Hole-In-One Donuts and Coffee

 by: Sarah Ahern

    Hole-In-One is located on 482 Market St, Rockland, however there are other locations in Cape Cod. I have driven by this coffee shop a handful of times, but I finally decided to stop in and see how their coffee and donuts were for myself. I went there around 11 am with my friend and it was very quiet. Most of the customers that came in just got their coffee to go, however we decided to sit down. Although some of the seats were covered with donut boxes, there were a few free tables we could sit at. It was small inside with large windows, but I enjoyed the atmosphere and the natural sunlight that came in. It's a perfect spot to catch up with a friend or even get work done. 

An iced mocha latte & iced caramel latte

A blueberry bagel

A powdered jelly stick

    I decided to get an iced mocha latte for my coffee choice. It was very good! I asked them what they used to achieve the chocolatey taste, and they told me they used a combination of chocolate milk and chocolate syrup. Their bagel and donuts were delicious! I loved the dough on the jelly stick and how much better it tasted than chain coffee shop's donuts. The prices are reasonable too! They're open everyday from 5am to 5pm, making it perfect for morning people and workers! They also sell their own coffee as whole beans or grounded in house blend, dark roast, hazelnut, french vanilla, and decaf. Not only that, but they sell their own merchandise too such as cups, shirts, and beanies.

    The closest Dunkin' is only a 3 minute drive away! Instead of going to a chain coffee shop, anyone can opt out and just drive a few minutes to this local café!

Other information: 

Phone Number: 781-356-4916

Website: https://theholecapecod.com/?utm_source=gmb_rockland&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=listing

Six Depot - Stockbridge

 A Coffee Maven Vicarious Appreciation

One of the many good things about being the coffee maven is that people sometimes just put a bag of really good coffee in my hands. This was the case on Christmas Eve Eve, when I received a coffee gift from a young friend whose own birthday was to be two days later. 

First, to explain: when I say "young friend" these days I can be referring to full-grown adults -- as was the case with this high-school teacher -- because they are younger than I am. In this case, I remember his Christmas Day birth a few decades back. His parents were among our first friends we met in Massachusetts, and his was the first birth among our close friends after the birth of our own kiddo. 

We see each other on what we call Christmas Eve Eve or Little Christmas Eve, the most magical night of the year at our cozy and historic church in Bridgewater, and this year he came over to me, clearly happy to be able to pass along this gift.

This is an espresso blend known as Notes from the Underground. Espresso is a brewing method, not a type of coffee, but this labeling suggests a very dark roast suitable for use in espresso. This coffee is sold in whole-bean form, so that I was able to give it a medium grind (rather than the very fine grind needed for espresso) and brew it in my Chemex.

When Patrick handed me the bag, my first instinct was to check the front and back for a CO2 valve. Even though this bag has a paper exterior, the valve was my signal that it is a layered package with foil to keep oxygen out. Bags sealed this tightly need the valve to allow carbon dioxide to escape -- they are a sign of real attention to freshness. The brew did not disappoint -- this is a deep, flavorful coffee.

Many of the offerings at Six Depot are single-origin coffees, and the couple who own the shop clearly enjoy connecting their customers to the farmers on whom they rely. This particular blend, however, is an actual blend from several sources. Attention to quality is reflected in the fact that the package indicates which varietals (sub-species) of Coffea arabica are present: Mundo Novo,  Katuaí, and Kent. Of these, only the Katuaí is familiar. I like it because it is fun to say and also one of the few varietals that ripens to yellow instead of red. Harvesting this coffee requires even more than the usual amount of skill!

I usually require students to include a map indicating how far a café is from the commonly known coffee chains. In this case, those chains are not much in evidence in the neighborhood, so the map above points to two destinations elsewhere in Stockbridge. One is Tanglewood -- the beautiful concert venue I visited for the first time in 2025. I will definitely be returning, and I will visit No. Six Depot when I do. The other famous site is a certain restaurant made famous by Arlo Guthrie. Also in the neighborhood --- on the way to Tanglewood -- is the wonderfully relaxing and enriching Kripalu retreat center.

Have a Cookie

 A Coffee Maven Repost of an Online Gem

During my usual doomscrolling this snowy afternoon, I found this brief story from The Other 98 Percent -- a political site that I follow and that is usually a reliable source of doom.

They say "don't read the comments" and usually they are usually correct. These are deeply cynical times, and naysayers abound right, left, and center. I was pleased, therefore, to see only a modicum of skepticism about this veracity of this post. 

Most commenters loved it -- as I did -- because whether things literally went down this way or not, this is what a local business can and should be. And in my GeoCafes experience, it quite often is!