Third wave coffee has finally arrived (again) in Lexington, with a “go big or go home” attitude. The first wave of coffee was all about volume — characterized by coffee becoming a major commodity, with well-known brands such as Folgers, Maxwell House, and Juan Valdez at the forefront. The second wave focused on the experience of coffee by improving its quality and bringing what at the time were innovations such as Italian espresso drinks to the mainstream.
Lexington was an early convert to second wave coffee, with George Howell’s Coffee Connection occupying 1729 Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington Center in the 1980’s until Howell sold his chain of twenty-four locations to Starbucks in 1994. Today, Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee are two of the best known brands born of the second wave of coffee.
Third wave of coffee is marked with a lighter roasting style designed to spotlight the geographic origin of where different beans are grown — similar to terroir in winemaking —rather than roasting to achieve a singular taste profile. Lexington had a brief taste of third wave coffee in 2003, when George Howell returned to open café-restaurant Copa Café, which he described in a 2015 interview with the now defunct James Beard award-winning food magazine Lucky Peach as, “a four thousand square foot experiment in the wrong location.” The coffee at Copa Café has been described as excellent but as the chef explained to the Boston Globe in 2022, “that went really sour fast with all three of our partners.” Copa Café closed within one year and Lexingtonians craving third wave coffee had to leave town for their caffeine fix.
In September 2023 — just one year ago — third wave coffee returned to Lexington when Ray Ball and Molly Rappoli opened Galaray House, an art gallery with a modern espresso bar. Galaray House serves coffee and espresso roasted by Ipswich, Mass-based Little Wolf Coffee. Six months later, in April 2024, Liza Shirazi brought her sixteen years of third wave coffee shop ownership to Lexington with the opening of Revival Café and Kitchen’s fifth location in the space once home to George Howell’s Coffee Connection. Last month, Lexington Center became home to Tatte Bakery and Cafe’s fortieth location (twenty-sixth in Massachusetts), and two weeks later Tatte introduced their own branded coffee and espresso blends made with local roasters Gracenote Coffee and George Howell Coffee. After spending over two decades in the second wave of coffee, Lexington went from zero to three third wave coffee shops in less than twelve months.
Peer next door into Arlington, and the passion for coffee moves backwards in the supply chain. Whereas the work of Lexington’s third wave coffee shops begins with roasted beans from relationships forged with coffee roasters such as George Howell, Little Wolf, Square One, and East Alstead, Arlington is now home to two coffee roasting companies. Since 2008, Barismo has been building relationships with coffee growers in Central and South America and Africa–importing their coffee, roasting and sometimes blending it, and serving it at their own cafés in Cambridge and Arlington. Earlier this month, Jason Montano opened Alta Coffee Roasters at 805 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington Center, selling bags of three different single origin coffees and one blend. Alta offers samples of one coffee each day, but does not currently make drinks to order. To truly experience Alta’s coffee, you need to go home and brew. Apparently, that’s the local coffee way — go big or go home (and brew).
Galaray House, 1720 Massachusetts Ave, www.galarayhouse.com. Tu-Su 8am-3pm, closed Mon. Revival Kitchen and Café, 1729 Massachusetts Ave, www.revivalcafeandkitchen.com. Su-Sa 7:30am-5pm. Tatte Bakery and Cafe, 1777 Massachusetts Ave, tattebakery.com. Mo-Sa 7am-8pm, Su 8am-7pm. Barismo, 171 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, www.barismo.com. Su/Tu/We/Fr/Sa 8am-2:30pm, M 8am-1pm, Th 8am-2pm. Alta Coffee Roasters, 805 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, www.altaroasters.com. Mo-Th 9:30am-2:30pm.
Correction: With gratitude to Avram Baskin for pointing out a reporting error: Ride Studio Cafe brought third wave coffee (often including beans roasted by George Howell Coffee) to the space that is now Galaray House for a decade beginning in the spring of 2010.
Our new cafe bakeries are great and have transformed our town center, but your article neglects to mention Peet’s which stayed with us while others (Starbucks, Panera) decamped.
I thought I remembered Copa Cafe closing because of the fire? I loved that place. I, also, got coffee at Coffee Connection and was really disappointed when Howell sold to Starbucks. We used to buy our coffee beans from Coffee Connection. Of course, having choices, now, is great. Each place has its strength though Tatte in the Center and Starbucks are the only places, now, where you can get coffee after dinner.
I wish the article had at least mentioned Ride Studio Cafe, which is gone but not forgotten. RSC introduced me to third wave coffee. They were an early adopter of George Howell Coffee and they made their own small batch cold brew on site. Before RSC opened, I had resigned myself to suffering with Dunkin’ Donuts, Peet’s, and Starbucks.
Loved Ride Studio!!
Ride Studio had what I felt was the best coffee in town by far. Flavorful, smooth but not bitter. I miss Ride Studio. I tried Galaray house, but I need to go back and try it again.
Barismo started out pretty good in Arlington–even great at times–partly due to some of their baristas, such as Ethan Miller, and a couple of very nice women whose names I don’t remember, one of whom used to work on cars. Barismo was very experimental, always trying out new beans, and probably experimenting in other ways, and I didn’t like what they call the “bright” roasts, although I think other people did enjoy them. Alas, eventually they went downhill in Arlington, and I don’t think their Cambridge coffee place ever made good espresso. George Howell’s espresso had its good days and it’s not so good days.
The last really good espresso I’ve had in the Boston area came from the 1369 in Central Square maybe 6 or 7 years ago. It was REALLY good! A year later I had one from them that was so bad I couldn’t drink it.
By far the best espressos I’ve had since that great one from the 1369 have come from Mocha Joe’s in Brattleboro, Vermont. That stuff is as good as it gets. When you go to heaven, St. Peter serves Mocha Joe’s as you enter the Pearly Gates. And the few people I’ve mentioned it to who have been to Mocha Joe’s have had the same reaction as I do.
Lets hope several of the new Lexington places will excel!