Six-Stop Tour: Kansas City Coffee Shops

Autumn is the season for beloved pumpkin spice coffees and warm drinks. This month’s six-stop features the top six coffee shops in Kansas City chosen by KC Parent intern Iris Enna. And, for coffee aficionados... we added a bonus location this month for seven great coffee shops!

• Cafe Equinox at Family Tree Nursery Shawnee

  Café Equinox is a botanically inspired café nestled inside Family Tree Nursery's Shawnee location, where you can enjoy a wide range of Thou Mayest coffee drinks, local KC pastries, and more, while sitting amongst a tropical paradise in our cozy indoor seating. CafeEquinox.com

• Filling Station Coffee: OPKS

  Filling Station Coffee has three locations Midtown, Westport, and Overland Park. Each of them are unique but consistent in quality. They are all “coffee garages”, so they have a car/motor vehicle theme. They have partnered with Messenger Coffee to create a “stellar coffee experience” which I can certainly agree with. Along with coffee, they have breakfast and lunch (Midtown), fresh pressed juice (Midtown and Overland Park), and Ibis Bakery pastries (Midtown and Overland Park). Their Westport location has a drive thru for coffee on the go! Filling Station Coffee is my overall top choice because of the calm atmosphere, friendly baristas, and the quality, authentic coffee! They also serve my favorite vanilla latte!

• Filling Station Coffee: Westport

  The Westport location is a drive-thru, perfect for coffee on-the-go.

• Filling Station Coffee: Midtown

  Serving locally roasted Messenger Coffee, this is a great spot to grab food and coffee, or have a meeting.

• Cause Coffee

  Cause Coffee is located west of Kansas City in De Soto, KS. As you walk in, you immediately feel at home as the coffee shop is in an old house with wood floors, a fireplace, and kind baristas. Their menu is beautifully unique with drinks like a peach thyme latte, strawberry sage latte, and more. Cause Coffee is more than a coffee shop. They are making a change in this world! Cause is non-profit and “exists to make a positive difference in developing nations through education, clean water wells, food and disaster relief crisis, orphan care, anti human slavery and more”. Every dollar they make (after expenses) goes back to local and global needs. How incredible is that?! Cause Coffee is a beautiful coffee shop with a beautiful mission.

• Messenger Coffee Co.: Crossroads

  Messenger Coffee is the “queen” of Kansas City coffee. Located in the heart of KC, they have a three story cafe with rooftop seating. They have three other locations in the KCMO area, and their coffee is featured in 37 coffee shops and businesses around the country! They serve their own Messenger Coffee made from beans that are roasted in house. You can watch the bean roasting process on their second floor! They share space and are partnered with Ibis Bakery who makes high quality, delicious baked goods. My personal favorite is the “kouign amann” which is similar to a croissant layered with cinnamon sugar. Messenger is my go to suggestion for out of town visitors because of the impact they have had on coffee in Kansas City.

• Messenger Coffee Co.: Plaza

  Known for different varieties and processing techniques that impact the coffee’s flavor allowing natural variables to change the cup profile.

• Messenger Coffee Co.: West Plaza

  The Country Club Plaza location is an ideal meeting place in the heart of the city.

• Messenger Coffee Co.: KCI Airport

  Find Messenger Coffee at Concourse B at the new KCI Terminal

• Second Best Coffee: Waldo

  Second Best Coffee is located in Waldo and is an espresso-centric slow bar. They take coffee very seriously and consider it a craft. They brew everything by the cup, so you can be assured that your coffee will be fresh! Their specialty drinks are carefully and consciously thought of and made with precision. I always enjoy my beverage in house because of the quality and experience the drink brings! Don’t let the name confuse you- it is their commitment to “relentless improvement”. It is their way to “acknowledge and pledge that tomorrow's coffee will clearly make today's Second Best”. I chose Second Best for their specialty drinks and slow bar experience! 

• Second Best Coffee: Trailside

  The trailside location is a great pit-stop for bikers, runners, and walkers alike.

• Vested Coffee: Beacon HIll

  Vested Coffee has two locations: Vested Garment District Coffee (North Downtown Kansas City) and Vested Beacon Hill Coffee (in a 1950s Airstream camper by Hospital Hill). Vested Coffee offers a unique experience as they are proud to serve Onyx Coffee Lab. Onyx has been voted one of the best coffee shops in the states by Food Network! The owners of Vested Coffee had visited and agreed, so they decided to bring it to KC! Both locations are cozy and welcoming. The Airstream camper is cool and impressive! I chose Vested Coffee because they offer Onyx Coffee Lab right in our hometown.

• Vested Coffee: Garment District

  Vested Coffee in Kansas City is a family-operated company devoted to serving amazing coffee and providing an incredible experience to those who visit their coffee shops.

• Sway Coffee Roasters

  Sway Coffee Roasters is the newest coffee shop I have been to. It comes from the same people behind McLain’s Bakery + Markets. In 2022, they opened their “flagship roasting space and cafe” in Kansas City, KS. They roast their beans in house which is used at coffee shops in the KC Metro Area as well as the coffee shop that I work at in Manhattan, KS, Bluestem Bistro! Their coffee offers a special taste and is unlike others in the area. I chose Sway Coffee Roaster because of the outstanding taste of their coffee, the design of their shop, and having the best vanilla cold brew!