3 Coffee Shops You Need to Visit in Kansas City • jenn patrice

Any time I’m planning a trip, the first thing I do is Google cute coffee shops. I can’t help it, I take my coffee aesthetic very seriously! Some of the things that I look for are coffee quality (small-batch roasted or organic are preferred), interior decor (don’t judge me – taking IG worthy pics makes me happy), and food options.

Let me tell you, Kansas City did not disappoint!

Thou Mayest

“Thou Mayest” means life is a journey. I couldn’t agree more! They believe that while there are many aspects of life that we can’t control, we can choose our attitude in response to those experiences. As a cancer survivor, this really hit home for me. I can’t control whether or not my cancer comes back but I do get to choose how I show up in the world every day.

Thou Mayest is all about small-batch roasting and believes in slowing down to ensure excellence is served in every cup. Of all the coffee I had in Kansas City, they had the best tasting beans. My mom talked about their coffee for a week after our trip and compared every cup of coffee she tasted to theirs. She said it was even better than her favorite coffee shop in Minneapolis!

We were staying by the River Market neighborhood so we visited the River Quay location who also has fresh pastries from Heirloom Bakery & Hearth delivered most days. I had a lavender latte with oat milk and a homemade pop tart. I really wanted to try the Pollinated Lavender Latte from their seasonal menu but I occasionally suffer from allergies and didn’t want to risk it. In addition to coffee, tea and pastries, Thou Mayest also has cocktails, beer and a cereal bar!

I highly recommend going early or off-peak hours as this is a popular destination, especially on the weekend! We got there just before 9am on Saturday and grabbed a table. By the time we finished ordering, it was already getting packed!

lavender latte and homemade pop tart from heirloom bakery & hearth

Made in KC Cafe

Coffee and shopping are two of my favorite things so you know I loved this place! Made in KC originally started as a retail pop up shop in 2015, featuring just 14 local artists. In 2017, they opened their cafe as a sister store to their original company, making it easy to discover local makers while grabbing your morning coffee! Today, they feature hundreds of creators local to KC in 10 shops across the KC metro and have 6 cafes serving up coffee and local goods.

Since we were staying near River Market, we were just a few minutes from the Made in KC trolley location! Since this location is in an old trolley that’s no longer in service, it is a smaller cafe but they still had the cutest gifts and plenty of pastry options inside. They also had a little patio built in the front to add additional seating. This stop was definitely my favorite for location due to the novelty of having a fully functioning cafe in a trolley car. It’s also only about a block from City Market so perfect for grabbing a cup of coffee before doing a little market shopping.

The Made in KC Cafe also offers wine, cocktails and spirits in addition to coffee and tea. Since we were on our way to the City Market, we didn’t get any food or pastries but they looked amazing! I had a lavender honey latte with oat milk but definitely want to try the Cereal Milk latte next time I visit! I will also be going when I have time to sit at one of the cute little booths inside the trolley or people watch on the patio.

Mildred’s

Mildred’s is a family-owned restaurant and won the Food Network’s “Best Breakfast Sandwich” award! While they have a more extensive menu and are more of a cafe than coffee shop, they were so good I had to include them in this list.

Not knowing about the Food Network award, I actually ordered a breakfast sandwich and it was goooooooood. I got the Standard Sandwich on sourdough and a chai tea latte with almond milk. My mom also got the Standard Sandwich (she ate the bacon from mine too haha) only she got hers on Ciabatta and we both agree it was one of the best breakfast sandwiches we’d ever had. Their secret is that they flash steam their eggs! They actually have two espresso machines in their kitchen: one for coffee and one dedicated to steaming eggs!! We were only planning on a quick stop to grab a coffee to-go on our way out of the city but decided to stay once we got inside. The service was incredible and you could tell the people working there really cared about their customers and took the time to get to know their regulars well!

This was probably my favorite coffee stop in terms of food! I didn’t find as many vegan/vegetarian options as I usually do in the Twin Cities but that might have more to do with the type of places we were visiting than the food scene in Kansas City as a whole. I was really excited to see vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options on Mildred’s menu and even went back through the line to get some pastries for the ride back home to Minnesota/Wisconsin.