Springfield Coffee Fest on Tour & The Ozarks Coffee Trail

Nothing beats the caffeinated thrill of the chase that Springfield Coffee Fest on Tour brings to Springfield each year. This fundraising event benefits Safe & Sober, and in exchange for just $15, you get a passport to more than a dozen local coffee shops where you can redeem either a barista’s choice single drink or a mini coffee flight. The only catch? You’ve got one month to try them all.

This is a challenge that Joel and Rachel Daugherty happily take on each year, and it’s their favorite local tradition. They always make sure to pace themselves and aim to visit just one to two shops a day, because they know their caffeine limits.

“When you get to the third place, you get a coffee high or the coffee shakes,” Rachel says.

The local coffee tour led Rachel to try shops in the parts of town that she doesn’t frequent. For example, she tried Brick & Mortar Coffee and Big Momma’s Coffee & Espresso Bar for the first time because of the tour, and those have become some of her favorite joints.

If you’re more of a marathoner than a sprinter, you might prefer to participate in the Springfield Missouri Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Ozarks Coffee Trail event, which takes place over the span of a year. It’s free to participate, and all you need to do is download a digital passport to figure out which coffee shops are on the lineup. Each time you check into a location you’ll earn points that you can redeem for an Ozarks Coffee Trail T-shirt or sticker pack. Plus, you get access to secret special menu items that no one else knows about.