The state of the local coffee scene

Boston metro is what we always get tagged with. We are in East Arlington. That's right on the border with Cambridge... which is across the river from what is really Boston. Now if you live in Cambridge, you probably don't cross the river much and head into Boston unless you work there.

It doesn't really irk us, just a bit misleading as is the cafe culture in Boston/Cambridge. It's incredibly confusing, convoluted, and a bit of scramble. I can say without a doubt, the better cafes are still in Cambridge right now. After the recent opening of Voltage in Kendall and a few shudders of movement from old Cambridge establishments, things are looking better. Crema got notably better with the addition of Sal (ex Pavement mgr). Toscaninis has put up the money to buy new gear and is moving towards a better coffee program. 1369 got new gear also and doubled down with their coffee program. Simon's recently had two barista place 1st and 3rd after the White Chrome event (local comp hosted by Flat Black) and the shop seems to really have some energy after that. It seems like prepping for the competition and doing well really sparked them (congrats to Nathaniel and Jason). Hi Rise on Brattle St. in Harvard Sq. continues to put out some of the most progressive coffee in the area though the main store on Concord St. has nothing in common coffee-wise (though better sandwiches). That's the roundup of Cambridge shops for now but look for an update to that in a few months.

As for Boston, there are unconfirmed rumors of the coffee MGR of a small chain wanting to a open a barismo style roasting operation on that side of the river very soon, possibly in January (again unconfirmed). We know him and wish him good luck, but it's a lot more hard work than most people expect looking at it from the outside. You run into a lot of walls until you find your customers and if you desire to do quality, the battle is even more uphill around here. Dylan is back working at Sip but we haven't been there recently to check in. Other than that, there is not legitimate motion over there I'd like to note as the rest seems either the same or worse.

Taste in Newton is now owned by GHH/Terroir. I think it's worth a visit to see what they are doing out there. Most of our staff and myself have visited all of these spaces in the last month and you should too. I think visiting all of these cafes is good if you are curious about the Boston/Cambridge coffee scene... as long as you start at barismo... and end there too!

Baked goods and pastry shops

Kaminsky was pointing me to check out the much lauded Flour Bakery. A quick bit of google research found it was handed many awards and publicity which probably justifed a closer look. We decided to visit the original location and see what they offered.

This morning, we headed over and got a selection of the menu and sampled it. The baked goods are above average but not necessarily the best in town. If Diesel in Davis was a bakery, it would be Flour. The flow is worse than Simon's(yes it's possible) and the dozen people flowing over top of each other behind the counter proved an uncomfortable scene to watch. I'm not inclined to recommend anything except the Raspberry spritzer there unless you live in the neighborhood and it's a convenient walk away. It's solid, but no better than True Grounds and not worth going across town for. Don't ask about the coffee or tea.

When I think of sandwiches, Darwin's or Hi-Rise. Baked goods and a decent macaroon, Hi-Rise again. Good pies and exceptional scones, Petsie Pies. And some of the no doubt best pastries around can be found at Truly Jorg's.


Original photo by *Reese

Truly Jorg's is one place I would get behind and say it's a great place to visit. The pastries are always amazing and in an affordable price range considering how good they are. The selection changes often but the quality and most importantly, the taste is always there. I found out about them in a tiny mention in one of the free papers. It had a photo and I was intrigued. A quick stop by and gorging myself on berry tarts and assorted sweets left an impression. I highly recommend a visit if you are in Boston. Don't waste time at tourist spots like Finale, check this place out.

Boston eXpresso

I have been thinking recently about how you don't see espresso that are meant to be enjoyed simply as espresso. A straight shot. Maybe a machiatto and maybe a traditional cappuccino.

You have a lot of either dark roasted or very earthy espresso that are designed to cut through milk leaving a less than desirable taste as a straight shot in most areas of the US.

Sure it's one of those things where business owners have to look at where the money is(big milk drinks), but I have always wondered about that. Seriously, the espresso out there is really quite wretched in most shops. Short of a complete revolution, how does that change?

I live in Cambridge and there are a handful of barista who can pour latte art at different shops. I can name on one hand the number of people who pull me consistently good shots, it's that small. Sure there is some latte art and fascination with the patterns, but truth is there are few really good shots to be had in this town.

This is where it gets weird though, at most every shop here in town you will get an espresso that brims over the top of the demitasse. It's not like these are small demis either, it's like trying to chug three and a half ounces of thin tasteless bilge water.

We call this the all too common Boston eXpresso.


I'm not sure this is an accident either. I typically hear:
A) It's to give you your money's worth by giving more volume(sure you get more volume but it tastes bad, so why bother) B) They think more volume will cut through the milk (a misconception as it simply doesn't) C) They were taught this by the roaster or were not trained at all by he roaster.

The part that bothers me it that it seems they are taught this way or are sold the coffee on some big up sell and then left to fend for themselves. It wouldn't be worth mention but there are some big time so called '3rd wave' roasters behind many of these local accounts that are paying top dollar to sell these coffees. Yet, I do not blame the cafes, I inclined to blame the roaster or companies who over hype their green quality, unrealistically romanticize the farmer, or simply talk about quality as if they are the absolute definition of the term. There are so many expectations that come with quality that I would think training should surely be one of them.

Then again, why pay for a great coffee if it falls flat on the cafe floor?

Really peaks your cynical nature doesn't it?

Searching for a french press...

I forget how hard it is to get good coffee when out traveling. No french press. No coffee(period)

I recently made my way down the East coast.

No stop off in New York this time. Honestly, I won't visit there much anymore. At least until something new opens or there is a reason to go. Too expensive to travel right now.

It got me thinking about this concept of community and how fickle it is in this online forum when compared to our small Boston community. Yeah, there is the weird angry kid we'd rather not be associated with but the rest of us are pretty tight. I started thinking about if it is worth posting on the forums when the focus is flavor.

I'm not sure.

So, I gave up posting in the coffee focused forums and largely unplugged from that medium. It wasn't for negativity or perceived criticism. In fact it happened largely for the reasons brinsky is not posting.

We got tired.

I realized until I can sit down with peers and 'cup things out' then there is little to say in those forums. Arguing my apples to your oranges is nearly futile.

We are not nearly content with the coffee we are drinking but we see hints of some really cool stuff ahead. That's the problem though, it's ahead instead of right now. I had a long talk with Judson and I really want to get back and get things moving again but we are in limbo for now.

I will have updates from the trip to Finca Vista Hermosa at the end of the month.

The North East Regional Barista Competition looks like a wash right now. The combination of several things made me decide it's not worth entering. That means Judson and I will attend with the gang but no competitors. Simon is not sending Ben either so it's a complete wash. We will all go and cheer on Judson's friend Andrew assuming he competes.

Oh and here is an interview I did for a film school project courtesy of Jason via HB.