Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missouri. Show all posts

Monday, June 17, 2019

Rise Coffee House



Subject: Rise Coffee House
Location: St. Louis, MO
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Everyone wants a good coffeehouse somewhere in their morning routine, whether they know it or not. There's something transcendently better about grabbing a cup of freshly-made quality drip coffee with an egg-laden buttermilk biscuit from a local coffee purveyor, versus making it at home or work. Fortunately for the folks of The Grove in St. Louis, Rise Coffee House exists to make such AM dreams a reality.

Monday, May 06, 2019

Comet Coffee



Subject: Comet Coffee
Location visited: St. Louis, MO
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Coffee, croissants and ice cream create a trio that has few equals. Sure, many cafes can boast at least two of those things, but to forge all three in-house with well-crafted results is a sight one beholds in but a handful of establishments.

Monday, April 08, 2019

Eurasia Coffee & Tea




Subject: Eurasia Coffee and Tea
Location: Springfield, MO
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]

Many times when looking for a place to crash for a few days, I hope to find affordable-yet-swanky lodging that either offers excellent coffee or has good coffee within a short walk. Often such El Dorados are hard to come by, but every now and then one materializes out of nowhere.

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Quay Coffee




Subject: Quay Coffee
Location visited: Delaware St, Kansas City, MO
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

My first visit to Kansas City turned out far shorter than I had hoped, lasting but mere minutes. Flying in for a wedding back in 2006, I arrived in KC with family and a few conflicting views on how to best spend the time prior to the nuptials. Unfortunately, going into the city to get a real cup of coffee did not make the cut, and I drove away from the city forlorn and destitute of espresso.

Monday, December 17, 2018

Hammerhand Coffee




Subject: Hammerhand Coffee
Location: Liberty, MO
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Some of the prettiest small towns reside in the midwest. In traversing Missouri for example, I have found gems such as Boonville and St. Charles to be delightful stops outside of their more populous (though equally delightful) neighbors. On my last visit to the state while on my way west from St. Louis, I was fortunate to find both a gorgeous locale and a great coffee establishment to add to my list.

Monday, October 15, 2018

Travellers House Coffee




Subject: Travellers House Coffee 
Location: Springfield, MO
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]

In my experience, too few coffee shops are open past supper. Yes, for the most part I get the economics as to why most shops close up around four, but man does an evening meet-up over well-crafted coffee hit the proverbial spot.

Tuesday, April 07, 2015

Mugged: The Coffee Dispatch


Coffee Subscription Service: The Coffee Dispatch
Roasters / Coffees / Rating [see key]:
- Messenger Coffee Co: Papua New Guinea Waghi Valley 5+
- Thou Mayest: Ethiopia Kochere 5+
- Broadway Roasting Co: Ethiopia Sidamo 5+
- City Market Coffee Roasters: A Brewed Awakening 4+
- Parisi Coffee - omitted (see below)
- The Roasterie - omitted (see below)

Kansas City is the one Missourian city I have not had a chance to tour. Due to family and Missouri's central location, I've been to the other major metropolitan centers of the Show Me State, some of them multiple times. Yet even though I've flown into Kansas City, I still anticipate the day when I can roam her streets and sample her wares firsthand.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The Mud House




Subject: The Mud House
Location: St. Louis, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Every neighborhood should aspire to have a great eatery that issues forth great food and tremendous coffee. So often the equation is split (at best) in most towns, with a great coffeehouse offering a decent bagel and soup menu, while down the street you have a restaurant churning wondrous culinary feats paired with lackluster coffee. Yet in the few instances when you put a talented chef and a skilled barista together (even in the same person), you get a force akin to collecting all of the dragon balls.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Hebrews Coffee



Subject: Hebrews Coffee
Location: Springfield, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

I am a tremendous fan of the noble pun. What better to insert into a conversation than a clever exploitation of different uses of similar sounding words? I trace my fervent love of witty word play to my days in Montana when I studied under a man who greatly regarded them as the highest form of communication. Forever my eyes have been o-punned.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Blueprint Coffee




Subject: Blueprint Coffee
Location: St. Louis, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

One of my cousins went to Washington University in St. Louis about the same time I went to school in NJ. Not knowing much at the time about St. Louis, he would often tell of random antics around the campus and surrounding area. One thing he mentioned consistently was how nice the surrounding neighborhood was, though no matter how many times I pressed him, he could never tell me of a great coffeehouse.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Kaldi's Coffee





Subject: Kaldi's Coffee
Location: Columbia, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

One of the highest hurdles in a business is the ability to adapt with current trends and industry developments. Much like a brakeless car traveling uphill, a business either moves forward or slides back; there is no stalling. In coffee, moving forward often translates into staying abreast on rising trends, growing professionally (especially with skills), new discoveries/rediscoveries and keeping your business looking fresh.

Monday, December 08, 2014

The Coffee Ethic




Subject: The Coffee Ethic
Location: Springfield, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]


I am a great fan of open town squares, especially when they sit amidst local merchants. In walking through hundreds of urban open spaces, ranging from Central Park to Golden Gate Park, it seems that the proper dosage of local commerce (though I do not know the ratio) makes for the greatest level of enjoyment for said open spaces.

Monday, December 01, 2014

Half and Half


Subject: Half and Half
Location: St. Louis, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]


It is no secret that everyone loves brunch. There's just something magical about the wondrous combinations and concoctions that become available on weekend late mornings. Sadly, not every brunch place is worth your dollar, and for my money, if I am plopping down to enjoy a hearty meal with a close kinship to breakfast, I want a place with great coffee.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Sump Coffee




Subject: Sump Coffee
Location: St. Louis, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

In this glorious day and age, there exist numerous coffee operations doing a fantastic job with their product, truly showing great dedication and extreme zeal for well-crafted coffee. Yet few shops wear their hardcore nature as well as St. Louis' Sump Coffee, known far and wide by their bearded skull logo sitting atop a portafilter/coffee branch cross bones (rendered into animation, said skull even chuckles with deep laughter amidst the guitar pluckings of heavy metal).

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Shortwave Coffee






Subject: Shortwave Coffee
Location: Columbia, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]


If you were to tell most people that greatness lies in a basement down a Missourian alley, you may be met with a skeptical eyebrow. But as true as the road is full of autumn construction, some alley basements sport some pretty spectacular haunts.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Kingdom Coffee and Cycles





Subject: Kingdom Coffee and Cycles
Location: Springfield, MO
WiFi?: Yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]


The more I am around people who ride bicycles, the more I want to be a regular bicyclist. It's not because I want an excuse to regularly wear bib shorts, or because I relish the idea of sharing the road with easily distracted motorists, but simply because for all the driving I do in my regular commute, I don't get much worthwhile exercise from it (aka you can only do so many curls at a red light). With the busyness of life these days, to knock off exercise and commuting to work with the same action would be glorious. Yet such simplicity cannot be, as I often have to traverse great distances at a moments notice. For now, the bicycle and I cannot be commuting buddies. 

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

CC: Kuhlman's Koffee

What's a Coffee Commentary?

Subject:
Kuhlman's Koffee
Location visited: Nixa, MO
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 3+ [see key]



Ever wonder what it takes to make good business? Well, I don't know the full formula (I know making money is in there somewhere) but I would think being able to find your location of business would be key (unless you're a speak-easy or an exclusive operation). Putting a rental car place far from a major road and opening a coffeehouse in a hidden shopping center seem to be both bad moves.

While I've had no dealings with hard-to-find rental car agencies (yet), I've had a couple interactions with camouflaged coffee establishments. The most recent one was when I was down near Springfield, in the small town of Nixa. I was staying close by with family and as usual, was on the hunt for local brews. Google kicked up one intriguing place called Kuhlman's Koffee apparently right down the road. Normally, I would have just put my computer down and drove right over but since I was with family (who have much less patience for coffee stops) I figured I would need to incorporate it into our drives.

I drove past it 4 times in my searches.

Finally on the 5th and final time, I found it next to the place we had breakfast the day before (I didn't even see it then!) tucked away in a truly small structure in a strip mall. The outside looked very nice with a decent color scheme. The inside was pretty cozy (bout the size of a small trailer), with a central bar and some other seating options about.

Kuhlman's roasts their own and from the looks of the shop and website, they look pretty dedicated. The drip I sampled was ok, with a so-so flavor. The espresso was kinda bland, though it had a nice tang on the back end. Didn't glimpse the tea.

Outside of their seemingly secret location, Kuhlman's looks like it has a bit of promise to it. If you're in town, get directions online as well as the phone number so you can make sure to not miss it.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

CC: Mudhouse


What's a Coffee Commentary?

Subject:
Mudhouse
Location visited: Springfield, MO
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating: 4+ [see key]



I
n the couple times I've encountered Springfield, every time has involved a stop at the locally fabled Mudhouse. First time I was escorted by Springfieldans, as I think it was the only local coffee joint at the time. Then it was but a mediocre establishment but now it seems to be a vastly improved operation.

The Mudhouse consists of a beautiful shop in the middle of downtown Springfield with large store windows and a warm, open interior chock full of prime seating and intriguing art. Locals and out-of-towners of all shapes and sizes fill the seats constantly.

The coffee is roasted in-house and as aforementioned, has grown in quality over these past years, with their drip on my most recent visit having a nice body and smooth flavor. The espresso was decent with a sweet tang but overall, nothing that great. To note the tea, it's free leaf.

While Mudhouse is no longer the only local coffee establishment, it seems like it has a good track record and history within the town. If you're ever nearby, make sure to give it a whirl.