A Different Kind of Bean town

For some people, coffee is a cup of whatever they brewed at home; for others it's their daily iced coffee from Dunkin or a latte from Starbucks. Regardless of what your daily fix is, coffee is one of society's most popular vices.

The coffee industry has gone through changing standards the same way restaurants, fashion and art go through trends. These trends become movements, driven by new knowledge, technology or resources, and are often known as waves. Examples include Third Wave Feminism, Third Wave Democracy and yes: Third Wave Coffee. One wave doesn’t eliminate the previous, but builds on it. Boston has had a front row seat for coffee’s third wave, watching coffee shops become more specialized and more unique. Home to over 150,000 college students each year, students seeking study spots flock to coffee shops for the free Wi-Fi and study fuel. The younger audience is also more likely to embrace new options and new trends.

Boston has risen as a hub for dramatic changes in business and innovation, and as a home for startup companies. The open-mindedness of Boston in regard to business coupled with a captive audience who is willing to spend on good food and drink has allowed for the success of the third wave in Boston.

Massachusetts icon Dunkin’ Donuts is an embodiment of a first wave coffee shop. First wave thrives on efficiency. It resulted in massive containers of ground coffee and bulk brewers for blended origin beans. This wave was about the caffeination; treating coffee in much the same way we treat gasoline.

Coffee shops like Starbucks lead the second major wave of coffee trends, which offered craft beverages that were still part of a mass production, even as their chains expanded. A reaction to the poor quality of second wave coffee, this brought new products and higher standards to the table. The American public became more familiar with espresso based beverages, and suddenly ‘latte’ and ‘frappuccino’ were parts of colloquial speech. The third wave brings something entirely different to the table, which has continuously seemed to gain momentum.

These shops focus equally on craft, ingredients and equipment. Third wave coffee is also about experience, making the retailer and location a larger part of the consumer’s day. The movement is artisanal, along the same lines of craft beer. Changing language surrounding coffee means discussing more of the origin areas, roasting techniques and brewing processes. And in the same way there are fine wines and budget wines, there is artisanal coffee and standard coffee.

Boston has had a developing coffee scene for decades, with George Howell leading the field over forty years ago. He began producing high quality coffee beverages out of his Cambridge coffee shop “The Coffee Connection” in 1974. As his brand grew, it was eventually purchased by Starbucks as the West Coast chain started making its way east.

“As consumers wanted more frappuccinos and lattes, he was becoming more invested in the source for the beans—the coffee itself,” said Rebecca Fitzgerald, the Chief Operating Officer of George Howell Coffee.

“I think Boston is a great coffee community. We all kinda work together,” said Phil Schein, the owner and CEO of Fazenda Coffee Roasters, located in Dedham, Massachusetts. “You can see all these cafes coming in, all these west coast roasters, because they know we really do appreciate good coffee in Boston.”

This community has fostered cafes alongside increased local production of high quality coffee beans. At Fazenda, they receive sample batches of raw, green, coffee beans which they can then roast in a smaller model of the large batch roaster. By experimenting with different roasts, they can choose which beans and what ‘recipe’ they will use to create the best possible cup of coffee.

The George Howell brand has continued as he founded his self-named coffee brand in 2004, and he has continued working on his “Cup of Excellence” initiative with the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, seeking to improve the quality of the coffee and the industry.

The initiative, contrary to its name, isn’t just about the flavor of the final cup. The program puts emphasis on the farmers by having the proceeds from the high-profile coffee contests go to farmers, but also by requiring the coffee used in competition to be clearly sourced.

“It encourages farmers to focus on certain parts of their farm in an effort to get higher than commodity pricing, to focus on the coffee,” said Fitzgerald.

An emphasis on harnessing the natural flavor of the coffee inspires roasters to create Single Origin coffees, which are created with all beans from a single geographic region. Some roasters take that even further—with George Howell also roasting Single Estate coffees—where all the beans come from the same farm. Fitzgerald describes the retail coffee program at George Howell’s self-named cafe as “almost like a wine store—there’s a huge selection.”

Proof of Boston’s true “beantown” potential can be seen in the way coffee shops continue to pop up around the city, but also in the pride different roasters have in being local Boston roasters.

“We take a lot of pride in the fact that we roast here locally,” said Monika Bach, the Director for Marketing and Partnerships at Fazenda. “It’s great that the culture and the scene is evolving. We work with so many great chefs and restaurants in the Boston community.”

With a roastery in Lee in Western Massachusetts, Barrington Coffee keeps its Boston connection with two self-owned cafes where they can serve their own product. “A coffee shop should appeal not only to the academic or student,” said Andrew Sanni, a field trainer and former roaster for Barrington, “but also to the people who swing hammers or drive buses.”

At Barrington, as at other third wave roasters, they also make a point of paying over commodity and even fair trade pricing to ensure the quality of the product. Commodity price, similar to market price, is based on the market in which the product is being sold. Fair trade pricing takes into account the additional cost farms carry to support fair trade practices. Coffee roasters, especially specialty roasters like many of the ones in the Boston area, pay extra to ensure that they’re supporting farmers, but also to be sure that the specialty beans are held to the highest standard.

When selecting beans, roasters also have to grapple with the value of certifications. Many of the farms producing raw coffee use organic practices, but the cost of earning the certification stops them from selling their product as USDA Certified Organic. “All of our coffees follow the practice for being organic, where we’re not using pesticides, but they’re not necessarily certified because some farms can’t afford it,” explained Schein.

At George Howell, they’re working to educate the consumer about the process it takes to get coffee from the plant to the cup, including everything from farming to roasting to brewing. “Our best customers are ones that are curious,” said Fitzgerald. Classes at their cafe offer the chance for avid coffee aficionados to learn even more.

The abundance of coffee shops throughout Boston is a testament to the city’s willingness to welcome this industry into the community. The idea of these common spaces where people can sit alone, but around others, to get work done is one that has made coffee shops an important part in many cities’ history, Boston’s included.

“A coffee shop should appeal not only to the academic or student, but also to the people who swing hammers or drive buses.”

by Eliza Sullivan photography by Noor Nasser design by Katherine Monroe