Twinsies Coffee and Cupcakes

We stopped in tonight to use a Groupon and to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. We ordered 6, 5 were different flavors. We thought the cupcakes were beautiful, but would never spend $ 3.50 for one! We were sorely disappointed since the flavors sounded so good (champagne, rum, maple bacon, red velvet and raspberry). The cupcakes were dry… tasted like they were days old! The day before my friend made cupcakes out of a box that were waaaay better! Sadly we will not be going back. The service was very good though.

I love this place! The staff are always friendly and the cupcakes are always so good. Try the Guinness cupcake. (You’re welcome.)

I last visited Twinsies back in December 2012. The cupcakes and the service back then were quite good. I got to know the owners and they were very friendly and attentive. When I have read some harsh critiques about how dry some of their cupcakes were, I was very concerned and decided to go back and do a taste test of my own.
Today I had the Chocolate/​Chocolate cupcake. I wasn’t disappointed. I talked to Nick about the previous critiques about the Red Velvet. He was aware of the problem and since made adjustments on his recipe (s). He actively reads these feedbacks (and appreciates them greatly) and also contacts and rewards the posters in appreciation.
It’s rare to find owners who actually listen to critiques and customer input. Nick and Becky (and the entire family) are willing to bend over backwards to keep their neighbors and other patrons happy. All you need to do is ask.
BTW Nick & Becky — How about a TRIPLE Chocolate cupcake for us «chocoholics»?
[They are genuinely 5-​Star people. I will give them 4-​Stars so they have something to shoot for from me.] :-)

We have been here several different times in the last year with inconsistent service and quality. The first time we were impressed with the quality of both the gluten free (me) and regular (hubby) cupcakes, however subsequent visits have resulted in very dry and almost flavorless cupcakes. The gluten free options are frequently the same blah flavors (chocolate, vanilla, or Lavendar-​yuck) while the regular options are varied and exotic. I have been able to special order exotic gluten free flavors with fairly good success. My favorite was gluten free White Russian which was the best cupcake ever, but I shouldn’t have to special order (minimum ½ dozen for gluten free) to have a great cupcake. I would like to be able to just drop in not plan days in advance. The service is usually good but there have been a couple of times that were so bad I almost didn’t go back. If it were not for the Groupons I might not have returned.

I have visited this place a few times. I don’t know what I expect each time to be better than the last… I’m not a fan of greasy frostings. They look pretty, but don’t taste very good. So, I usually end up just scraping the top off and eating the base. Which, the only flavor thus far that is actually decent is their plain white cupcake. It’s dense and fairly moist. I have been disappointed by others including key lime, and the most awful cupcake I have ever experienced — Chocolate Lavender! I don’t know why I tried it? Sounded intriguing. However, it tasted like soap. I am a huge fan lavender, but apparently it is better for smelling than eating.
Overall, for the price ($ 3.50 or more per cupcake) I find this place pretty disappointing. I would rather have a smaller variety of cupcake flavors than buy a cupcake and realize it has probably been sitting there for a couple days.
One good thing about this place is they do have very good service. Friendly and likable, that is why it took me so many times before I could leave a negative review. I truly wanted to like this place.

Stopped in as we waited for Le Capitale to start lunch service. Enjoyed some tea next to the fish tank. They have a machine to make fresh popsicles to order with fruit of your choice.

Red Cake Cupcake was quite possibly the most disgusting thing i have ever put in my mouth. Try one before you buy more than one. YUCK! Waste of $ 3.50.

I purchased a punchcard via Groupon, thinking it would be a nice treat for myself. I had visited this location under the previous owners and had been less than thrilled, but learning of the change in ownership, I decided to give them another try.
The shop is newly decorated and appeared clean. I was greeted as soon as I walked in and they quickly and easily processed my Groupon using my phone.
I selected a variety of cupcakes, intending to bring some to share at work. They all looked tasty. I got home with my little cupcake hoard and decided to indulge in the red velvet. Mmmmm… red velvet. Moist, chocolate-​y, with cream cheese frosting. That is what I was expecting, anyhow. However, I was met instead with crunchy frosting and dry, dense, tasteless cupcake. Vastly disappointing. So bad I threw it away. A cupcake! That’s just criminal.
The other selections followed suit. Hard, day-​old frosting (slightly greasy, by the way), super dense and tasteless cakes. Also, none had any fillings as I was under the impression they would.
I have no doubt at all that they were at least a day old. After sampling a bite or less of each, I ended up throwing the lot of my purchase away as I wouldn’t even want to give them away at work. What’s worse is I still have punches left to use up on my card that I’ve already paid for.
Very disappointing, I would have enjoyed Betty Crocker box mix with canned frosting more and had more money left in my pocket. Sadly, this seems business as usual.

Cupcake fail.
We tried three separate cupcakes and my reviews are, in order: Dry, dry, and dry. We left a mess of crumbs at our feet because the cakes practically disintegrated upon biting into them. Get this – even the boston cream cupcake – WHICH WAS FILLED WITH PASTY CREAM was dry. How?
No really… how is that possible?
Cupcakes are fickle – I get that. They’re hard to do just right. But it wasn’t like these were slightly off the mark. There was pretty much nothing redeemable about them. I couldn’t help but think that they were selling me week old cakes and hoping I wouldn’t notice. The texture more closely resembled corn bread.

very good cupcakes! very cool varieties. very good! very friendly staff. very very very worth a trip :-) it’s right between the new Jonathons location and davincis. this area was quite hopping on a wednesday evening… strange for Salem! Twinsies is open until 7pm. we’ll be back!

I live 3000 miles away from my mother and for Mother’s Day decided to have cupcakes delivered — something a little different than the usual bouquet of flowers and something she could share with her friends. A quick online search and Twinsies was the solution. A quick phone call… a modest delivery free… and a text confirming my delivery was complete. Thank you Twinsies.

A couple months ago, I suggested to Nick and Becky to make a «spicy» cupcake. In early May, they invited me to come down and try their newest creation that blended chocolate and cayenne. There it was in the display case (and on Facebook), for everyone to see: «Hot Waka» — after yours truly.
Despite being a day old when I tried it, the cupcake still retained its extremely light qualities. The chocolate coating on top added this sweet soft-​shell-​like texture — and yes, that’s a very good thing. I thought the candied red chile sliver was the perfect garnish. Most importantly, it was an ideal amount of cayenne. It hit the back of my throat and lingered while the chocolate made its way to my stomach. If I can sense the cayenne, the vast majority of the population will, too.
Twinsies has three everyday flavors and a rotating specialty cupcake list that now exceeds 80 items. They also apparently do gluten-​free cupcakes, although it is probably more likely to show up if specially ordered. There are usually about 10 – 12 different cupcakes each day. The variety is awesome, and the cupcake quality has improved over the last several weeks.
On Cinco de Mayo, Twinsies offered a «Muy Caliente» cupcake that had hot chile powder, cayenne, crushed red peppers, and cinnamon, with cayenne-​Nutella ganache and chile cream cheese frosting. WTF, that sounds better than the Hot Waka! :-) I hope to be around to try that one if it resurfaces!
Anyway, now that Twinsies has options to give the novices a friendly jab, we must have something much more hardcore for my «spicochist» alias. How about ghost peppers, for starters? Maybe some Chocolate (Douglah) 7 Pots? Make my mouth burn! Yeah! Don’t worry, I’ll return to my asylum cell now. But you won’t keep the crazy panda locked up forever… *sinister grin*

I was a bit disappointed with my first visit. 3 flavors of cupcakes at our table and not one of them seemed better than what we could make at home. Red velvet was very dry. The Oreo was pretty good and the choc/​choc was average. Hoping that they work on the recipes and stay open for it is a great alternative in Salem! We did not have lunch although the menu looked good.

After having swore this building off, during dinner at Jonathan’s the bartender mentioned that new owners had taken over and the difference was night and day. Following dinner we decided to swing in just to find out, inviting décor, pleasant owner, and delicious cupcakes! If you were like me and boycotted this spot, do yourself a favor and go in and see them.