Features
The Coffee Shops and Roasters Leading Springfield’s Caffeinated Love Affair
With caramel-laced frappes oozing with sugary sweetness and strong shots of creamy espresso, coffee is alive and well in 417-land. Read on to learn about the roasters and coffee shops that are leading Springfield’s caffeinated love affair.
By Ettie Berneking | Photography by Vivian Wheeler | Illustration by Heather Kane
Jan 2017
The coffee scene in Springfield is as robust as most of the drip coffees brewed around town, but each cafe serves its own twist to the classic cup of Joe. Some are sleepy getaways where bookworms can hide from the world for a few hours. Others are bustling with activity or hosting coffee education seminars. It might seem like this coffee renaissance popped up overnight, but it’s been percolating for many years thanks to roasters and cafe owners who have dedicated their time to brewing, roasting and serving quality coffee. They’ve carefully selected their beans, invested in equipment and put forward a great product. As new coffee shops continue to put down roots in Springfield, we turned to three roasters and cafes that offer a distinctly different take on Springfield’s coffee obsession to learn why they chose to set up shop in the Queen City.
The Geeks
CHEMISTRY CLASS: Cold brewing with a drip tower is one of the many techniques baristas employ to make coffee at Brick & Mortar Coffee.
If you ever hear Jonathan Putnam, owner of Brick & Mortar Coffee (1666 E. St. Louis St., Springfield, 417-812-6539, brickandmortarcoffee.com), talk about the third or fourth wave, don’t be fooled. He’s not talking about time-release coffee, although that would be glorious. He’s talking about the class of coffee shops dubbed third wave, which focus on the handcrafted cup of java. Since launching Brick & Mortar in 2014, Putnam and his team of knowledgeable baristas have hosted their fair share of community events, cupping sessions, food pairings and seminars all aimed at one thing: gathering a community around coffee and inviting that community to join the wave.
Here, coffee is stripped down to its purest form. There’s no cream, no sugar, no smoothies, no food, nothing. You won’t even find WiFi here. What you will find is an incredible cup of coffee and baristas eager to share their knowledge. Coffee neophytes who want to up their game can attend one of the shop’s weekly cuppings on Saturdays at 1 p.m.
“We stylized this like the experience you would get in a brewery or a winery,” Putnam explains. “We are community-focused and education-focused and strive for craftsmanship to showcase what we’re all about.” And what the team here is all about is geeking out on coffee. Pouring the perfect cup of coffee includes using the microscope and refractometer they store in a cabinet behind the slow bar. A cartado isn’t just a shrunk down latte. Oh no! As Bar Director Jordan Beever will tell you, a cortado is a one-to-one ratio of milk and espresso that’s steamed to a cooler temperature of 120 degrees. The ratio gives you a stronger brew, and the lower temperature breaks down the complex sugars for a more natural sweetness.
Predominantly a roasting house that supplies local businesses and restaurants with coffee, Brick & Mortar focuses mostly on lighter, third wave, Nordic-style roasts. “In roasting, two main things play into flavor: time and temperature,” Putnam explains. “If you roast coffee for 20 minutes to reach 400 degrees, it will taste a lot different than a coffee roasted to 400 degrees in 10 minutes. How you get there is just as important as where you’re going.”
The same can be said for the success of Brick & Mortar, which Putnam credits to a dedicated group of coffee shop owners who helped lay the groundwork for Springfield’s thriving coffee culture. “I love it here,” he says. “I would swear by Springfield. You couldn’t do this in a small town. The hard work has already been done here in terms of education, and I’m so thankful to shops like Mudhouse and the Ethic for putting a stake in the ground and for changing the coffee game progressively. Each coffee shop after them has put their own take on Springfield coffee, and we’re all politely and collaboratively competitive. It’s a beautiful culture, and you couldn’t ask for a better town to do coffee in.”
The Dreamers
Karen and Justin Beiler have turned their passion for coffee into a business.
Despite the fact that Karen grew up in Tokyo and Justin grew up in Vienna, both seem right at home in Springfield. What’s more surprising is the couple seems shockingly stress-free about their business, Eurasia Coffee & Tea (445 E. Commercial St., Springfield, 417-720-1949, eurasiacoffeeandtea.com), which opened its C-Street location in 2015. In 2016, Justin and Karen Beiler opened the Culture Boutique Hotel that connects to their C-Street coffee shop. Even with rain flooding the basement at Eurasia, the couple is all smiles. “We love C-Street so much, we live on the other end,” Karen says. Before opening a coffee shop of their own, Justin was busy selling wholesale coffee nationally and spent six weeks traveling across the country and making deliveries out of a van.
"We love C-Street so much, we live on the other end."—Karen Beiler
In the business’s early days, he would drive down C-Street every day and watch the number of once-vacant shops return to life. “I saw all the rundown buildings, but I also saw all the potential,” he says. When the opportunity came to purchase the vacant corner building across from Askinosie Chocolate, Justin didn’t wait, and in 2011, the building was his—but so was the long list of construction work needed to bring the building up to code. “At one point you could stand up on the second floor and look down into the basement,” Justin says. “The bones were good, but there was a lot of neglect over the years.”
By 2015 the building was refurbished, and Eurasia Coffee & Tea was open for business. With a large front window that lets in plenty of natural light and an impressive espresso bar and spacious wooden booths, the coffee shop is immediately inviting, much like Justin and Karen, who dedicate 10 percent of their sales to social justice needs like slavery, education, healthcare and poverty. In the fourth quarter of 2015, that 10 percent went back to a girls’ home in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and this month, Justin and Karen are supporting a vocational center in Calcutta.
SUNNY SIDE: Brick walls, hardwood floors and big windows create a warm and inviting environment.
After visiting coffee and tea farms in Eurasia (the couple imports tea from Sri Lanka), Justin and Karen tailored their food menu to have international flair. The coffee menu is much the same with lattes topped with chopped pistachios and lava salt and seasonal favorites including the creamy affogato getting a pumpkin makeover. Even a true classic like the apple cider is spiced up with crystallized ginger.
PUMP IT UP: A pumpkin-spiced affogato is a favorite.
Not even two years old, Eurasia Coffee is making its mark on C-Street, and Justin and Karen already have plans to start roasting coffee in-house. If Justin gets his way, the small back corner of the shop will soon be called the Roasting Arena.
The Rockers
MASTER CRAFTSMAN: Barista Jonathan Mizer makes a latte.
Next time you order a “Dirty White Boy”—a song by Foreigner, and a white chocolate and cocoa latte from Classic Rock Coffee (1900 W. Sunset St., Springfield, 417-881-7625, classicrockcoffee.com)—stop and listen to the music cranked out through the overhead speakers. Each AC/DC and Led Zeppelin song you’re rocking out to is also streamed at Classic Rock Coffee shops around the world from Abuja, Nigeria, to Dhaka, Bangladesh. The shop might have started in Springfield, but it’s quickly gone global with franchises in Nigeria, Qatar, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and more stores are in the works in eight U.S. states. The shop’s key to success is its eagerness to amp it up.
From the front, Classic Rock looks like any other coffee shop until you walk inside. Guitars hang from the walls, which are painted black, and purple and orange lightbulbs cast an edgy glow over the tattooed, dyed-haired baristas pouring shots of espresso as Neil Young streams through the speakers.
“To be honest, I wasn’t really a coffee person,” says Classic Rock President Kent Morrison, who thought of the idea to pair classic rock music with the burgeoning coffee house scene. “A lot of big chains feel the same, like a library,” he says. “But in reality, people drink coffee to wake up, so the coffee shop should have energy.”
BEAN SCENE: Mason Jones roasts a fresh batch of coffee beans.
Coming up with the classic rock concept and drink names was admittedly Morrison’s favorite part, and he created a menu with names of famous songs. Customers can order Atomic
Punk espresso, Cold Shot cold brew, Back in Black bold blend and Barracuda Bite medium roast, to name a few. With his concept nailed down, Morrison hired a roaster and opened the coffee shop at the corner of Sunset Street and Kansas Expressway—a seemingly odd location for a coffee shop considering the lack of foot traffic and distance from downtown. But what you can’t see from the front of the shop is the 20,000-square-foot warehouse it’s attached to. Morrison, who also owns Shake This, a protein and smoothie bar company, ships 28,000 pounds of protein powder a month. The extra space allowed Morrison and his team to add an in-house coffee roaster that can handle 50 pounds of beans at a time and 20,000 pounds each month. The 25-kilo roaster is large enough to fill the long list of orders while allowing the roasting team to adjust the temperature, airflow and roast of the bean to ensure each coffee reaches its optimal flavor profile.
Three years ago, Classic Rock Coffee began franchising. “We get four to five inquires a day from around the world,” says Brett Payne, director of franchise operations. “Most of the world understands the notion of classic rock music. For instance, in Islamabad, Pakistan, where our first franchise store was, we thought they wouldn’t know anything about classic rock, but they had a very deep understanding.”
Brett Payne and Kent Morrison run Classic Rock Coffee together.
Since franchising, Morrison and Payne have traveled the globe to check in on recently opened locations, and it’s not lost on them that their home base is in a city most people have never heard of. “We love it here,” Morrison says. “This is our home.”
The Best Sips of Joe
Our local coffee shops all offer incredible drinks and have interesting backstories to boot. Read about some of the tastiest local coffee drinks here.
THE COFFEE ETHIC
124 Park Central Square, Springfield, 417-866-6645
What to order: Cappuccino
DANCING MULE
1945 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, 417-883-5114
What to order: Honey latte
BIG MOMMA’S COFFEE & ESPRESSO
217 E. Commercial St., Springfield, 417-865-9911
What to order: Pumpkin King latte
MUDHOUSE
323 South Ave., Springfield, 417-832-1720
What to order: A growler of iced coffee
KINGDOM COFFEE
211 S. Market Ave., Springfield, 417-350-1234
What to order: A stellar seasonal drink
ARCHITECT COFFEE CO.
1604 E. Republic Road,Springfield, 417-771-5030
What to order: The Architect latte
JOPLIN AVENUE COFFEE COMPANY
506 S. Joplin Ave., Joplin, 417-483-5558
What to order: Bulletproof coffee
VINTAGE PARIS
260 Birdcage Walk, Hollister, 417-593-7952
What to order: A classic latte
Local Roasts
House Blend
Why You Need to Try It:
Don’t be fooled by its lackluster name. House Blend is a robust mix of Brazilian and Guatemalan beans that provides a mouthful of chocolate and caramel notes with a hint of citrus. This blend is best enjoyed as a pour over, so bring your water temperature to 200 degrees and measure out 14 to 15 grams of coffee per cup. After that, it’s time to taste test.
Where to Get It:
The Coffee Ethic (124 Park Central Square, Springfield, 417-866-6645) is a coffee-purist’s dream thanks to the scaled-down menu. But even total novices are welcomed with open arms.
Columbian
Why You Need to Try It:
Although Mudhouse offers a slew of great coffees that change throughout the year, the Colombian is a tried-and-true favorite. Bonus: It’s a great entry point into coffee with its mellow acidity and sweet notes of caramel. Pick up a French press, boil some water, and start your coffee experience the right way.
Where to Get It:
Mudhouse Coffee (323 South Ave., Springfield, 417-832-1720) has long been a part of downtown Springfield’s coffee scene, but the real operation happens over on Patton Avenue where the shop runs its roastery. Peek in the window to catch some of the action before grinding beans at home. Take notes! The baristas at Mudhouse are here to help you navigate your journey into coffee.
Atomic Punk Espresso Blend
Why You Need to Try It:
Medium in roast but full in flavor, this espresso blend is dark and chocolatey with notes of strawberry and clove woven throughout.
Where to Get It:
Classic Rock Coffee Co. (1900 W. Sunset St., Springfield, 417-881-7625) on the west side of Springfield will pour you a shot of espresso to kick-start your day. Grab a seat at the bar and let the thudding of AC/DC rock you awake.
Porchview Blend
Why You Need to Try It:
Ozark Mountain Coffee Co. has several blends that are worth trying, but the Porchview Blend is, as one of the owners puts it, “true to our Midwest roots.” This three-bean blend of Indonesian, Sumatran and Guatemalan beans is a robust medium blend with a mellow mix of earthy and chocolate notes that become even more chocolate-forward as your cup of coffee cools.
Where to Get It:
Ozark Mountain Coffee Co. (4082 N. 20th St., Ozark, 417-485-5550), has been family-owned and -operated since 1994 and roasts beans from 13 countries of origin. Its house-roasted blends are shipped across the Midwest to restaurants, tea rooms, shops and individuals. It’s also the coffee served at Aviary in Springfield.
Monsooned Malabar
Why You Need to Try It:
As the story goes, this funky bean got its name back in the 19th century as coffee beans from India were shipped overseas. The raw beans were exposed to wind and rain, which affected the flavor and size of the coffee bean. Instead of green, compact beans, these swelled in size and became bone white. The beans were flawed in almost every aspect except one: flavor. Today, Indian coffee farms replicate the process by storing the beans outside where they endure heavy rains and wind. The result is a unique flavor with a mellow acidity and notes of rich spices. Enjoy this roast as a drip coffee in the morning along with a warm mushroom omelet. Those mellow fungi will help highlight the earthy flavor of the malabar.
Where to Get It:
Eurasia Coffee & Tea (445 E. Commercial St., Springfield, 417-720-1949) is here to please your palate with some unexpected flavors. Thanks to its Eurasian-inspired small plates menu and its coffee and beverage offerings including the rosewater latte, your taste buds are in for a treat.
Mexico Chiapas
Why You Need to Try It:
This medium roast has almost no acidity, which means the smooth nutty flavors flow seamlessly into rich notes of chocolate. Low acidity and a balanced body make this roast great for nearly every brew method from cold brew to espresso.
Where to Get It:
Cottage Small Coffee Roasters (110 E. Fourth St., Carthage) is, as its name suggests, a small-batch coffee roastery. The husband-and-wife team running the operation provides its beans at the Webb City Farmers Market, at the Carthage Antiquarium and at the specialty food store, Annie’s, on the square in Carthage. Better yet, you can order beans directly from Cottage Small Coffee Roasters’ Facebook.
Tanzania Peaberry
Why You Need to Try It:
Before you start prepping your cup of Tanzania, you first need to ogle the beans themselves. Smaller and rounder than your regular coffee bean, these tiny bundles of joy are full of juicy flavor. Brew a French press and enjoy the notes of blackcurrant and chocolate.
Where to Get It:
Copper Canyon Coffee Roasters (4241 W. Third St., Battlefield, 417-315-8633) roasts its beans in small batches before packaging them up and shipping them across the U.S. You can stop in the store or order your beans online.
Ampersand Blend
Why You Need to Try It:
Smooth and balanced with rich chocolaty notes paired with a slight shimmer of acidity, this blend is always available on the slow bar and as an espresso at Brick & Mortar Coffee. Next time Saturday rolls around, pull out the French press and let the full-immersion brew method pull out the balanced flavor of
this blend.
Where to Get It:
Brick & Mortar Coffee (1666 E. Saint Louis St., Springfield, 417-812-6539) is all about sharing its coffee acumen. So grab a seat at the bar, order a pour over and get to know the baristas. They will have you brewing the perfect cup at home in no time.
