First stop was the Lone Gull coffeehouse, Gloucester, MA.
http://www.lonegull.com/
Nice little place with friendly staff, double espresso, in the cup i got a proper 2oz shot, good crema and a nice smooth balanced taste. A good drinkable temperature. They'd won some sort of award too.
Would i go back? ... Definitely
Now into Boston, the second stop was L'aroma cafe. It had been recently taken over and seemed to be a modern, vibrant cafe. In the shop they had two La Spaz S5's and macap grinders. Again, double espresso. The shot was long, with ok crema, again a reasonable temperature with a balanced taste - but it didnt live up to the shops reported reputation.
Every cafe seems to be an award winner of some sort
Would i go back?.... No.
Next was purely accidental, walking along i spotted this sign which i could quite easily have missed.
It was a little stall from Red Barn Roasters, with a small Faema and mazzer super jolly. I had high hopes - since there would be no excuse for stale coffee, and theres always an attraction if there is a roaster connection there. Double espresso of their espresso blend in a paper cup. Good crema, good quantity, a little hot but tasted generally good. The baristas seemed quite clued up with good technique, still though it was a little off the mark, with major room for improvement. They had a small seating area, plenty of coffee for sale and a variety of single origins.
A nice touch
Would i go back?... If i was passing, Yes.
Next we walked to the Italian part of the city to sample the big two cafe's there.
First up, Cafe Graffiti. This had a big hype in the guide book... "Authentic italian, italian football playing on tele, genuine italian baristi, etc." The cafe itself was interesting, but the coffee was rubbish. I gingerly ordered a double espresso from a guy behind the bar who couldve crushed my head between his arm and bicep. Double espresso, more like a quadruple. I couldn't drink it. Way too hot, and the blend mustve consisted of a LOT of robusta because the crema was massive and was still strong about 10 minutes later. Bitter, disgusting.
This wall was interesting.
Would i go back?... Only to pay protection money.
Across the road was another big-hype shop, "Caffe Vittoria". The whole place was furnished with heaps of antique espresso kit.
Have a read:
As you walk in you are greeted by a massive Bezzera vintage machine (not in use). No individual roaster for these italians, lavazza all the way. Ok setting, Italian staff but the old italian woman behind the machine wasn't pulling good shots. I ordered a single, which actually came out as a double. Too hot, lacking in crema, very bitter - even the cup wasn't very nice! Old style cafe.
Who gives out these awards!?
So there we have it! A taste of the coffee in and around Boston. A few good cafe's, but even then the coffee isn't all that great.
