not me going to coffee shops instead of studying: Thinking Cup

I had to come up to this side of Boston to run an errand, and so I decided to hit up a coffee shop and be super, duper productive because I really need to lock in for my finals (and here I am, spending at least half an hour writing this review). I had seen this place mentioned a couple times on r/boston, and so I've been waiting to try it out. The guy next to me has a sketchpad out and Canvas pulled up on his iPad, I think he's an art student frantically trying to finish his work for the semester. I should finish my work for the semester.

Thinking Cup

Rating: 4/5
Location: 236 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113
Ordered: Latte (4.50), Fruit tart (I forgot exactly, but about 4.50), Quiche (7.75)

Vibes: Kinda big coffeeshop located in some commercial district in the North End. The inside looks like your regular old coffeeshop, with the dim lighting, the dark, red-tinted wood furniture, and the menu on a blackboard. Each table has old newspapers underneath a laminated top. There's a lot of people, probably because I'm here on a Saturday morning. There's plenty of seating, though, and so people have no trouble finding seats for the entire of the time that I was here. I swore that there was music playing when I first entered, but now there isn't? I think the speakers are at the front of the shop. Lots of chatter, if you're into working in those kinds of environments.

Quiche: I got the "cage free eggs quiche with potato, nitrate free bacon, and gruyere." I really like the texture of this quiche. It's more substantial and chewy than some of the other quiches that I've had (flour bakery), probably from the potatoes that were inside, and the bacon bits are not overpowering in taste. There's a slice of tomato placed on top that's baked dry and honestly it's really really good. It's not completely dry, and when you bite into it, you definitely get the taste of tomato. The pastry is more on the chewy side, and kind of resembles a croissant in aftertaste. I personally prefer flaky crusts, so it's kind of unfortunate that it wasn't. It also comes with an arugula and parmeson (maybe?) salad. The salad dressing is very mild, and I can't really pick up the flavor, but it's very aromatic (from the arugula and cheese) and I enjoyed it a lot.

Latte: The aroma is on the dark, chocolatey side and the taste is very, very rich. It has a good ratio of milk and coffee, being not too heavy in taste. It's a sour coffee, with a hint of bitterness. The bitterness of coffee is so weird. It taste like tree bark. Or, it reminds me of tree bark in its taste. I do not know what tree bark tastes like, but. I wish it was a little bit sweeter, but it's alright. Not really a flavor that I would go back to again. It's too sour and bitter for me.

Fruit tart: I love fruit tarts. This one was topped with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and grapes. The pastry shell and cream is quite sweet, in a very straightforward, sugary way. The shell is quite solid and crumbles in a satisfactory way. The cream is very cream. The sweetness that it provides was a good amount, to offset the sourness of the fruit. The pastry leaves a sweet aftertaste in your mouth. I don't know what else to say, to be honest. It's a fruit tart. It's fruit on a tart. It's quite straightforward and very yummy.

Value: Cheap, especially since it's in downtown Boston. I'm so used to the food options in coffee shops being at least $13 for a sandwich, and I definitely did not spend as much as I expected to. It's obviously still pricey compared to not eating out, but cheaper than some of the other places I've been to.

Rating: The food wasn't the best that I've ever had, but the selection of food and pastries along with the cheaper prices definitely bumped up the rating. I don't think I'll be coming here for the coffee alone, but also I don't really drink coffee, so it's okay. I would definitely come back here again to try some more food options.