The atmosphere of coffee shops both on and off Nassau are perfect for moments shared over pastries and drinks. Whether it be with that special someone, a friend, or just yourself, spots like illy’s Coffee, Maman, and Sakrid Coffee Roasters are ideal for a little pick me up drink and dessert that’s almost as sweet as the company you’re with. Though Valentine’s day has come and gone, that doesn’t mean you can’t relive the holiday vicariously. After all, these themed drinks are here to stay for at least the remainder of this month!
illy’s Coffee
Tucked away from the main hustle and bustle of downtown Princeton is illy’s Coffee, a small and intimate shop furnished with large floor to ceiling windows. The inside consists of a beautifully wooden and red interior, finished with a cigar room. Here, four different drinks comprised their Valentine’s themed February specials.
‘Romeo the Romantic’ is a vanilla and rose latte which I got iced, but it is also served hot. It came covered with whipped cream and heart shaped sprinkles, which added a fun texture to chew on. The notes of rose blended well by mellowing out the taste of the espresso infused with milk. The vanilla flavors were much more subdued in the background and acted more so as a subtle bridge between the delicate rose to the strong acidity of the espresso. However, this drink (and the following illy drinks as well) definitely veer on the sweeter side. If you are someone who would like to taste a bit more of the caffeine shining through, these crafted drinks may not be your cup of tea.
Romeo the Romantic
Leia Pei / The Daily Princetonian
‘Chocolate Covered Strawberries’ is a dark mocha and strawberry latte, offered in both hot and iced versions. Upon holding up the drink to my mouth, I was immediately greeted with a strong fragrant waft of strawberry. I recommend getting the hot version like I did, as the warm milk does a delightful job of coating your tongue in the richness of the chocolate, making for an experience clearly reminiscent of a strawberry freshly dipped in chocolate.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry
Leia Pei / The Daily Princetonian
‘Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake’ is a delicious cappuccino with white mocha, raspberry, and sweetened condensed milk that tastes exactly like a bite of cheesecake. Despite its rich sounding ingredients, the raspberry does a great job in cutting through the cream, making each sip taste just as delicious as the first. The acidity and bitterness from the mocha, coffee, and a garnish of chocolate shavings altogether works to balance the richness with every sip.
Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake
Leia Pei / The Daily Princetonian
For my last drink, I ordered an iced ‘Cherried Rose Matcha’, a matcha latte described to contain flavors of rose and tart cherry. Unfortunately, as often is the case with cherry flavored syrups, the drink often ends up falling short of capturing the actual fruit’s lovely fragrance and tart taste. In this drink in particular, the cherry just ended up making the grassy notes of the matcha itself much more pronounced than the rose flavor and resulted in a drink that tasted more artificial and grassy than what is enjoyable.
Cherried Rose Matcha
Leia Pei / The Daily Princetonian
Maman
On the other side of town is Maman, a brunch restaurant with an aesthetic best described as charmingly quaint and rustic, largely inspired by the French countryside. Characteristic to all its food items are the blue and white porcelain china plates adorned with intricate floral motifs, making for an ultra picturesque experience throughout. At my table near the street, sunlight streamed through the window and made for a thoroughly relaxing experience.
A scenic street view in Maman
Leia Pei / The Daily Princetonian
Here, I ordered their Valentine’s special ‘Love Letter Tea Latte’, described to be a red rooibos mixed in with french florals and lavender syrup topped with a steamed milk of your choice. It came garnished with dried rose petals, adding a delicate, elegant aroma to each sip, sure to be popular with floral fans. The complex layers of the tea’s flavors mixed in with the warmth and creaminess of the steamed milk perfectly coats the tongue, making for a sophisticated drink that gently warms the drinker on a cold day. The sweetness level felt just right and only served to elevate the drink’s various flavors rather than detract from it.
To accompany this rooibos latte, I got one of their raspberry croissants. The perfect butteriness from both the croissant dough and the french vanilla buttercream is well balanced with the sharp tartness from the layer of raspberry puree. Beautifully magenta, this flaky heart shaped pastry was a delight to eat in between sips of warm rooibos.
Raspberry jam crossiant
Leia Pei / The Daily Princetonian
Sakrid Coffee Roasters
Last on the list is Sakrid Coffee Roasters, a small shop right on Nassau situated next to the Graduate Hotel. Its simplistic decor accompanied with accents of rustic wood on the countertops made for a lovely sunny afternoon when I went in. While not explicitly stated to be a Valentine’s day special, the raspberry matcha was listed as a February special and could certainly qualify for a Valentine’s drink from looks alone.
Raspberry matcha
Leia Pei / The Daily Princetonian
The matcha itself was surprisingly smooth and creamy, signifying a good amount of care was put into its preparation and especially the whisking process. On the tongue, it felt almost adjacent to the sort of texture you would get from a nitro foam coffee or a soft pillowy marshmallow. The generous amount of raspberry purée also worked to pleasantly cut through this creaminess while imbuing a bit of additional sweetness and texture through the little seeds. Unlike illy, this drink was only lightly sweetened, fully allowing the matcha’s earthiness and the tart brightness of the raspberry to fully shine through.
Each one of these coffee shops has a beautiful atmosphere perfectly crafted for conversation and connection. Whether you’re planning a date with your special someone, or just want a place to journal or do some work, you really can’t go wrong with grabbing one (or a few!) of these drinks to sweeten up your day.
Leia Pei is a contributing writer for The Prospect. She can be reached at lp2943[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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