Boston strong

Boston may be the most populous city of the Massachusetts state, but on the week of 9 April it could be argued it also hosted the most international guests. One only had to look at Airbnb and hotel booking websites to learn the city was brimming with visitors. Not only was the US city hosting the Boston Marathon that week, one of the world’s most iconic annual races, but the Specialty Coffee Expo, North America’s biggest coffee event and one of the most prominent fixtures on the global coffee calendar, was being held there too.

A brief tour of the historic city’s main streets quickly identifies that Boston is home to the iconic Dunkin’ Donuts chain, founded by William Rosenberg in the neighbouring city of Quincy, Massachusetts in 1950. Dunkin’, as it’s now formally known, is prominently scattered throughout city’s streets, among Starbucks stores and the classic four-kilometre red brick path known as the Freedom Trail. Dig a bit deeper however, and specialty coffee shops such as George Howell’s, PS Gourmet, and Gracenote quickly became destination venues with the baristas behind the