When your best friend tells you to come visit her in Nantucket and you’re plummeting down an endless rabbit-hole of job applications, what do you do? You catch the next red eye to a little island in the Atlantic. Pronto.
We decided that because coffee has its own, invaluable, space in the food pyramid, it would only be appropriate to dedicate our inaugural post to this little wonder. We tried four of the most popular coffee spots in town and ranked them so you don’t have to spend $400 trying to do so yourself (we didn’t actually spend $400, Mom!). Here are our very professional, coffee connoisseur opinions. You’re welcome.
*Please note that because it was approximately 9000 degrees out with 100% humidity, these are mostly iced coffee reviews. Sue us (spoiler alert, you won’t get much).
In order from sub-par to “yeah, I’d order again”, here are our rankings:
4. The Bean
~Hip & ~Trendy, a fairly new addition to the Island. We’re honestly unsure if this is a fair assessment, due to the ambiguity of the drinking experience. You know when people describe the flavor of La Croix as a grapefruit, etc. walking by whilst you drink said seltzer? Well, that’s what our latte and cappuccino tasted like. Like an espresso Ubered by our cups of frothed milk. The frothed milk was very good, but we do prefer actual coffee over the essence of coffee.
Ranking: 2/5
3. Handlebar Cafe
A little off the beaten path in the downtown area. Gives you that peace, love, unity vibe minus the patchouli. The Secret Garden behind the building is great spot consider trading in your Suburban for a more environmentally friendly option. Coffee? Forgettable. We do recommend the iced moroccan mint tea, though.
Ranking: 3/5
2. Island Coffee
You’re going to have to trek all the way up Broad Street for this one. Tiny, no frills. The prices are a little steep, but no worse than buying an Americano in the city. Definitely go for a coffee- the Chai comes from a carton.
Ranking: 4/5
1. Provisions
(Yes, the sandwich shop. Don’t knock it till you try it.)
DIVINE. Really, really good coffee flavor. Note that the iced latte is $5.50 while the regular iced coffee was $3.50. Unsure why there is so much of a discrepancy in price but if you’re broke like we are, order the iced coffee and add some milk yourself. Then you’ll be able to afford to tip your bartender when you inevitably go to Straight Wharf that night. Side note: the barista was very friendly & didn’t punch me when I went to make my latte a mocha one time.
Ranking: 5/5
Anyway, if you really want to know how to save money while traveling, don’t buy coffee at all. But for us caffeine addicts without 47 Dunkin’ Donuts within a four mile radius for $2 deals (you are glorious, Boston), sometimes an island coffee tour is necessary for health and wellbeing.
Until next time, Nantucket.
O N T H E F L Y 