Caffeine Crawl

So much fun for a cold Saturday morning! Looking forward to this years Crawl and maybe even visiting other cities for it as well!

This was a great event. Very informative about coffee making and learning about variances in the roasts and roasters. Some of the locations even had pairings for us to sample with the coffees which was a fantastic treat!

What a fun event! If you're interested in Indy's coffee scene this is a must do. 5-6 coffee shops on each route and lots of samples and knowledge. Check this out next year, you won't want to miss it!

What a fun morning/early afternoon of coffee tasting! We visited five different coffee shops and got to taste coffee, kombucha, coffee-infused drinks and taste little nibbles to go with the beverages. It was very nice, because it allowed me to visit some places that I had never been to.

We brought our kiddos along, and they were welcomed, which was nice. We also got a bag of swag and a Yelp mug for checking in!

I'm honestly not a coffee connoisseur but I enjoyed seeing all the local shops and learning about some new places. The owners of the businesses are so passionate and eager to teach you about what they do. Even better is that they all seem so supportive of each other and the different roasting and brewing styles. I didn't know much about the coffee business before attending the event and it definitely attracted coffee fans of varying backgrounds – home roasters to tea drinkers. Everyone was friendly and the event went off fairly seamlessly. The route took me to different sides of the city as well which was fun!

2nd crawl I've been on! Lots of fun! Looking forward to the next one. Got to check out local Indy coffee roasters

Wonderful experience. Learn so much about coffee roasting and brewing. Highly recommend.

This was a blast! Our first time, but we learned a lot and discovered new places we didn't know existed. We went on 2 different crawls this year, and will be back next year!

Quills Coffee, to me you stole the show. Thanks for being prepared with an awesome demonstration of aroma, flavor, body and education!

For the rest of this review, keep in mind that I'm not a coffee drinker. Yes, you red that correctly. I signed up for the Caffeine Crawl while not particularly liking coffee. Why, you ask? Because I work remotely and thought this was a great guided tour of 6 potential work-from spots. And I was right!

COFFEE FAVS (again, keeping in mind I don't like coffee):
BEE COFFEE ROASTERS: Not-barrel-aged
MILE SQUARE: Cold Brewed
GREAT AMERICAN DONUT: Stumptown
QUILL COFFEE: Kenya

I also feel compelled to RAVE about the General American Donut Co's take on the "Cronut". That s#*% it whack.

The Best Chocolate in Town also did a great job allowing us to taste a variety of samples! My all-time fav are the dark chocolate orange peels. Hands down.

WORK-FROM REVIEWS (Granted this isn't what this crawl was about, but I'm happy to share these thoughts):
HUBBARD & CRAVENS: Yes!!!
BEE: nope
ROCKET 88: seating with back support, outlets, parking – check!
GENERAL AMERICAN: nope
QUILLS: oh heck yes. SO glad to have found this gem. They even have reservable conference rooms!!

The coordinator Michael was friendly, efficient and a pleasure! Thanks for a great crawl! Now to go run a marathon after all that caffeine…

Third year for me and this time I went to the Friday evening crawl. Same awesome experience with a few new coffee shops. I couldn't do the daytime crawls this year due to scheduling conflicts but each stop was informative and tasty.

I had the pleasure recently to attend the second day of Kansas City's 2012 Caffeine Crawl. Even though I did not sleep that night, I will be sure to attend this event again in the future! I do not in any way claim to be a coffee snob, but I do enjoy and can usually tell when I have the delightful experience of enjoying quality coffee. The days festivities kicked off at The Lab. There we enjoyed coffee brewed in the Kyoto ( not sure if this is correct spelling for this specific type of brew) method. It takes upwards of 4-6 hours to brew and then needs at least 24 hours to set. We drank it cold with a nice ice cube and tons of flavor! We also learned about how to use simple home appliances to start doing some home roasting of our own…popcorn poppers aren't just for kernels anymore! We then moved on to The Roasterie where we learned about large scale roasting and how coffee prep all way back at the farm can change the flavors in coffee brewed right here in KC. Our bus then transported us to The Filling Station where we indulged in some coffee beers and some ridiculously, not on the market yet (sadly), coffee infused bourbons. Holy Coffee Beans! We were told we were the first test group on their fantastic product and I resoundingly say, "please do not keep this from us and please send this to retail!!!!!" Sorry, got worked up there.
Mud Pie delighted us with vegan options of lattes which were great. I will definitely be back for their chai with coconut milk. Onward to Quay Coffee, a new River Market haunt of mine, where we learned how to properly perform the all important pour-over and further indulged by munching on Farmhouse's french toast with creme fraiche. We then hauled it out to the JoCo to visit Revocup. The proprietor grew up on an Ethiopian coffee farm and knows the importance of realizing where your coffee comes from and who has worked to get it to you. He and wife shared a wonderful french press and a shot of espresso with all of us. Finally we finished at Latte Land on State Line. There we were educated on what espresso is and is not, how to appreciate the flavors and nuances of it, and how to pair it with a fruit or pastry.
It was a long and fun day that I intend on repeating. Though next time I plan on having a bit more self control with all of the free samples… or plan a movie marathon directly after. This event is a must do Kansas City original for anyone who likes or loves our little friend; the coffee bean!