One of my essentials for day-to-day life as a college student has been coffee.
Over the years, I’ve been able to explore different coffee options in Harvard Square, and below are some of my personal favorites and go-tos. This is just a sample of the different options available to students – a few others that I frequent include Blackbird Doughnuts, Blue Bottle, and Tatte. With all these options, there really is something for everyone here!
Dunkin’ Donuts
With three Dunkin’ Donuts within walking distance from the Yard, this blog would be incomplete without a mention of Boston’s favorite coffee chain. I love to get their iced coffee, as well as their frozen chocolate when I’m looking for a treat. One tip with getting coffee from Dunkin’ is to use the app. You can use it to earn points for your coffee orders, as well as get access to different deals. For instance, this summer, Dunkin’ has been offering 100 additional points for ordering any iced drink on Mondays. Given that it takes 200 points to get a free drink, the math on this works out very well!
Iced coffee from Dunkin' Donuts is my go-to!
Capital One Café
The Capital One Café, which is located on JFK Street, is another great place to go and grab coffee as well as other specialty drinks. This is another good shop to watch out for deals. For instance, Capital One occasionally gives out coupons for free drinks, which you can then redeem for any of their drinks. They also sometimes have $1 drinks available, where you can get any drink of any size for just a dollar. One of my personal favorites is their horchata oat milk latte and brown sugar iced oat milk latte, among other drinks!
The iced matcha latte with brown sugar is one of my favorites at Capital One!
Flour
Flour, founded by Harvard alumnus Joanne Chang, is another one of my favorite places to grab coffee in the Square. In my opinion, their iced coffee is especially good! In addition to their coffee, I love to go to Flour to grab some of their yummy food. Some of my favorites are their sticky buns as well as their quiche, both of which are delicious.
Iced coffee from Flour!
Pavement
Not every day is going to feel like a coffee day, and those days are when I will typically go and grab a matcha latte. My personal favorite is the one served in Pavement Coffeehouse, which is located in the Smith Campus Center. While their coffee is also very good, this is the spot I will hit up when I’m craving something matcha in particular.
Matcha is a close second after coffee in my books!
Starbucks
Another popular coffee spot on campus is Starbucks, which is located right on Broadway Street. Similar to Dunkin’ Donuts, I tend to use the app when ordering drinks so I can earn points. Starbucks is also the spot I will go to when I’m taking classes in the Center for Government and International Studies – it's a little further away from the Square, so the Starbucks is perfectly situated for a quick coffee before or after class!
The iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso is my go-to
Harvard University Dining Services
If all else fails, the dining halls on campus always have fresh coffee flowing and available for students. This is a very reliable option if you don’t want to go and buy coffee somewhere, so it has yet to fail me! In choosing between the different options, I personally tend to go for the House Blend. In addition, you can use Boardplus, which is $65 per semester that Harvard gives every single student to use at Harvard operated cafes, to get coffee as well.
House blend - my dining hall favorite!
