Our story
Born from patience.
Built for people.
Our journey began with a simple passion: to create more than just a place to grab a cup of coffee. We envisioned a community hub — a space where every visit is an experience, and every sip is a moment to be savored. That same patience shows up in our Vietnamese phin drip, our slow-cooked black rice bowls, and every espresso machine review we publish online.
What makes us, us
Four things worth knowing
Our why
More than a coffee shop
We set out to build a community hub — a space where every visit is an experience, and every sip is a moment to be savored.
Vietnamese roots
Phin drip, done properly
Our coffee program runs on Nguyen Coffee Supply's Vietnamese robusta — traditional phin drip, sea salt, and condensed milk, alongside espresso classics.
Full kitchen
Beyond the espresso bar
Wild black rice bowls, pho salads, cashew herb pesto — lunch here is built the same way our coffee is: unhurried.
The Brew Lab
Espresso machines, tested
Reader questions about home espresso turned into a full test bench. Every review on this site comes from weeks of hands-on brewing.
What we stand on
Four things we’ll never compromise
Patience over shortcuts
Cold brew steeps eighteen hours. Croissants laminate three days. Reviews take fifty brews. We named ourselves after the cicada for a reason.
Kind to the planet
Free alt milks, compostable serviceware, direct-trade lots, and spent grounds returned to community gardens across Cambridge.
Radical hospitality
Regulars get remembered. Strangers get welcomed. Every drink leaves the bar like it's going to a critic — because sometimes it is.
Honesty in print
Our reviews carry no brand scripts. When a $4,000 machine isn't worth it, we say so. Our readers' trust is worth more than any affiliate check.
Daniel Voss
Lead Equipment Reviewer, Cicada Coffee Bar
Meet our expert
The hand behind every review
Daniel leads the equipment-testing side of Cicada Coffee Bar. Every super-automatic, semi-automatic, and grinder featured on this site is bought or sourced independently, set up on the test bench, and brewed with daily for at least two weeks before a single word is written — tracking espresso quality, milk texture, ease of cleaning, and long-term reliability. Reviews are updated whenever pricing or firmware changes.
When you read a verdict on this site, it comes from one accountable person — not an anonymous content farm. Daniel Voss writes every review, assigns every score, and answers reader mail about machines they have personally lived with.
- Hands-on testing: every machine brewed with for 2+ weeks before review
- 50+ super-automatic and semi-automatic machines tested
- Independent — machines are bought, not provided free by manufacturers
- Reviews updated when pricing, firmware, or availability changes
Editorial standards
How we test espresso machines
Our bench protocol is boring, repeatable, and completely independent — exactly how trust is built.
Two weeks, fifty brews
Every machine lives on our bench for at least 14 days and 50 full brew cycles — hot, cold, milk, and black — before we score a thing.
Measured, not vibes
We log extraction consistency, milk temperature curves, foam texture, noise, heat-up times, and cleaning effort across six weighted criteria.
Hands-on, every time
All scores are assigned by Daniel Voss, our lead equipment reviewer, after weeks of daily use — never from a spec sheet.
Living reviews
Prices shift and firmware updates land. Every review carries a visible 'last updated' date and gets revisited when the math changes.
Independence, in writing
We buy or borrow every unit. No manufacturer previews, approves, or edits coverage. Affiliate links fund the bench — they never steer it.
Corrections policy: if we get something wrong, we fix it fast and note the change at the top of the article. Spot an error? Email cicadacoffeebar@gmail.com with the subject line “Correction” — it goes straight to Daniel Voss.
Taste the story in person.
The best review is the cup in your hand. Find us at 106 Prospect Street, Cambridge — or dive into the Brew Lab first.