Cambridge Coffee Cruise: Espresso Library

Cambridge is an amazing place to find independent food and drink places down little side alleys or right out in the open. I'm on a mission over the next month or two to try out most of, if not all, of Cambridge's coffee shops in all its nooks and crannies. I've coined this journey my Cambridge Coffee Cruise, and I look forward to anyone joining me along the way (Jess over at jessicainyourear.com will be joining me literally for a lot of it!).

A lot of coffee shops have been popping up all over the place in Cambridge lately, and the latest I noticed was Espresso Library, just around the corner (and in the same building) as the fire station. It looks pretty inviting from the outside, and cute, so myself, Jess and Phil promptly took ourselves along there, to give it a try in its second week of business.

The first thing I noticed walking in, as I've noticed with a lot of coffee shops lately, is the decor. It's a little bit rustic, a little bit quirky, and a lot hipster. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's starting to feel a little generic. It was a cosy place to sit in though, and the three of us especially loved the bike racks on the wall (that we didn't notice were bike racks until someone actually rolled a bike in and hung it up!).

Don't ask me how they got that one up the top.. we assumed it was decoration!

Onto the coffee. The set up in Espresso Library is a little different from your Starbucks or Costa - rather than waiting at the counter for your drink, they bring it to you. The process was a bit longer than expected, but it was still nice to have it actually brought to you instead of mooching about waiting, and the staff were wonderfully polite, letting Phil know he needed to leave his green tea to diffuse for a few minutes. Staying on the subject of staff for a moment - friendly as they were, I was a little jaded by being frowned at for wanting to pay by card for something costing £2.20 but then being told there isn't a £5 limit on the card machine anyway. If you don't have the limit, let me pay for that little, please!

Now, for my drink, I went for a standard mocha, and while it was tasty and rich, it was a little powdery and I was a little miffed it only came in one size.

It seems to be a standard approach in a lot of new coffee shops that 'one-size-fits-all' - Charlie's Coffee Company by The Grafton operates the same way - and unfortunately that one size is always a tad small for my liking. It was sweet to have the coffee in a glass to give it a little flair of quirkiness, but sometimes you want a large when all you can get is a small! It also puts me off paying over £2 for a cup of tea when I can only get one cup from the pot. (The green tea was gorgeous though, would absolutely have again!)

To give the place a real try, I got some food too. I was keen to try something hot from the kitchen, and although the menu was still out on the counter to browse, the only thing still on offer was salmon, so I plumped for a ciabatta instead, with avocado, ham and lettuce (the type of which I can't remember, darn it).

The bread was crisp and crunchy, and it was stuffed to the brim with filling, making every mouthful (including the very ends) a full and tasty one. I'd definitely pop in for one of these again - a perfect lunchtime sandwich or quick snack when you're feeling peckish!

Overall, I'd rate the place as a 5/10 right now, as I think there's a few teething problems and a call for variety in drink size and food choice. I'm going to make it a job, though, to visit again in a few months time, try something else and enjoy the friendly and cosy atmosphere again!

Do you have a favourite coffee shop or anywhere in Cambridge to recommend? Let me know!