Going bananas: Where to find the “it-girl” beverage in KC
Photo illustration by Ava McCluer
Banana and coffee: an unexpected combination making international waves.
The craze over the fruit itself and its joyful color came first with the virality of Korean banana milk, Prada’s flavored lip balm, and ‘butter yellow‘ trending in the fashion world.
Now, coffee chains and brands are starting to catch on: see 7Brew’s Banana Bread Mocha, or the new line of Califia Farms Banana Crème almond milk products. Kansas City is no exception to the trend. It’s been deemed the it-girl beverage on TikTok, but which coffee shop across the metro should the cool girls purchase their next latte?
The Pitch tasted three banana lattes to hunt for the city’s most a-peel-ing drink.
Blip Coffee, West Bottoms:
Regardless of what you’ve arrived at Blip Coffee to do—homework, finishing a book, or just enjoying a drink—there’s space and seating for you. Even before you approach the counter, the options are impressive: fold-out chairs at tables long enough to fit a family reunion, bar stools for those with great posture, deep comfy chairs for the slouchers, couches for couples, and more. Blip is a space for motorcycles, too. In the same building, you can get a helmet fitting and enjoy a beverage with housemade syrups.
Blip’s banana latte features a subtle sugary taste, with their mild espresso making it a palatable drink overall. For those not yet sold on this latte flavor, Blip’s drink is a great place to start—its syrupy taste is like a caramelized banana.
All drinks can be made with oat or almond milk for no extra charge, and iced lids have an option for the straw user or the sipper. The back of the building has even more seating, a photobooth, a stage area, and a roasting machine.
Good Karma Coffee and Wine, Midtown:
Good Karma puts a special spin on the trend, with a banana pudding latte that adds maple and vanilla wafer flavors to the familiar fruitiness. This is consistent with their extensive, inventive menu—maple miso, ube lavender, and candied yams were other featured flavors.
The latte is milkier than others, with no taste overpowering another. The vanilla wafer profile is crucial to the creamy pudding flavor, but the maple, which sits at the front row of the flavor profile isn’t instinctively consistent with it. Perhaps a dash of cinnamon or even caramel would make more sense.
Veil Cafe, Garment District:
The whimsical and lively Veil Cafe also offers a housemade syrup, which emulates banana bread more. On the first sip, you’ll notice the richness of the drink rather than the fruitiness, as the banana syrup emerges in the aftertaste
The latte is a darker brown than the other drinks, allowing the espresso flavor to unite naturally with the not-too-sweet syrup.
Veil is an intimate space; a projector plays black-and-white films on mute, and the handwritten font on the menus gives the cafe a DIY energy. It definitely gets extra points for the coolest curated environment, and was my top pick among banana latte options.
