Top 10 ~ Part 1 of 3 in the Windy City

All the action that took place in Chicago is too much for one Top 10 Tuesday. Did we sleep? We'll never tell. Due to the amount of memorable stops, we have divided it up in 3 different lists, not in any order, and Word Wednesday will resume next week.

~ A Crawl in our biggest city yet, and downtime at some of the other best drink spots. ~ 

Passion House Coffee Roasters welcomed us to their unique roasting space with smiles and the smell of roasting coffee. We kicked off our time with a quick exercise that got us moving and awake, even before the coffee! We gathered around a table filled with dishes holding fruits, chocolate, nuts and spices, and were invited to smell and sample in preparation for tasting a geisha coffee, brewed via Chemex (shown above). - Sadie 

We arrived by train and plane, and once we finally met up we had to pick a good beer bar with good eats, so Hopleaf it was. Rounds of different plates paired with beers from Three Floyds, Maine Beer Co., Ommegang, The Bruery, and Stone. Jason considers this a must stop. - the team

Asado Coffee Roasters did a great job kicking off multiple routes and explaining their pretense-free approach to great coffee. We tasted "Tokyo style" Tanzania pourovers and iced coffee and asked questions - Conor and Jason were happy to answer. - Sadie 

I always get inspired by Crawl stops that are next to the water, and Metropolis Coffee is literally blocks away from Lake Michigan. Justin presented on Toddy versus Kyoto-style brews, and covered geekiness with total dissolved solids in an approachable way. Metropolis has an impressive Kyoto set-up. - Jason

Taylor and Jordan of SPIRIT Tea have attended a few recent Caffeine Crawls, but this was their first time as a stop. They appropriately set up a pop-up at the St. Boniface Cemetery, and served 4 of their teas, hot and cold. Some flavor notes that rocked our tastebuds. - Jason 

Heritage Outpost has a cool spot that's nice, and private for the residence of the building. Heritage offers Intelligentsia Coffee, and served brews of their Columbia hot, and espresso as a cold brew for us on the Crawl. - Jason

At Ipsento, we crowded into the cozy shop for first hand observation of Nitro Coffee on tap. Taking our tasters to the sidewalk patio, we learned about the Nitro tap tricycles they'll soon be peddling through the streets of Chicago. Exciting and delicious! - Sadie 

It has been a while since we've had a decaf on the Caffeine Crawl, and Awake Cafe surprised us by brewing a really good cup of, get this, decaf! It was an organic and Royal Water Processed blend from Metropolis. Don't knock the decafs, because some roasters are doing it right. - Jason

Sadie and Jason needed to wind down after two big days of Crawlin'. We met our friends at Midwest Coffee Trading for lunch at Revolution Brewing. Midwest grabbed a few Revolution brews, and we had a Spiteful Brewing and Central Waters to go with a much needed meal. - Sadie and Jason

Gathering in the chic space of Katherine Anne Confections meant soaking up sweet, delicious aromas. On Thursday, we sipped frozen hot chocolate to complement the warm, sunny weather, and Friday warranted tastings of several varieties of  hot chocolate, complete with house made marshmallows, toasted to perfection. - Sadie 

Check back tomorrow...there's more to come! 

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