Caffeine Crawl KC Spring 2016

~ KC's 8th Caffeine Crawl was one for the books ~ 

Since the very first Caffeine Crawl in 2011, the KC specialty beverage scene has continued to boom. This year's spring event showcased the city's flavors and personalities well: doughnuts, tea creations, coffee cocktails and mocktails, juices and more - and of course, fantastic people - made Caffeine Crawl KC Spring 2016 one to remember! 
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​Doughnut Lounge kicked off our Friday night bike route with a shaken espresso based mocktail, Chemex brews of Messenger Coffee, and of course, totally awesome doughnuts! 
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Christopher Elbow Artisan Chocolates sent Crawlers home with two gorgeous chocolates - an Earl Grey infused ganache and a Roasterie coffee infused caramel, created specially for Caffeine Crawl. 
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Blip Roasters hosted us in their new space - after a fire that incapacitated their previous roastery and cafe in the West Bottoms, they moved a few blocks over and have continued making great coffee, unfazed! Until their roaster is back up and running, they're serving Broadway Roasting Co. beans, and we sipped pourover brews, inspired. 

Uppers and downers were in full swing at Bier Station, wrapping up the Friday night bike route with coffee beer brews and big smiles. 
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Matcha iced & matcha blended with mint and almond milk took center stage at Tea Market, but the David Rio chai and several other samples were also delightful. 
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Crows Coffee served up four amazing house made cocktails / mocktails - a Grey-Line Panna Cotta, a Berry Roobios Cosmopolitan, a Mango Fool, and an Apple Caraway Espresso Punch - all of which were amazing (and, you can get the recipes here!). 

We nibbled house made granola bars & sipped a delicious, fizzy, chai soda in some epic throwback "glassware" at ​Mildred's Coffeehouse - Hugo Tea chai never fails to impress, and a special deal on the famous steamed-egg breakfast sandwiches kept Crawlers fueled for the next stops. 

The Filling Station seated Crawlers on the sunny patio for Messenger Coffee French Press brews and a freshly house made strawberry apple juice. We headed out with sample bags of whole bean Peru for our home brew bars as well! 
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The Roasterie took us to 'cold brew school' in the cupping lab, with samples of regular & nitro cold brew and a great explanation of the differences in brewing processes and dilution rations. 
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Stacy welcomed us to the patio at One More Cup with a tasty specialty drink, L'Chai-m - a combination of Hugo Tea chai, half and half, and LaCroix orange sparkling water. She shared the community focus of the cafe and handed out stamped postcards, on which we wrote notes to friends while nibbling house made apricot jam bars. Awesome! 
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Mud Pie Vegan Bakery & Coffeehouse blew us away with a fantastic spread of house baked treats and beverages - the pesto stuffed pretzel, coffee chocolates, cranberry mint rooibos and, of course, the famous vegan 'sausage cheddar' scone were crowd faves! 
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Health and happiness awaited at the newly open Unbakery and Juicery - fabulous peanut butter protein balls accompanied a house made golden milk toddy and insight from Robin Krause on the up-and-coming neighborhood of East Brookside. 
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We enjoyed a roasting demo at Second Best Coffee, with beans pulled from the roaster at minute intervals for easy color-change observation. Such a great (and deliciously aromatic) experience!
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Brent'lee welcomed us to McLain’s Bakery and Cafe with a spread of house made treats and drip brew from Thou Mayest to celebrate 70 years of neighborhood goodness! 
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Shang Tea took us through a tasty exploration of tea and demystified some commonly misused terms while we sipped delicious samples. 

Uppers and downers were in full swing at Thou Mayest! We sipped seasonal Peru drip brew upstairs, and a great coffee cocktail downstairs - house cold brew, Fernet-Branca, Luxardo Amaro, Cointreau, & simple syrup. 

We couldn't have asked for a better Spring KC Caffeine Crawl, and can't wait for the fall edition! Cheers to a city where the beverage scene keeps it coming ~ we're proud to call KC home.