The 5 Best Lattes In Boston, According To A Local

Coffee is an integral part of my everyday life — some might even call me obsessed. What began as snagging caramel frappucinos from Starbucks on my weekend trips to the local mall with friends has turned into a cup of joe in any one of its many forms. While I don't discriminate when it comes to the different forms that my morning coffee can take, my favorite way to enjoy a caffeine boost is as a latte.

As a Boston resident for the majority of my life, I'm spoiled with a plethora of coffee shops and cafes. Dunkin' may come to mind when you think about Boston (you may be familiar with the DunKings menu and commercial featuring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Tom Brady). However, the city is filled with local spots and smaller-scale chains. 

I've tried more cups than I count on two hands, which means I've also developed a sense of where to snag the best lattes in the city. Some things I look for in my ideal latte are flavorful shots of espresso, a menu of unique flavors to choose from, and the perfect milk to coffee ratio. Keeping these in mind, I've pulled together a list of my absolute favorite locations, which combine incredible coffee (or tea) with interesting flavors that are bound to fit anyone's preferences. If you're planning on making a trip to Beantown, any one of these spots is worth a try.

Starting off my list of favorites is a teeny tiny local spot that serves incredible coffee alongside delicious freshly-made bread and pastries. Although it's technically located in Brookline, Clear Flour Bread & Bakery is steps over the Boston city line — and its lattes are so good, I have to consider it part of the city proper. Tucked just off of the hustle and bustle of cars on Commonwealth Avenue, Clear Flour technically has two doors: one for breads, cookies, and other baked goods, and a second dedicated to coffee, tea, and artisan goods.

A good latte requires a great shot of espresso, which starts with high-quality beans. Clear Flour brews Tiny Arms beans, which is a specialty coffee brand started in Lowell, Massachusetts, that prides itself on "community and sustainability" (via Tiny Arms). For its drinks, Clear Flour offers the classic vanilla syrup, but also carries maple, cardamom brown sugar, and Earl Grey flavors if you want a more unique twist. Additionally, the cafe has oat and almond milk alternatives — perfect for the lactose intolerant among us. My go-to drink is an iced cardamom brown sugar latte with almond milk.

The cafe also offers flavors that change with the seasons. Clear Flour's 2025 fall specials include an apple caramel latte, pumpkin spice latte, gingersnap latte, and a honey rosemary matcha, if tea is more your speed. My favorite seasonal item from the past was the sesame mocha latte, one of its April 2025 specials.

This next spot is definitely in Boston proper, and if you're on a scenic tour of all of the city's most important historical sites, you'll likely encounter BON! Specialty Coffee. The newer cafe is located off of the northeastern corner of the Boston Common, steps away from the gold-domed state house. My personal favorite drink is the iced honey cinnamon latte with almond milk (which also comes as a hot latte if your hands get too cold in during the chilly Boston winters).

But much like Clear Flour, BON! has a number of delicious flavors that customers can try in their lattes, and the chain has gained traction on social media due to a few drinks in particular. In its 'Iced Specialty' section, BON! features a Spanish latte, tiramisu latte (which comes adorned with a lady finger cookie and mascarpone cold foam), and banana latte (which the brand says is its most ordered drink on Saturdays). Drinks can be made with alternative milks — they even have a lactose-free option — and can also be topped with a variety of flavored creams (think cold foam for iced coffee) like strawberry, coconut, blueberry, or vanilla.

If you're more of a matcha-lover, BON! also specializes in the tea. It offers customers iced flavors like strawberry and honey cinnamon, or you can snag a hot classic or vanilla matcha latte. The cool thing about ordering a matcha from BON! is that a barista prepares it right on the counter.

While Thinking Cup isn't a one-off spot, the small-scale chain does make one of my favorite iced lattes in the city. With three convenient locations across Boston, Thinking Cup is a 15-year-old local cafe that draws in locals and tourists alike to grab a perfectly-made latte alongside a quick bite to eat. Thinking Cup's lattes have good beans as their base, and the chain is actually the first in downtown Boston to exclusively serve Stumptown and Third Wave Coffee products. Stumptown is one of the brands of beans I use when making espresso shots at home, and also makes a canned nitro cold brew that topped our ranking of canned coffees.

You're likely catching on to a trend, but one of my favorite flavors in a latte is honey. As such, my go-to order from Thinking Cup is an iced honey cinnamon latte. Not as sweet as BON!'s honey cinnamon latte, Thinking Cup's drink is perfect for when I'm in the mood for a more mellow sip. Alongside my personal favorite, the chain offers flavors like vanilla ginger and hazelnut, which features a roasted hazelnut paste.

And if you're looking for a quick bite to eat alongside that latte, Thinking Cup has plenty of options (including gluten-free items that I love to take advantage of). While some of the pastries and goodies change with the seasons, Thinning Cup always has gluten-free muffins (its blackberry and banana offerings were delicious) alongside a wide array of sandwiches, wraps, and breads.

Although this might be a more "basic" opinion, another spot that makes my favorite lattes — specifically hot lattes — is Tatte Bakery & Cafe. Like Thinking Cup, Tatte is a chain — but one we said would be everywhere in 2024, with locations in the Boston area, Washington D.C., and New York City and the metropolitan area. It's a popular spot for locals and tourists alike to grab a delicious coffee, and Tatte also has an extensive food menu.

I'm an iced coffee lover at heart, even in the dead of Boston winters. But Tatte actually made my list because of its hot lattes. Especially when I get the chance to sit and enjoy my cup in person, Tatte's hot lattes are both delicious and beautifully finished with a design in the foam. The cafe has a number of mainstay offerings on its menu that I enjoy, including my favorite, the honey halva latte. This sip features Tatte's housemade halva syrup, inspired by the candy that might be the most culturally diverse in the world. Halva in its original form is fudge-like and traditionally made with sesame tahini, honey, and sugar.

Along with the menu staples, Tatte offers seasonally rotating flavors. One of my more recent favorites is its Tahini Pumpkin Oatmilk latte. The combination of the tahini and pumpkin flavors works perfectly, and it's been a delicious option in the chiller fall months. Another of my seasonal favorites from the past is the Ginger Date Oatmilk latte.

Last on the list, but absolutely not last in my heart, is a one of a kind cafe located in the heart of Boston's historic South End neighborhood. Greystone is truly a family-oriented spot that is owned and operated by a mother-daughter duo. In building it, they wanted to "create the place that we ourselves would seek out in the neighborhood. A place that could be our daily stop" (via Greystone). And in the many times I've been, their mission has succeeded, especially their aim to serve "exceptional coffee."

My favorite way to enjoy a latte from Greystone is by heading to their walk-up window. Although lines can stretch on the weekends, I love strolling around the South End's brownstones with a latte in hand, and the outdoor window gives customers like me the chance to make a quick pit stop on their stroll.

Greystone offers a number of delicious staple syrups that customers can pop into their lattes, including a classic vanilla bean, simple syrup, cardamom clove syrup, and an Earl Grey. Additionally, if you like to swap out for alternative milks, Greystone's almond milk is homemade. For those who enjoy a tea-based sip, the cafe serves a delicious chai latte (that I sometimes like to turn into a dirty chai by adding a shot of espresso).