Gracenote

Hilarious guys, great coffee

Simply put, this place has good slightly overpriced coffee with nice ambiance but no seating. The staff was very friendly so I would come back again, just really wish for the price of the coffee that I’d at least be able to sit down and enjoy it.

Friendly baristas who take their craft seriously and really know their stuff.

What once was Boston’s Coffee Trike is now Gracenote. Beautiful little shop. There is no seating but it is perfect for that quick expresso shot. They have high-​end equipment that brews premium coffee, and adds a unique touch to the shop. Gracenote is a great addition to Boston’s coffee scene! #coffeebeantown #1000places1earth
follow my instagram: @coffeebeantown

Cute little place. Nicely decorated but not a five star coffee shop. I have been to many coffee shops and let me tell you why this is not a 5 star place for a few reasons:
1. Coffee is ridiculously expensive. You are paying 4.5 for a 12 oz plain latte. Just a plain latte. Why? I don’t know. The drink definitely did not have any pieces of of gold in it so I don’t understand the crazy price. They have a fancy little coffee machine and I was like ok this thing must make some good latte so whatever let’s pay the 4.5. And after drinking it, yea it was still pretty average. Even voltage, Ames street deli or thinking cup (who has won awards) doesn’t even charge this much.
2. Their pastries are average. One croissant on display (plain as well) and a few other things made especially to feed the birds on the street because of how tiny they are.
3. There is a long table by the window and I kid you not there is literally 4 seats there.
My question to this place:
Why are you charging people soo much money if there isn’t even many seats for people to sit down so they can enjoy their coffee? It seems like they expect you to grab your coffee and get out of there.

Great coffee and very friendly and courteous staff. Great to see Boston getting great coffee stores.

I miss coffee. I really, really do. I’ve now resorted to having tea in the mornings. Acid reflux has a vendetta against my obsession with coffee and cold brews. But my husband has a Bialetti and makes coffee every weekend for himself, so I decided to pop in and grab some coffee for him.
Gracenote was closed for the day, but I was able to snag a bag of espresso coffee beans. San and his team were super awesome, and offered to grind the beans for me. I was asked how it was brewed, and I said that we have a Bialetti (mispronounced this horribly haha — I work at Sur La Table and I’ve heard Bialetti pronounced by customers as «Bee-​a-​letti» as opposed to «Bi-​a-​letti» — oh well), and my coffee beans were grinded to Bialetti settings.
I hadn’t been in the new shop since it opened 2 months ago.
Glad I decided to stop in! Thank you for letting me make a purchase even though you were closed!

A hidden gem in the leather district! My new spot to get excellent coffee before reaching out to south station.
Everything has been thought and designed with attention and you will get a great service with meticulous barista in vintage clothes. Perhaps you’ll get a chance to sit down otherwise just relax a bit and enjoy the experience.
Bonus point: try the croissant they are delicious — advice from a French man ;-)

Well Gracenote has got my blessing. Won over by their service, style, and fantastic coffee.

I had the occasional pleasure of interacting with Alessandro Bellino on his wonderful Coffee Trike, and I am pleased that he now has a brick and mortar location. Bellino always amazed me on the coffee trike — he is like a magician and makes pulling an excellent shot of espresso look easy and effortless although it is not. He is tied for best espresso beverages with Ogawa Coffee of Boston and A4 Coffee of Brookline in my opinion. He had pulled some of the best shots of George Howell I have ever had in the city even eclipsing Howell’s own outpost in the public market.
His newest endeavor Gracenote is a small coffee shop on the outskirts of Chinatown (near the gate) with rustic/​naturalistic interior design and a simple counter set-​up much like his Coffee Trike. The menu has limited options such as regular drip coffee, latte, flat white, nitro coffee and tea with daily specials. It is a menu that focuses on serving excellent coffee in a market where millennials are ruining coffee shops and demanding saccharine disasters like Starbucks holiday menu. The baristas are serious and display precise technique. He currently uses eponymous Gracenote Coffee Roasters beans and milk from a local farm. Gracenote has a minimalistic website showing its beans from Ethiopia, Brazil, Ecuador, Kenya, and Guatemala ranging $ 16 – 21 per 12 oz bag at time of riding — steep price but for a bag of coffee but on par with the specialty market here. The latte was excellent and perfect. The shop does have a few seats, but it is probably best to get your drink and then head out. Lastly, there is a rewards program (buy 10 drinks, get one free).
Overall, this is a shop for coffee lovers by a man that knows how to deliver outstanding coffee beverages. Main limitations are that the shop is small and probably not a good place to linger, that the location at least for me is suboptimal (wish it was closer to where I lived), and that the beans are expensive specialty coffee that are more for a splurge than regular use.

A review on coffee beans.
Great price for great roasted beans. My brewing method is usually pour over and the beans here are excellent. Aroma and freshness is on par with other well known craft coffee brands (Blue Bottle, Counter Culture).
Hoping to try more roasts and other single origin beans.

This is some really special coffee and the people there know what they’re doing. I might go so far as to say it’s the best coffee I’ve had.

There’s so much to love about this place and the people who run it. Cold brew nitro? Comfort espresso and then complex-​fun espresso? Yes, and in that order please…

Cortado… On point! That was a great little detour. Of the coffee shops in Boston, all of which I am a regular this place has the potential to take the first spot.
The location is a little smaller than i was imagining, but the awesome use of the Modbar saves a ton of space and promotes the barista customer interaction while in most other shops the barista is hiding behind a massive espresso machine.

Had one of the best cold brews I’ve ever had in Boston the other day. The baristas definitely know a lot about coffee and it is obvious that they’re very passionate. The cold brew changes daily, it’s nitro and delicious. My only complaint is that there’s only one size and I could have easily consumed three of them.
The location is tucked away outside of chinatown but it’s quiet and unassuming — I didn’t feel like anyone inside was snobby either. The space is beautiful and if it was a little closer to work I would definitely become a regular.

Awesome team serving amazing coffee. I’ve only tried the Flat White but can’t get enough of it. Delicious!

Everything about this place has been thoughtfully crafted; the premium coffee, the interior design, the brewing equipment, and even the baristas themselves. The cold-​brew is crisp and delicious and I highly recommend. Their new space is beautiful and much more convenient than the coffee trike in Dewey square (which i still love on warm summer days). There is standing room only and no chairs, so it’s not a great place for laptop-​refugees or hanging for long periods of time.

So these are the same guys formerly known as Boston’s coffee trike. Still making excellent espresso drinks. But now they have this physical location rather than standing out in the square.

Amazingly well crafted espresso and coffee service. No seating, but great ambiance. The founder is great and very knowledge about what he is doing– the passion really shows.
Prices are reasonable– this is Boston’s equivalent to NYC’ Café Grumpy or SF’s Four Barrel or Sightglass.
Might even be better as South Station has fewer hipsters.

I can essentially echo my review of The Coffee Trike, but this brick-​and-​mortar version of the Trike brings all of the same qualities of the their mobile operation without the need for customers or baristas to brave the elements.
The same friendly employees, and the same great coffee, simply housed in a cozy little, seatless shop. It’s only been a few days, so I’m looking forward to seeing the space come together, but Gracenote’s current semi-​complete space has absolutely no bearing on my review. As long as they continue pumping out great drinks with the same personable attitude, this will be my top coffee shop in town! Enjoy!