Across the globe, coffee shops not only serve as a place to get one of the world's favorite beverages, but they also bring communities together. Owners of Curiosity Coffee Bar, Sandra Moscato and Greg Slattery, strive to serve quality coffee while creating a comfortable atmosphere.
Moscato moved to Columbia seven years ago and thought it was strange a capital city had so few coffee shop options. The two used to walk miles from North Main Street to Cool Beans on College Street just to find a decent cup of coffee.
Growing tired of the long walks, they started to roast their own coffee beans on their grill in what Moscato described as a chicken rotisserie with two stainless steel colanders. With successful turnouts, they began to trade their beans with neighbors, seeming to have already begun a business of coffee roasting. Although they enjoyed the process, they decided not to start roasting coffee for profit.
Moscato and Slattery began to brainstorm what they loved most about coffee in hopes of opening their own business. They wanted to incorporate into their shop what they felt was missing in Columbia's coffee scene. They wanted a shop vibrant in color with a lively community and a Latin-American feel.
“We decided to focus on the experience of coming to a coffee shop and then just bringing the best coffee we could find,” Slattery said.
Using their coffee roasting knowledge, they searched for companies in America with the highest quality coffee beans. Their coffee is sourced from A Thousand Faces, Stay Golden and George Howell Coffee. Each of these companies use beans from all over the world, such as Latin America, Yemen and African countries. From such specialty beans, Curiosity Coffee Bar is able to concoct craft drinks specific to the beans they use, giving significance to the name Curiosity Coffee.
“It's been fun to learn about the countries and why their coffee tastes the way is tastes,” Slattery said.
With these multicultural coffees, Curiosity Coffee Bar is able to make some of their most sought after menu items. Slattery loves their “Mexicano,” a blend of organic chocolate sauce, chipotle, cinnamon and cold brew. Moscato considers herself a black coffee drinker, so her current favorite is the shop's rare blend from Yemen.
Another way Curiosity Coffee Bar incorporates different cultures into their menu is through "flights." Customers can order a paired food item and craft coffee beverage from the same country of origin.
Not only is the coffee an experience in itself, but the owners emphasize the shop's engaging environment. In this past year, the owners have transformed their once-shared shop into an entertainment space. They regularly host events such as stand-up comedy, music performances and late night events where they serve wine and beer. Slattery said it's given Columbia another space for cool arts and culture events.
As a growing industry in Columbia, the coffee community is constantly changing.
“I think we feed off each other, it's kind of like coming up with creative ideas and people just grow from there," Moscato said. "So, if we keep pushing each other to the next level, then we'll just have some awesome coffee in Columbia."