George Howell Coffee

Weekly limited roasts and a Daterra iced coffee

The coffee list is the reason to come. Alongside the standing range of origins, roast styles, espresso and decaf, the roastery releases limited lots weekly, rare coffees that appear and then disappear, which gives the counter a reason to change week to week. The retail side groups coffees by region across Central and South America, Africa and Yemen, and the emphasis falls on flavour, sourcing and the story behind each lot. At this cafe the iced coffee has been poured with Daterra from Brazil, medium-bodied with chocolate, nut and fruit notes, and Tarrazu from Costa Rica has been sold in dark, medium and light roasts so one coffee can be compared across profiles. Staff will grind beans for whatever brewer is waiting at home.

A polished counter with the equipment on show

The Downtown Crossing room is the company’s third and largest cafe, set inside the Godfrey Hotel, and it is built as a counter-service space with the coffee apparatus visible rather than hidden behind a wall. That fits the wider operation, which puts brew guides, classes, equipment and notes from the founder next to the coffee itself. The room works as an urban stop rather than a restaurant: people pause at the counter, drink, buy beans and equipment, and carry the routine home. Its downtown position, close to Chinatown, keeps it busy with people moving through the city rather than settling in for hours.

Iced coffee first, then a bag to take home

Start with the iced coffee for the clearest read on the house style, using the Daterra example as the reference: medium body, chocolate and nut, a little fruit underneath. If you are buying beans, Tarrazu from Costa Rica has been stocked here in several roast profiles, which makes it a useful way to taste what roasting actually changes, and the weekly limited releases are worth asking about because they turn over fast. Food is a companion rather than the centre, so choose the coffee first and add a pastry or a savoury if the moment calls for it. The reason the cafe carries weight in Boston is the lineage behind it: The Coffee Connection opened in Harvard Square in 1975, George Howell Coffee followed in 2004, and sourcing, roasting and teaching have run together ever since.