KC Perky

First off, remember the old Habitat shoe store on 18th, just a stone’s throw from YJ’s and around the block from Mildred’s?  They’re looking to put a coffee shop in there.  Don’t ask me.  But anyways, they’re doing market research.  Go tell them what you want in a shop there with this survey. [via]

In old news, Danny O’Neil of The Roastarie is one of the best coffee tasters in the nation.  Its true, the internet says so.  All that aside, I’ve been meaning to go tour the facilities of The Roastarie.  They have tours every Saturday at 9AM.  Its true, the internet says so.  I was thinking about organizing a KC Perky outing to go tour together.  Are any of the readers of this blog interested in meeting other coffee-minded people to go take this tour?  Shout back in the comments.

I always have trouble writing about a coffee shop I visit a lot.  I fear that my frequency has biased my opinions on a shop, that the good times with friends had there affect my opinions of the character of the shop itself.  I’ve finally come to realize, that’s OK.  As noted in the post Roman Coffee Shops, community is just as important as the other three axis of coffee (those being coffee quality, service, and atmosphere).  So with no further ado, …

(more…)

In a jealous attempt to keep up with this blog, the Coffee Map is back now too and getting better than it ever was before.  As you will see, it is now going to show if the shop has WiFi available for customers.  If you know a place to have WiFi and I don’t have it marked as such yet on the map, let me know, I’ll get it corrected.  The map now also has some tea listings!  We’ll get more as Karen gets rolling.  While I’m feeling ambitious, are there any other map-related requests any of you have?

What is a coffee shop at its core?

• Is it a place to get good drinks?  Yes.
• Is it a place to read, study, or work?  Yes. (…and you’re getting closer to the mark here…)
• Is it a place to socialize?  Yes.

Its no surprise that when AXE classified KC as THE worst city in America for singles, coffee shops were one of their measurements (among many):

“Cities that are home to the least number of coffee shops per capita leave few good places for young people to converge and trade stories after a fun night out”

(more…)