» — close to a macchiato — and man was it fantastic! The flavor was rich and full without being bitter, the presentation lovely topped with «latte art» (a detail that almost always means the barista is paying attention to detail — i.e. gives a crap about what he/​she is making,) and served with some mineral water to cleanse the palate. Price is great too, a real deal — I am sure you’d pay at least double in a big metro area. I almost (almost) hope they raise their prices a bit as I want them to thrive for a long time! I have been so waiting for a place in Middlebury that actually knows how to do espresso and espresso based drinks RIGHT. Well this is it — the real deal.