Some poke fun by posting photos of us in the coldest, dreariest, snowiest weather, wearing puffy down coats, faces almost invisible under scarves and hats, shuffling our Bean boots over unshoveled sidewalks as our mittened hands clutch iced coffee. Might be Dunkin’, Starbucks, or a local shop’s cold brew or latte on ice.
It’s a stereotype, the Ben Affleck-Matt Damon, Boston-accented guys chugging iced coffee from Dunkin’ year ‘round. This stereotype reflects a real local habit that has become a joke. The other day, a passerby chatted with us while the snow sifted over our hats outside a Dunkin’, saying, “Yeah, Dunkin’ iced, that’s what we do – and we wear shorts in the winter, too.”
Many Boston area residents seem to require that their coffee temperature match that of the air they breathe – at least in winter. (In fact, cold coffee is preferred all year.) Some call it the grammatically correct “iced,” others say “ice coffee.”
We have a great variety of choices beyond Dunkin’ here, and many ways to cool our coffee, from “pour leftover coffee over ice” and “use cold-brewed coffee extract” to the shakerato, an Italian invention that involves a bartender shaking espresso and ice in a cocktail shaker until a crema – the creamy tan foam – appears, then pouring it into a daiquiri or other fancy glass, usually holding the ice back with the shaker lid.
In Japan, a beloved iced coffee serving is a kind of performance that enhances the pleasure of drinking. It includes consumer participation, for when the tall cool glass of iced coffee arrives, so do tiny pitchers of heavy cream and simple syrup. The magic happens when you pour the cream over the cubes and coffee and watch it slalom down between the cubes, making a white path through the mahogany liquid. Enjoy the show before you add the syrup, stir it into a uniform dark tan and begin to sip.
Yet Dunkin’ is the iced coffee of choice here. It has the virtue of predictability, and the large cup is a badge of identity, of locality. From a small sample of sippers of Dunkin’ ice coffee, I heard that they go only to Dunkin’ for iced coffee, almost never for hot coffee.
Of the many styles, Dunkin’s and beyond, cold brew is popular and available in milk carton-like containers in supermarkets. One of the first local cold brew brewers was Barismo, in its formerly named Dwelltime establishment on Broadway. It needed 12-24 hours to drip in cloth filters over large containers. But cold brew was already happening at the Japan-influenced Blue Bottle in San Francisco, where James Freeman instituted a glass slow-drip device contained in a beautiful wood scaffolding, to create what he called Kyoto coffee. Barismo went further, as others now do, making a cold brew concentrate that is relatively stable, bottled and kept in home refrigerators as the basis for iced coffee.
Another strategy is “hot over ice” – favored by George Howell, the dean of Boston-area coffee. At his much-missed Coffee Connection in Harvard Square he created the “frappuccino,” one of the first coffee dessert drinks that are now ubiquitous. Howell calls his iced coffee a “flash brew”; in this process, a hot brew of coffee, preferably made in a Chemex, is dripped directly on the ice from the filter. The brew must be dense (more grams per cup of grounds than for hot coffee) because the ice will melt and dilute it. And now, for those wanting a moment of science: George’s measurements for 20 ounces of iced coffee are 63 grams of ground coffee, 264 grams of ice cubes and 515 grams of hot water.
Whether you use espresso or drip-brewed coffee, hot or cold, there are more distinctions and some interesting destination iced coffees. One I seek is Vietnamese. This is kaphe: robusta beans brewed strong and pumped with sweetened condensed milk to yield a powerful potion in any climate.
We consulted friends and local brewers and came up with just three of many places where people can get cold-on-cold caffeination.
Simon’s
On Massachusetts Avenue almost to Porter Square, Simon Yu has run his eponymous beloved shop since 2002. The filtered coffees are almost always medium roast and constantly brewing for icing.
You’ll be in close quarters, tables and counter cheek by jowl, but the mood Simon sets is convivial and respectful. There are neighborhood regulars, yes, and people you recognize either as types or as actual people you know of those types. (As Café Zing in Porter says, “Here is where you’ll run into the person you are trying to avoid.”) But it’s really a wonderful place, for the coffee and the calm mood both social and private.
Simon’s is like a railroad car. To reach the bathroom, you must navigate to the end like a conductor collecting tickets. (In warmer weather, you will find people perching on a few chairs at tables on the sidewalk, leashed dogs sitting nearby on laps). All tables at a recent visit were full and most were occupied by individuals with laptops or a book, although two older men read actual newspapers. It’s near Harvard Law School, and there were a couple of people wearing clothes advertising it. As the morning went on, conversation began to replace solo activity.
To the chagrin of many, the building housing Simon’s, a Walgreens, Keezer’s clothing and a tailor shop will be razed within the next year for a multi-story edifice. It is said that Simon’s will persist, maybe even on the ground floor of the new building.
The regulars hope so.
Simon’s Coffee Shop, 1736 Massachusetts Ave., Neighborhood 9, Cambridge. Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Pepita
Pepita is the coffee room of Lamplighter – a popular microbrewery that attracts evening crowds with its amber brews. Pepita attracts morning crowds with its coffees, pastries and sandwiches. Here, the “iced” is called cold brew and is a straightforward glass of dark coffee from Broadsheet’s, a local roaster. There are varieties, and espresso latte is also sold as “iced” – extending the possibilities beyond drip. (Sandwiches are from a standard playlist; breakfast burritos, avocado toast and croissants.) Up to half of the drinks ordered are iced, we heard. On a recent single digit-degree Sunday, people mixed laptops and friendly encounters with their food and cold beverages.
Pepita Coffee, 284 Broadway, The Port, Cambridge. Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cicada Coffee Bar
Vietnamese coffee is increasingly popular in Greater Boston, and Vinh Le of Cicada Coffee Bar says that at least half the beverages he sells in winter are iced, and much more than that in summer.
Cicada is a personal space. Owners Le and Duong Huynh have architectural training and wanted Cicada to reflect Cambridge. In their view, this means funky, handmade artifacts and midcentury modern furnishing. (The couple also own Saigon Babylon in Central Square’s 907 Main Hotel and The Eaves in Somerville’s Bow Street Market.) Cicada offerings begin (but don’t end) with Vietnamese coffee, chief among them and in all weathers a signature “sea salt shaker” – a drip with sea salt and sweetened condensed milk shaken ‘til frothy. The drip is a pour-over in a Vietnamese stainless steel filter called a phin.
The French colonists brought coffee to Vietnam in the 19th century, and it flourished, especially in the Dalat area where the red clay soil is good for robusta coffee. Le learned a lot about Vietnamese coffee while he studied at Columbia University, and he prizes robusta beans for iced coffee over the arabica beans many think are superior. Robusta beans grow at lower altitudes, are more resistant to coffee tree diseases and insects and have a high level of caffeine.
Keep those mittens on and do as the natives do – but remember that an ingrained local coffee habit can include a global adventure.
Cicada Coffee Bar, 106 Prospect St., The Port, Cambridge. Tuesday-Friday 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Open for supper 5 to 11 p.m. every day except Monday. No website.
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