The Best Coffeeshops in Springfield (And How We Decide)

Most people who know me and Josiah very well know that we are pretty opinionated when it comes to coffee. We know what we like, and what we like is very specific. Every morning, we both drink a latte. I prefer a plain latte, and Josiah likes a vanilla latte. Josiah usually makes them because at this point he’s better at pouring them than I am, and for us, the difference in skill results in a noticeable difference in taste.

We also really enjoy going to our favorite local coffeeshops, and later in this article I’ll share which we think are the best coffeeshops in Springfield, Missouri.

How We Choose a Coffeeshop When Traveling

One of our favorite things to do when we travel is visit local coffeeshops in new places. Actually, it’s not just that we like visiting new coffeeshops…if it were up to us, we’d just teleport our favorite Springfield coffeeshop to every city we visit. But when we are traveling and don’t have our espresso machine with us, finding a good coffeeshop is essential so we can enjoy our morning latte. We also don’t particularly care whether the coffeeshop is local or a franchise, but the ones we like best tend to be locally owned.

So how do we choose a good coffeeshop when we are in a new city? Here’s our process:

1. First, we open Google Maps on our phone and type in “coffeeshop near me” or “coffee roater near me.” (In small towns that don’t have many coffee options, we go with “coffeeshop”. In large cities with lots of coffeeshops, we type in “coffee roaster” because the ones we like tend to roast their own beans.)
2. Next, we look at the images. Pictures more than words help us find what we are looking for, which is a third wave coffeeshop. What’s a third wave coffeeshop, you ask? Keep reading and I’ll explain, and I’ll also explain what we are looking for when we look at the pictures.
3. We check the menu. There are a few key indicators on the menu that we’re looking for.
4. Finally, we read the reviews, just to cross check. However, we realize reviews may be written by people who don’t share our coffeeshop standards, so we keep this in mind while reading reviews.

Types of Coffee Shops

The terms “third-wave coffee” and “second-wave coffee” are borrowed from similar terms for the various “wave” of the feminist movement. What we’re really talking about are coffee trends, and what consumers were looking for at various periods in history. Here’s a breakdown:

First-Wave Coffee

Talking about “second wave” or “third wave” implies a first wave. Even though nobody would have called it that all the time, “first wave” coffee connoisseurs are the coffee-lovers we knew in the 80’s and 90’s, like my grandparents, who always bought the same giant can of Folgers and drank it black or with a little cream and sugar, often having several cups per day. First wave coffee was all about familiarity, consistency, and affordability.

You can still find first-wave coffee in diners and truck stops all over the U.S.

What is a Second-Wave Coffee Shop?

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, “gourmet” coffee and dessert-like coffee drinks with creative flavor combinations became wildly popular. Starbucks is the most well-known example of a second-wave coffeeshop, and after they opened their stores all over the world, many local coffeeshops serving a similar style of coffee sprang up as well.

I loved this type of coffee when I was in college. At the time, I preferred the flavors of the syrups to the taste of the coffee. I loved ordering a sweet, frozen, blended coffee drink as a treat to sip on while studying between classes.

Characteristics of a second-wave coffeeshop include:

• An extensive menu of creative flavor combinations for lattes and frappucinos.
• Coffee drinks topped with whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate or caramel syrup.
• A shelf filled with dozens of Torani or Monin flavor syrups is the chief characteristic of a second-wave coffeeshop.
• Colorful, eclectic or themed decor, and perhaps antique or vintage furniture.

Coffee Served at Second-Wave Coffee Shop

So far I’ve talked a lot about sweet drinks, but many people who like second-wave coffee shops prefer to drink drip coffee, and second-wave coffee shops usually describe their beans according to the way they’re roasted (such as “dark roast”) or the country they’re from such as “Colombian” or “Sumatran.” The roasts tend to be darker (Starbucks is the most extreme example…to me their coffee tastes burnt), and sometimes the coffee has added “gourmet” flavorings.

Best Coffee Shops in Springfield for Second-Wave Coffee Fans

If everything I’ve described so far sounds like exactly what you want when you go out for coffee, these are the places you would enjoy visiting in our hometown of Springfield, Missouri:

• The Mudhouse – A long-time staple of downtown Springfield and one of the first coffee shops in town to serve an extensive menu of sweet frozen coffee drinks. They do roast their own beans, and their quality and consistency is top-notch. They also have smoothies, sandwiches, and bakery items, as well as the best selection of loose-leaf tea of any coffeeshop in town. The Mudhouse is a favorite hangout of local college students and is open in the evening as well as during the day.
• Big Momma’s – Located on historic Commercial Street, Big Momma’s is another Springfield classic. In addition to coffee drinks, they serve sandwiches and other lunch-type items. They have a large back room with plenty of seating, making it easy to find a table at any time of day.
• Classic Rock Coffee – A popular coffee shop on the west side of town that serves protein shakes in addition to coffee and has classic rock music playing at all times. (To be honest, the music is the number one reason I never go there, but for some it is the main appeal.) There are now Classic Rock Coffee locations in several U.S. cities, but the franchise’s first location was and still is in Springfield, Missouri.

What is a Third-Wave Coffee Shop?

By now you can probably tell that Josiah and I prefer third-wave coffeeshops. (In fact, all of the characteristics of second-wave coffeeshops I listed are things we look for in pictures on Google images so we can know which places to avoid.) The reason we don’t care for that style of coffee is that while we LOVE lattes, we DON’T love overly sweet, artificially flavored lattes.

For us, what makes a latte good is how it’s made, not which flavors are added, and we find that baristas at second-wave coffeeshops are typically not trained to pull their shots of espresso and pour their lattes with the same attention to detail that results in a consistently delicious latte.

So that brings me to third-wave coffee.

Third-wave coffee is all about letting the quality of the coffee itself shine through. The beans are typically single-origin, meaning each batch comes from a single farm (in a fair-trade partnership), of highest quality, and roasted minimally so that the flavors are highlighted, rather than “incinerated,” as one food critic put it.

At a third-wave coffee shop, pulling a shot of espresso is an exact science, involving weighing the beans with a gram scale, grinding them to a precise consistency that allows the hot water to pass through them at the ideal rate.

Making a latte then involves frothing the milk with careful attention to temperature and texture, and pouring the milk into the espresso so that the foam blends with the espresso instead of floating on top. “Latte art” is the hallmark of a well-made latte, but it’s not purely aesthetic; it’s an indicator of the level of skill and care that went into it.

What we look for in pictures to identify a third-wave coffee shop:

• Lattes topped with latte art, not whipped cream (which can hide a bad milk frothing job)
• An expensive, high quality espresso machine, such as La Marzocco
• Other “scientific” coffee extracting equipment, such as pour-over beakers
• A minimalistic coffee menu with drinks distinguished by the proportion of milk to espresso (latte, cappuccino, cortado, etc.) and flavors listed as optional add-ins
• Syrups for flavored lattes are house-made simple syrup infusions with no preservatives or artificial flavors
• Aesthetically, most third-wave coffee shops tend to be in an old building with modern industrial decor, OR if they are in a new building they typically have modern Scandinavian style decor. I didn’t make the rule; this is just my observation!

Our Favorite Coffee Shops in Springfield

Here is the definitive list of the best our favorite coffee shops in Springfield, all of which we would consider third-wave.

1. The Coffee Ethic – Coffee Ethic is our favorite. We like it because it is one of the most consistent coffee shops we’ve ever been to. Consistency is one of the hardest things for coffee shops to get right…so often the quality depends on which barista made your drink. But Coffee Ethic works really hard to deliver a consistent experience, requiring their baristas to train for weeks before serving their first latte to a customer. We also really like the vibe and have spent many hours there working and planning world domination, even if they do freeze us out sometimes in the summer (we think this might be intentional).
2. Kingdom Coffee – Kingdom is our second favorite. To be honest, I like the taste of their espresso a bit more, but for some reason we like the environment just a bit less for working, and the lattes can be a bit more inconsistent (though they are usually still pretty good), so for those reasons Coffee Ethic is our go-to, but Kingdom downtown is our backup option, and Kingdom on Lone Pine in South Springfield is somewhere we often go for an afternoon pick-me-up while doing errands in that part of town.
3. Architect Coffee Co. – Architect is our South Springfield go-to. The vibe there is VERY different from Coffee Ethic. Whereas Coffee Ethic tends to draw an eclectic crowd of hipsters, college students, and artsy types, nearly everyone at Architect seems to be there for a business meeting. However, the drinks are good and consistent.
4. Echelon Coffee – Echelon is my favorite coffee shop in North Springfield. For some reason Josiah doesn’t like it as much as I do, but I think if we were to find it in a different city he would be perfectly happy with it. I think he’s just spoiled because Springfield has so many good coffee shops.

Honorable mention: Brick and Mortar Coffee Co. – I can’t put this one on my list of best coffee shops because the environment isn’t great for me for working or for meeting a friend (seating consists of a bar or a giant shared table) and because service is slow even though there are only ever 2 or 3 people there at a time. Also, I’ve known multiple people who claim to have been scorned for requesting things like cream and sugar or “dark roast.” In spite of all that, I still like to go there every now in then because their lattes are extremely well made. Every time I go there I’m reminded of this video:

Coffee Shops We Like in Other Cities

We’ve visited quite a few coffee shops while traveling. Usually when we find one we like we end up visiting it several times. I’m going to do my best to recall some of the coffee shops we’ve really liked in other cities, and I’ll add to this list over time.

Kansas City Coffeeshops We Like

• Goat Hill – Currently our favorite coffee shop in Kansas City. We always make a point to stop in whenever we’re in town.
• PT’s at the Crossroads – When we lived in Kansas City I used to go here several times a week after yoga class.
• Parisi Cafe – Josiah especially liked this one. He often went to the Lenexa location before work. The one inside Union Station is particularly nice in cold weather, as it can make you feel like you’re dining on a patio even in the middle of winter. Also, their pastries are so good.
• Filling Station – A nice option if you don’t want to drive into downtown. We often went to the one in Mission, KS, but they have a few locations around the Metro area.

Dallas Area

When we lived in Aubrey, Texas, our go-to coffee spot was Ascension Coffee at The Star in Frisco, TX. It also happened to be the closet coffeeshop to us (still 20 minutes away), but we do like it and still occasionally go there when we’re in Dallas. They have good breakfast food, too. We especially love their breakfast tacos.

Saratoga Springs, NY

On more than one of our visits to upstate New York to see Josiah’s sister Melanie and her family we’ve ended up at Kru Coffee in Saratoga. It’s a good place.

Boulder, CO

Earlier this year we spent a month in Boulder, and these were the coffee shops we liked best there:

• January Coffee – Of all the places we tried, I think this one ended up being our favorite.
• Beleza Coffee Bar – Not only was the coffee good, I really enjoyed the artisan arts and crafts from all over the world they had on display.
• Ozo Coffee – This is a second-wave coffee shop, but I had a really good Mayan mocha there.

Winter Park, CO

While on a short visit to Winter Park, we really liked our lattes from The Perk.

Austin, TX

In 2023 we spent a month in Austin and found several coffeeshops we really liked, including:

• Radio Coffee and Beer – Austin has a lot of places like this, where a coffee shop, beer garden, and a few food trucks all share one patio. They’re one of the most uniquely Austin experiences, and Radio is one of the best. Be sure to get a breakfast taco while you’re there.
• Medici Roasting – We went to Medici several times because we really liked it as a place to work in addition to liking the coffee. The large, sunny seating area was shared by several food counters, including a French bakery that had the most delicious pastries.

Nashville, TN

We spent a month in Nashville in 2023 while filming the music videos for Josiah’s album, Grace.

• Osa Coffee Roasters – I strongly prefer to drink my lattes out of a ceramic mug, but we went to this walk-up window near Vanderbuilt University because it was close to our AirBnb, and we ended up going back a few more times. One of the employees even gave me a cutting of a beautiful variegated pothos ivy plant that I still have.
• Killebrew Coffee – Located inside a hotel. Really good lattes and sinfully delicious pastries (I’m a sucker for a fresh, buttery croissant.)

Tampa, FL

When we were in Tampa for a business trip last month, we had a very difficult time finding a good third-wave coffeeshop anywhere near where we were staying just east of Tampa, but we were persistent and finally found Shortwave Coffee in downtown Tampa. It was so good, we went back twice in spite of the 20-minute drive and the exorbitant price of downtown parking. Not only were the drinks perfection, their food and pastries were really good too. The only drawback is that it’s right next to where cruise ships depart from and can be really crowded if a boat has just arrived or is about to depart.

Conclusion

I started this blog post over a month ago because I felt like Josiah and I were always explaining our coffeeshop criteria to people and I wanted something I could send them as a reference. If you read this and end up trying one of the coffeeshops I’ve recommended, please leave a comment to let me know!