Thinking Cup on Tremont Street - report
I've been to Thinking Cup fairly often in the last month. They are the only local purveyors of Stumptown Roasters Coffee (originally from Portland, OR). Unfortunately, I am not a fan of their coffee. I'm just talking straight coffee, not their espressos, lattes or anything fancy. I can't quite put my finger as to why I am not keen on the coffee, maybe a little bitter (I drink it straight) and not coffee-ey enough for me.
But, their savory egg sandwiches and pastries are really something else.
I've had two different egg sandwich specials and one standard egg sandwich. The specials are always on perfectly toasted toast. And, the sandwiches are made with care. When you take a bite, there isn't any slippage of stuff. The flavors were balanced and there were also contrasting textures and temperatures (fresh spinach leaves v. the softness of the egg v. the crunchiness of the toast).
But the pastries. Wow, the pastries. I've tried the banana chocolate chip muffin (beautiful top), chocolate croissant (flaky, buttery, soft chocolatey nutella tasting filling but with dark chocolate), triple chocolate mousse cake (fine crumb), chocolate bombe (chocolate mousse with a dark chocolate shell) and two different kinds of cupcakes (just the right amount of frosting). Everything was delicious.
Also of note is the french hot chocolate. The servings are small but the taste is rich and chocolaty. This is a dessert in and of itself.
I would go for the breakfast sandwiches or pastries or hot chocolate. I just wish I liked the coffee better to go with the pastries.
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Tremont Cafe
418 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116
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My office is near Thinking Cup and we get their beans sometimes. I did not like their drip coffee either. I believe it is Holler Mountain (and was told it doesn't change). I didn't like it brewed in my office either. Yes, something about the taste of it really rubs me the wrong way.
I've had much better luck with some of the other varieties, but unfortunately they don't change the beans for the coffee they serve. I believe you can get an individual pour over cup and you might want to try that.
One final note, if you buy beans there, make sure to check the roast date on the bottom. Picked up a bag the other day that was 3 weeks ago. IMHO, not acceptable for $15 (for 12 ounces) coffee. In fairness to them, they took it off the shelf and thanked me for noticing (everybody's allowed mistakes).
Have not tried food there, but it sounds like it's worth a try.
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Alcachofa
Jul 28, 2011 08:07 AM
Finally made it to Thinking Cup this morning. I also generally drink coffee straight (i.e., not capuccino, latte, etc.), and I liked it. A little sharper than the somewhat better and silkier coffee at Sip Cafe (which I just went to yesterday), but still several steps above S'bux. (Do I even have to compare it to Dunkin'? Hope not.)
I do think that the people on this board who think all these places over-roast their coffee will probably feel the same about Thinking Cup. Not sure if they'll feel that way about Sip.
By the way, by point of reference, my favorite coffee right now is from Sportello (I work near there.) Smooth but still very rich, the way I like it. Baked goods there have been hit-or-miss for me, and in fact mostly miss. I prefer the baked goods at Flour, but the coffee at Flour is just not good, surprisingly.
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re: Alcachofa
A number of people on the board have complained that George Howell underroasts his coffee; interestingly, that is what Sip uses. Thinking Cup uses Stumptown, which I guess is a darker roast than Howell, but I don't think it is an unusually dark roast. I like both, but I am not too picky about how dark coffee is roasted.
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I definitely need to make it back to try the food and pastries! Bf and I stopped by a few weeks ago and tried a cappuccino and the french hot chocolate, and both were fantastic. It's great to have this as an option around that stretch of Tremont St, I hope they do well.
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Bob Dobalina
Feb 10, 2011 04:14 AM
Stopped in this morning - yummy egg sandwich with a spicy sausage patty and good cheddar cheese. It's $4, which I feel like is priced right, considering the DD equivalent is $3.20. On a standard everything bagel - toast sounds great but crumbs and business don't mix.
Brewed coffee was fine if a tad bit weak for my tastes.
Cute place for that ignored stretch of Tremont - will interesting to see if they can draw enough foot traffic - if they have sidewalk seating in the summer, will surely be a good thing.
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re: Bob Dobalina
beetlebug
Feb 10, 2011 06:42 AM
C had his breakfast sandwich with an english muffin. Not as crumbly as toast but a bit more manageable than a bagel. How were the proportions of stuff to bagel? Often times, I find that the bagel is too big for the stuff and the balance is all off.
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re: beetlebug
Bob Dobalina
Feb 10, 2011 07:08 AM
I thought it was just right. The patty was full size - It was not swallowed up by the bagel, thought the bagel was a bit too doughy - would have appreciated it grilled or double-toasted. Honestly, the bagel to me seemed like the typical bagged bagel - so not exceptional, but perfectly adequate.
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tatsu
Feb 9, 2011 11:35 AM
This is a nice place to work, but it has no wifi. I bring my own network. I find their coffee pretty good, they do decent handpours. It's very comfortable.
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re: Gordough
Gordough, that all depends on the current opinion of a proper cortado. Our cappuccino may be what some consider a cortado. It's five ounces total made with a double ristretto. Our macchiatto may be what some consider, it's more of the traditional cortado ratio of 1:1 espresso/foamed milk. Hope that helps!
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re: Gordough
It does seem like a lot of places make a macchiato similar to a Cortado. I guess the major difference being that Cortados would typically have more milk and only microfoam. But then sometimes you get a macchiato that is actually just a dollop of foamed milk in an espresso, which is the classic version. I often ask how a place makes a macchiato when I want one and feel like I get a lot of blank stares. And then I have been to other places where they ask if you want a "regular macchiato" or a "Starbucks macchiato." So there you go. As Oliver Strand of the New York Times titles his Tumblr blog, "A Cortado is Not a Minivan."
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re: beetlebug
I really liked their espresso, maybe you could try an Americano and see if it would be more your taste? Or a pour over (which I haven't tried). The staff is very nice; the barista even indulged all my questions and gave me some grounds to try at home (maybe that was Barista Phil!?). Other places do brew Stumptown, but not exclusively and I haven't seen the single origins used at other places (though that doesn't mean they aren't--I'd be surprised if Pavement didn't pull Stumptown single origin espresso sometimes).
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re: hckybg
Hckbg, that was me and I remember you! Pavement does pull single origin spo I believe, so does Fixe, I had a great Ethiopia mordecoffe a few months back! It's great to find great coffee in little shops tucked away in the city:) Boston is really staring to feel like a coffee community you see in otter big cities!
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Bloc 11 and Diesel Cafe also sell Stumptown coffee (house blend, decaf, hair bender), if you consider Somerville "local."
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Bloc 11 Cafe
11 Bow St, Somerville, MA 02143›4 Replies-
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re: beetlebug
Just want to clarify... The staff at thinking cup should be aware that we mention to customers that we are the only shop to exclusively serve Stumptown. I have even gone as far as recommending other shops that serve/sell Stumptown like Pavement, Cafe Fixe, and Diesel, who sells their beans but doesn't brew it. These are all great shops and the people that run them have been very supportive of us and what we are doing.
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