#62 – Roasterie Coffee Tour
1204 W 27th St, Kansas City, MO 64108
Cost: Free
Atmosphere: Energized, loud
Features: Cafe, free samples, Insta worthy views.
Good for: Getting your caffeine fix.
Tip: Book your tour in advance to ensure your spot.
The Roasterie is a favorite Kansas City coffee roaster with a handful of locations around the metro. Enjoy The Roasterie’s $5 public tours daily at their Southwest Boulevard location, near the Boulevard Beer Hall.
The Roasterie History
Like many American coffee roasters, The Roasterie was inspired by a trip to Central America. After visiting Costa Rica, founder Danny O’Neill started The Roasterie in his basement. He decided to partner directly with farmers and pay above-market values to get the best coffee beans available. Today, The Roasterie still partners with farmers from 28 different coffee-growing countries. By doing this, the farmers get higher prices and The Roasterie receives the highest quality coffee beans.
Unlike many roasters that use a traditional drum-roasting method, The Roasterie uses a convection air-roasting method, roasting richer yet cleaner, smoother coffee. They produce 1 million pounds of specialty coffee annually that can be found in grocery stores and restaurants around greater Kansas City. They also offer a subscription-based service, so you can get your favorite blends delivered directly to your home.
There are eight Roasterie cafes around the Kansas City metro, but their largest location is in the heart of Kansas City, and you won’t miss it. Paying heritage to their signature mark, the main Roasterie location features a huge DC-3 Aircraft, flying above their store.
About the Roasterie Tours
The Roasterie tour was super informative about growing and harvesting coffee beans, the company’s history, their air-roasting process and the different blends they produce. The hour-long tours can include up to 50 people, but on our mid-Saturday tour, there were about 35.
Some of the best facts we learned on the tour:
- 99 percent of the coffee roasted in the world is drum roasted, but the other 1 percent, including the Roasterie, uses air roasting. This method is said to give a more even roast, bringing out flavors of the bean.
- Danny O’Neill started off by pushing a coffee cart through KU Medical Center. He would work and roast for 21 hours a day, drinking 25 cups of coffee to survive.
- Coffee beans come from cherries, and can be used for cocktails and tea. The caffeinated fruit tastes like a mix between a raspberry and pomegranate.
My favorite part of the Roasterie tour is the samples. At the end of the tour, everyone gets a sample of the Roasterie’s Cold Brew or Nitro Cold Brew and a mini souvenir glass. Our tour guide also did two demos for brewing coffee – French press and pour over. By the end, everyone is well-caffeinated.
From the Roasterie tours, to the coffee to the Food Truck Brunch events, I cannot recommend stopping by The Roasterie enough. xx, Libbie.
