In defense of bubble tea, one of the best drinks ever made, I must say that it does indeed require some skill to create just the perfect blend of flavors, as well as to make the perfect balance of chewiness vs. done-ness. Just try a few different shops and you'll see how hard it is to find a proper bubble tea. Lollicup (if you mean the one in the Super 88 food court near Allston) makes perhaps the best ... although a tad too sweet sometimes.
That said, it by no means approaches the complexity of coffee ... and I'm dying to visit Jaime at Simon's to try some of the real stuff (-:
Pete Senior Member Joined: 6 Oct 2005 Posts: 121 Location: Sweet Home Connecticut
Posted Thu Oct 20, 2005, 9:04am Subject: Re: Boston Coffee
Hi, I'm going to be in Boston next month, and wanted to get an update on this question... where's the best espresso in town? Anything change since July?
coffeeDirtDog Senior Member Joined: 22 Apr 2005 Posts: 327 Location: Cambridge, MA Expertise: Professional
Posted Thu Oct 20, 2005, 5:15pm Subject: Re: Boston Coffee
bloocanary Said:
In defense of bubble tea, one of the best drinks ever made, I must say that it does indeed require some skill to create just the perfect blend of flavors, as well as to make the perfect balance of chewiness vs. done-ness. Just try a few different shops and you'll see how hard it is to find a proper bubble tea. Lollicup (if you mean the one in the Super 88 food court near Allston) makes perhaps the best ... although a tad too sweet sometimes.
That said, it by no means approaches the complexity of coffee ... and I'm dying to visit Jaime at Simon's to try some of the real stuff (-:
I'm not going to get into this one too much. Tapioca(bubbles) are a pain in the ass to cook to doneness. They don't last long and require a good syrup base of honey and brown sugar. Most people have rarely ever had fresh, perfectly done tapioca pearls. A real treat. Morgan's lollicup is okay. He waters his teas down a bit because the guy is cheap. But the lollicup brand syrups are much better quality than many others. Definately better than the China town stores in boston. I think though we may have had this convo when you first visited.
Pete Said:
Hi, I'm going to be in Boston next month, and wanted to get an update on this question... where's the best espresso in town? Anything change since July?
IMHO The short list of reputable shops in Boston are as follows: Diesel(Davis Sq.) Someday Cafe & Toscaninis(Davis & Harvard Sq.s) Paradiso(North End) 1369 Cafe (Central Sq)
Avoid chain shops like espresso royale or anything serving Lavazza(Sorry Tony B.)or Italy Roasted Coffee(Stale).
Honestly, I give props to Diesel. I don't/wouldn't go there for coffee, but a few of the Barista are fairly well trained. It's a more atmosphere place than anything. Cool and funky place to hang out for college kids. Someday and Toscaninis are okay. They have a good rep that I just honestly don't understand or believe justified. Paradiso: Peter tells me they had one good Barista there but I don't know much else. 1369 is my pet peeve. I worked with a guy who had managed it briefly. Some of the cost concious tactics really ticked me off. Supposedly they had a manger who had worked for David Schomer long ago. I won't bad mouth them since I don't know anything about the current staff, but they also have a decent reputation in the area. If you drink latte these are all decent options. I would put Diesel on the top of that list because you might get a rosetta there. If you drink espresso, you are going to have a dissappointing tour. You would be lucky to find any good barista in Boston who actually drinks the espresso they serve. If you decide to visit Cambridge, make an effort to drop in and visit Simon and I. Most(definately not all) geeks are really cool people to meet and I love the challenge. We've become pretty serious geeks ourselves. Since we got the 4 group LM, life has been a lot easier. We are trying to find a PID setup for the machine right now. Having the Naked PF's for training is also helping a lot. We are having fun with the guest espresso program. Recently finished a batch of Ambrosia and previously did a round of Leftist. We are doing Northern Daterra from Terroir this coming week as guest espresso. Cheers,
I'd love to Jaime, but probably not on this trip. We're going to be staying in the Newbury St area.... I'm not real familiar with Boston geography, but I don't think any of the places you mention are walkable. Do you have an opinion of "Espresso Royale Caffe", mentioned earlier in the thread?
coffeeDirtDog Senior Member Joined: 22 Apr 2005 Posts: 327 Location: Cambridge, MA Expertise: Professional
Posted Thu Oct 20, 2005, 8:23pm Subject: Re: Boston Coffee
Pete Said:
I'd love to Jaime, but probably not on this trip. We're going to be staying in the Newbury St area.... I'm not real familiar with Boston geography, but I don't think any of the places you mention are walkable. Do you have an opinion of "Espresso Royale Caffe", mentioned earlier in the thread?
Someone may disagree, but I suspect this is a chain shop. A buddy of mine says they are Italian espresso. I don't frequent Newbury St. but let me ask around and get back to you. You have to understand that Boston is really lacking in a serious coffee scene. The North End is kind of a joke in terms of coffee. There are a lot of people out there serving large watery bitter shots. http://www.boston.com/travel/boston/around/MBTA/ Boston has an easy to navigate T system, so in 30 minutes you could be at any one of these shops including ours. We are a 5 minute walk from the Porter stop on the redline. Diesel and Someday are right off from Davis sq. which is the next stop up on the T. Harvard Square is a nice place to wander around and check the shops and the sights.
Posted Fri Oct 21, 2005, 1:46am Subject: Re: Boston Coffee
Espresso Royale Caffe is a chain of 3 stores. Quality ranges from ok to bad, depending on who's at the counter. Wait times range from 1-15 minutes, with little discernible connection to the number of people in line. It's a weird place. That said, it's the best bet in that neighborhood.
If it's a nice day and you have a little time, Simon's is about a 45-60 minute walk from Newbury St. Just go straight up Mass Ave. You'll cross the Charles river, then pass MIT, Central square (where 1369 is), Harvard square (Toscanini's) to Porter square(Simon's).
Posted Fri Oct 21, 2005, 6:46am Subject: Re: Boston Coffee
Used to live in Quincy, and while I'll agree with commenters that the North End places are touristy and the espresso isn't anything to write home about, it's still a great scene. Personally would love to have a place as fun to hang as Cafe Vittoria out here in Pittsburgh, but with better espresso & cannoli than the original. Anyway, if you're in the North End for dinner (and why not), I'd stop by there. If you can't stomach the demitasse, you can always wash it down with a grappa and move on.
Posted Fri Oct 21, 2005, 7:01am Subject: Re: Boston Coffee
Pete Said:
I'd love to Jaime, but probably not on this trip. We're going to be staying in the Newbury St area.... I'm not real familiar with Boston geography, but I don't think any of the places you mention are walkable. Do you have an opinion of "Espresso Royale Caffe", mentioned earlier in the thread?
You can take the T (i.e., subway) to Cambridge. It's 75 cents each way, and the concierge at your hotel could certainly explain it to you. It's about 20 minutes away, including the walk to the stop. The views of the Charles River as the train crosses over it to get to Cambridge are worth it alone. Stand up in the train car, and get your camera ready, it's really something.
bloocanary Senior Member Joined: 17 Nov 2003 Posts: 344 Location: boston Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: rancilio silvia Grinder: solis maestro Vac Pot: yama (imploded)
Posted Mon Oct 24, 2005, 8:24am Subject: Re: Boston Coffee
Pete Said:
I'd love to Jaime, but probably not on this trip. We're going to be staying in the Newbury St area.... I'm not real familiar with Boston geography, but I don't think any of the places you mention are walkable. Do you have an opinion of "Espresso Royale Caffe", mentioned earlier in the thread?
As several have said already, I would have to strongly agree and say you should really make the effort to get out to Simon's ... it's a nice trip and the destination is well worth it. And just throwing it out there, but if there's a bus you could take straight down Mass Ave, that may be worth it ... you pass through some of the major spots in town, like MIT, Harvard Square, etc.
coffeeDirtDog Said:
I'm not going to get into this one too much. Tapioca(bubbles) are a pain in the ass to cook to doneness. They don't last long and require a good syrup base of honey and brown sugar. Most people have rarely ever had fresh, perfectly done tapioca pearls. A real treat. Morgan's lollicup is okay. He waters his teas down a bit because the guy is cheap. But the lollicup brand syrups are much better quality than many others. Definately better than the China town stores in boston. I think though we may have had this convo when you first visited.
It's not a pain! It's actually a quite simple process if you know the variables ... I used to order from http://www.bubbleteastore.com/, and they had very simple instructions that yield perfect pearls ... something like boil 30 minutes, soak 30 minutes covered. They also provide a recipe for the perfect base, as well as the perfect tea. The problem however is doing it in bulk and keeping the pearls fresh. At home when I make it, the pearls are mush within a couple hours. This appears to be the case at most stores in Boston as well ... but I always wonder how the places that do it right keep their pearls chewy. I suspect it's something like soaking in a more concentrated base that keeps water from diffusing into the pearls ... but I'm not sure. In any case, when you're looking for a sweet dessert drink, nothing can beat it ... and there is plenty of art in making the perfect bubble tea. Of course, that said, it's a whole different animal from coffee and the art of coffee ...
Posted Wed Oct 26, 2005, 2:59pm Subject: Re: Boston Coffee
coffeeDirtDog Said:
Someone may disagree, but I suspect this is a chain shop. A buddy of mine says they are Italian espresso. I don't frequent Newbury St. but let me ask around and get back to you. You have to understand that Boston is really lacking in a serious coffee scene. The North End is kind of a joke in terms of coffee. There are a lot of people out there serving large watery bitter shots. http://www.boston.com/travel/boston/around/MBTA/ Boston has an easy to navigate T system, so in 30 minutes you could be at any one of these shops including ours. We are a 5 minute walk from the Porter stop on the redline. Diesel and Someday are right off from Davis sq. which is the next stop up on the T. Harvard Square is a nice place to wander around and check the shops and the sights.
Just hired an ex-Espresso Royale Boston barista, so here is the scoop. Espresso Royale is a chain from Michigan, but the shops in Boston were sold to local business person about a year ago. The name is retained, but as far as I know, which is not that much, the Boston Espresso Royale is not under any obligation to buy, act or be like the Michigan parent company. If he is a typical Espresso Royale Barista, then I would suggest their training are better than Starbucks, and Cosi.
Have you any luck finding out how to PID a Marzocco? I have a 3 group, and am thinking about doing the same, but am too busy and too technically inept to understand how to do it right.
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