As a general rule, I stick to the rule of "if you are going to spend $2 or more for a cup of coffee, make it an espresso based drink." Part of the reason for this is that it has to be made fresh while what we generally think of as "regular coffee" may very well be sitting there for a while.

Since much of my recreation is centered upon Central and Inman Squares in Cambridge I generally take my espresso from either one of the two 1369 Coffeeshops or Toscanini's-- the latter is an icecream shop but the espresso is wonderful there.

Personally I am a fan of Starbucks (I know the evil empire). Their regular coffee ain't great, but their espresso drinks are wondermus. I love that there is a Starbucks inside the barnes and noble in the prudential center. Grab a stack of books, get a nice frothy something and a huge sugary pastry - and sit for a few.

Dunkin Donuts coffee is just undrinkable and isn't fit for human consumtion IMHO.

I really like Peets coffee. They have the best non-fru-fru coffee around. Their customer service is to be commended. The only one I know of is downtown.

Believe it or not I had a delicious cup of coffee at Krispy Kreme. Just black coffee made perfectly (why is this so rare?). And you can't beat the donuts - they are a religious experience when hot.

Cambridge seems to be the spot for the smaller artsy-er coffee shops. In Boston you cannot beat the Trident bookstore cafe on Newbury street.

It ain't coffee, but I am a big fan of TeaLuxe on Newberry street. Perticularly with the warmer weather, sipping ice tea out of the sidewalk and checking out the beautiful people walking by is a great way to relax.

I recently discovered True Grounds in Ball Square, Somerville, right near Sound Bites. Really enjopyed this spot, a pretty low key atmosphere with a nice mix of friends talking and people studying or working on laptops. Coffee is all from the awesome Terrior Coffee Co, and made really well, and they also have a pretty great menu of sandwiches and such. I think they're fairly new, and worth checking out if you're in the area.

Our current favorite is Mariposa cafe on Mass Ave (central sq cambridge). Very good espresso drinks made quickly and not too hot and delicious scones. Toscanini's does have good coffee and we love their ice cream, but they don't have much for baked goods and usually are pretty slow at getting the coffee out in the morning. We used to go to Carberry's because we lived closer to it and love their icelandic pastries, but they are slow and consistently burn the milk making it undrinkable.

Cannot believe nobody has mentioned Simon's between Porter Sq. and Harvard on Mass Ave.

JP Licks makes the best Espresso Frappes EVER!

and their coffee is roasted on site (well....the one in JP anyway) :)

Simon's in Cambridge, b.w Harvard and Porter Squares. The only barista-technique spot in Greater Boston. Add.: Judson, part of the barismo.com crew, might be managing the Hi-Rise Brattle St.'s espresso program sometime soon, but not sure if this is tentative. Atomic Cafe, Marblehead (skip the Beverly loc.), especially if Andrew (co-owner) is on the machine. Northampton Coffee, Northamption. And then you go to Manhattan (Grumpie's, Gimme!, 9th St., Abrasca~?).

Check barismo.com for local cupping events, etc., and updates on that crew's coming-soon roaster-retailer location in Arlington. They held a sweet cupping event Feb. 3.

But really--Simon's. My roomie and I travel there ~5 days/wk. from JP, for the same reason we do the same to Clear Flour Bread in Allston. They're the only game in town.


Cheers.

This is a now inactive blog that a friend of mine wrote about her coffee house experiences in greater Boston:

thecoffeefreak.blogspot.com/