How we picked these cafes
Eight cafes inside Boston pour coffee from roasters we list, and three more sit just outside the city in Cambridge and Newtonville. That is the whole list, and here are the rules behind it.
- The roaster is independent and roasts in Massachusetts.
- The roaster is one of the 20 local favorites on our Massachusetts roasters list.
- The cafe is run by that roaster, with its address on the roaster's own pages, as we read them on September 27, 2026.
We did not rank anything, and we did not score anyone. A cafe that serves a roaster's beans but is run by someone else is not here, which leaves out many good shops. Hours change, so check with the cafe before you go. A listing does not mean the roaster is part of our club.
Three roasters cover almost every Boston address: George Howell Coffee, Gracenote and Jaho. George Howell roasts in Acton and Jaho roasts in Salem, so a cup at their Boston counters is coffee that came in from another Massachusetts town. Gracenote does not publish where it roasts.
Downtown Crossing and the Financial District
Four cafes from three roasters, all downtown.
George Howell Coffee at The Godfrey Hotel, 505 Washington Street
The flagship. It opened in June 2016 inside The Godfrey Hotel, and the roaster says it is open every day of the year. It also hosts the company's weekly public classes, so this is the one to pick if you want to learn something with your cup. George Howell ran The Coffee Connection until 1994 and now focuses on single estate coffees, several of them offered in both a light and a medium roast. See the George Howell Coffee profile.
Gracenote Coffee, 108 Lincoln Street
An espresso bar that also calls itself a listening room and wine bar. On many Saturdays a room behind a hidden door opens for vinyl, modeled on the jazz kissas of Japan, with a local DJ's records and a short wine and beer list. Gracenote roasts light and medium, to a fuller profile than most specialty roasters, and names its natural Ethiopia Misty Valley as a staple. See the Gracenote profile.
Gracenote Coffee, High Street Place, 100 High Street Place
The second Gracenote counter, at High Street Place. Same roaster, a quicker stop on a work day.
Jaho, Chinatown and Downtown Crossing, 665 Washington Street
One of three Jaho cafes in Boston. Its coffee is roasted at the company's roastery and bakery on Canal Street in Salem, where Anil Mezini opened the first cafe in 2005. Look for the Japanese-named blends, such as Kissaten No. 3 and Shibuya Drift. See the Jaho profile.
Haymarket: the Boston Public Market
George Howell Coffee, Boston Public Market, 100 Hanover Street
A stall in the year-round indoor market at Haymarket, open since August 2015. The roaster sits among more than 35 New England food producers there, so you can pick up a bag of coffee and the rest of the week's groceries from local makers in one trip.
Back Bay and the South End
George Howell Coffee, 400 Newbury Street
The Back Bay cafe. Of the three George Howell counters in the city, this is the one on a shopping street, so it suits a Saturday more than a commute.
Jaho, Back Bay, 116 Huntington Avenue
Jaho's Back Bay cafe. The company's slogan is Live Slow, borrowed from the slow living culture Mezini saw while studying in Japan, and the menu carries that through. Jaho is also strong on decaf: its decaf blends are Swiss Water Process, and one of them, Velvet Hour, is a dark roast.
Jaho, South End, 1651 Washington Street
The third Jaho cafe in the city, further down Washington Street in the South End. Jaho describes itself as a family-run roastery and bakery, still independent and family owned 21 years after that first Salem cafe.
Across the river, and out to Newtonville
Broadsheet Coffee Roasters, 100 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
Broadsheet's only cafe, within walking distance of Harvard Yard. It bakes most of its pastry in house and gets its croissants from Praline Cambridge. The roasting happens at its own facility in Somerville, and its bags are sorted into color coded flavor families, which makes the shelf easy to read if you are new to specialty coffee. See the Broadsheet profile.
Jaho, Market Central, 425 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Jaho's Cambridge counter, in Central Square.
George Howell Coffee, 311 Walnut Street, Newtonville
The first cafe under the George Howell name, opened in February 2012. It serves pastry from Seven Stars Bakery. If you want the source itself, the Acton roastery at 312 School Street says visitors are welcome to stop by and pick up a fresh bag.
All eleven, at a glance
| Cafe | Street | Area | Roasts in |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Howell Coffee at The Godfrey Hotel | 505 Washington Street | Downtown Crossing | Acton |
| Gracenote Coffee | 108 Lincoln Street | Downtown | Not published |
| Gracenote Coffee, High Street Place | 100 High Street Place | Financial District | Not published |
| Jaho | 665 Washington Street | Chinatown and Downtown Crossing | Salem |
| George Howell Coffee, Boston Public Market | 100 Hanover Street | Haymarket | Acton |
| George Howell Coffee | 400 Newbury Street | Back Bay | Acton |
| Jaho | 116 Huntington Avenue | Back Bay | Salem |
| Jaho | 1651 Washington Street | South End | Salem |
| Broadsheet Coffee Roasters | 100 Kirkland Street | Cambridge | Somerville |
| Jaho, Market Central | 425 Massachusetts Avenue | Cambridge | Salem |
| George Howell Coffee | 311 Walnut Street | Newtonville | Acton |
Addresses from each roaster's own pages, checked September 27, 2026.
To see all three Boston roasters in one morning, start at the Boston Public Market stall at Haymarket, walk down to Gracenote on Lincoln Street and George Howell's flagship on Washington Street, then finish at a Jaho counter. Take a bag home from each and brew them side by side: Gracenote's fuller roasts, George Howell's single estate lots and Jaho's Japanese-named blends make a good tasting of how differently three roasters see coffee.
When the roaster has no cafe in town
Three roasters near Boston have no counter in the city at all. Fazenda roasts in Dedham for restaurants and offices and sells its bags in grocery stores instead of a cafe. Atomic roasts to order in Peabody and runs tours and barista classes rather than a coffee bar. Speedwell in Plymouth is a wholesale roastery with a monthly espresso class. You will find their coffee in other people's cafes, and on their pages in our roaster list.
Two tips for finding them. Fazenda lists DeLuca's Market on Newbury Street and most Star Market stores among its stockists, so a Back Bay grocery run can end with a Dedham-roasted bag. And each October, Atomic's Witch City Halloween coffee, drawn by a Salem artist, is stocked in shops around Salem.
Buying a drink or a bag at one of the cafes above pays baristas in Boston and roasters in Acton, Salem and Somerville. That money stays in Massachusetts, and the coffee in the hopper was roasted a short drive away. That is the plain case for choosing a local roaster.
If you cannot get to all eleven, we can bring the roasters to you. Bay State Coffee Club sends a 12 oz bag from a different Massachusetts roaster in every box, at $16.99 a bag, with the first bag free: you pay $7.99 shipping. For the history behind these counters, read our Massachusetts coffee history.
Sources
- Cafe names, streets, opening dates and roaster facts: our roaster profiles for George Howell Coffee, Gracenote, Jaho and Broadsheet, written from each roaster's public pages and checked September 27, 2026.
- Wikipedia, George Howell (entrepreneur): The Coffee Connection and its 1994 sale.
By Joe McRose, Bay State Coffee Club. Updated .