I leave in meto west of Boston area. I had some good coffee in NYC few months ago, and then decided to dive into home barista world. My wife and I drink cappuccino or latte most of time, but also taste straight shot once a while since it's the foundation of milk-base drinks. I think it's important to taste really great coffee first before we could make good/great by our own. With the experience of great coffee, it sets the expectation and also helps us understand how far we are away from and which direction we could go after. Could anyone suggest any good coffee places in great Boston area? We tried few places from Google search, but we were kinda disappointed. Please give us some suggestion. THANKS!

Hi -

Simon's in Cambridge (on Mass Ave b/t Harvard and Porter Squares) is the only place I've been to so far that has great espresso. They typically use George Howell coffee, but also have guest espressos on hand. Other than that, haven't been to many other shops I would recommend.

Best,

Rich

Thanks! I will go and try it this weekend. Do you know if anyone there does latte art? I would like to ask few questions about it too.

Yen-Chen

I was told the Diesel Cafe in Somerville has good espresso but I haven't been there yet.

kuoyen wrote:Thanks! I will go and try it this weekend. Do you know if anyone there does latte art? I would like to ask few questions about it too.

Yen-Chen

Go to Simon's (http://www.simonscoffeeshop.com/)
Excellent espresso and cappuccino (and yes they do Latte ART).
They use Terroir's Daterra(South Italian Style) for espresso and cappuccino.

I don't think there is anything like this is metrowest.
If you want something comparable you will need to try Grumpy/9th-Street in NYC ( I prefer Simon's, but it bis a matter of personal taste ).

/gabi

Simon's is great - absolutely worth a stop. Diesel's fine, nothing I'd write home about. They pull Black Cat there - I'd check out their sister shop, Bloc 11, instead. They used to pull Kid-O's, not sure what they're doing now (both were Intelli-oriented shops). But I always found that Bloc 11 had better coffee on tap than Diesel, and for whatever reason, pulled good shots more consistently.

But I would also definitely check out the Barismo boys in Arlington, a few miles down the road on Mass. Ave. from Simon's (www.barismo.com). A few of them used to work at Simon's, and have now opened an amazing roasting operation. They are doing some very unique things with espresso and syphon coffee - I wouldn't buy beans from anywhere else if I was even semi-local (I live in Toronto now). They'll also probably pull the best shot you'll find in Boston. I would just be sure to double-check their retail hours, because their shop isn't really a cafe per se.

Simon's is definitely worth checking out if you are in the city. As to the latte art question- it depends now. I've been less satisfied with their consistency (not of latte art, but of quality). Simon still pulls a good shot, but some of the new hires are less than great.

In recent months, Taste Coffee House in Newtonville has caught my eye. Nik Krankl took over the place in March and it has grown from a decent shop with a passionate owner to an exceptional shop with an extremely dedicated staff. They are pulling a coffee by Barismo on their Synesso, and frequently have a guest bean as well. Right now I feel that it is the most consistently good shop in the Boston area. It is definitely on par with many shops in New York (and better, in my opinion than quite a few of the big name shops there).

You might also check out Cafe Fixe in Brookline (Washington Square to be precise). They have a Mistral and use Barrington Coffee (which is too dark for my tastes, but is liked by some apparently). Additionally, they have a pourover bar with a fabulous per cup program with Barismo coffees. The style of the shop is very similar to that of Ninth Street.

I second the comment that Bloc 11 is more consistent than Diesel, but I don't frequent either.
Other popular shops in the area include 1369 (in Inman and Central Squares), Crema (in Harvard Square), and Hi Rise (also in Harvard Square), though I haven't had especially good experiences at any of them.

Barismo's roastery is a sight to see (and a great place to talk coffee). Their hours, if I remember correctly, are most days from 12-6. They frequently host Saturday events open to the public. They are the real deal, when it comes to coffee.

-Ben

WOW! THANKS to everyone!

Simon's
Taste Coffee House
Cafe Fixe
Bloc 11
Diesel
Barismo

This could keep my busy for few weekends! I look forward to getting some good espresso, cappuccino, and latte from these places. Excellent! Thanks again!

PS: One month ago, I went to 1369 which I found from google search, and I was very disappointed. I might just have the wrong barista make coffee for me on that day...

kuoyen wrote:PS: One month ago, I went to 1369 which I found from google search, and I was very disappointed. I might just have the wrong barista make coffee for me on that day...

Yes, cross 1369 off the list!

PS: Given all the shameless trash-talking Barismo has done in the past, I can see how one might confuse Barismo's raw coffee as being as high a quality as Terroir's. What a joke. But hey, no company is perfect, and it'll be interesting to watch Barismo sharpen their teeth, hopefully for eating food instead of biting people as in the past.

I've never evaluated greens, so I won't try to evaluate the quality of Barismo's. But personally, I've enjoyed every single coffee of theirs that I've tried, their taste descriptors do actually foot to the coffee as brewed / pulled by mere mortals, and I've never had to send a bag back because the roast was off (e.g., tipped).

I personally can't say the same for Terroir.