say merry christmas with a free tour

if you've run out of christmas gift ideas, try giving the gift of a christmas outing. that is what we gave kyle's parents this year. i tried to plan a day that incorporated each of their favorite things. in this case: coffee and chocolate! the day began with a tour of the roasterie. 

danny o'neill founded the roasterie in his basement of his home in brookside.

eventually he opened the roasterie cafe, which has been voted the "best coffee shop"

in kansas city the last five out of six years.

according to their website, the roasterie is "one of the most renowned specialty coffee roasters in the nation and is committed to finding the best coffees from around the world, for a fair price."



the hair nets must be new, because we toured the facility a
couple years ago and they weren't required. kyle kept laughing
and told me i looked like toad from mario. thanks, babe.

 "beans are roasted using a convection air-roasting method, instead of the more traditional drum-roasting method, to ensure superior consistency and a tastier, smoother cup of coffee."

oxygen is removed from the bags of coffee to increase longevity.

my favorite part of the tour is the cupping demonstration by norman. this man knows his coffee, and doesn't mess around with flavors or cream.

the roasterie mission:

1. To buy the best beans we can find in the world,

2. To roast them the best way known to man (air roasting),

3. To deliver them as fast as humanly possible.

after learning the art of cupping, you will want to go home and test your technique!  

this hour long tour is free, leaving you with some cash to buy coffee for your father-in-law.

next we headed to crown center to visit chip's chocolate factory.

 i had a hard time finding an actual tour but this little shop did not disappoint with its fudge demonstration, constant samples, cocoa bean origin explanations, and of course, flying fudge. 

kids would really enjoy the animated professional confectioner, aka fudge flinger.

we left with just enough fudge and chocolate treats to fight over.

  

 on our way out we stopped for a picture in front of the tree.

for lunch we wanted to try something new, so headed to an authentic german restaurant near the union station, grunauer. we experienced six different types of sausage, red cabbage, spätzle,

egg noodles, dumplings, and lots of bread.

picture source: grunauerkc.com