Do you want to go on a coffee journey? What about a cup of coffee and go? A road trip to the roastery? What about a road trip to a roastery? You get the picture. We’re going to talk about an espresso escapade along the Coastal Mississippi Coffee Trail.
What makes coffee so special in Coastal Mississippi? Its 62 miles of coastline is a perfect getaway from the everyday with its charming communities and amazing food scene. The historic US-90 route offers a roadtrip that is not too time consuming, but takes you through stunning scenery. Did you know the Gulf Coast was the birthplace of American coffee?
We’re off! There’s only one question left: Where is the best coffee along the coast of Mississippi? The best coffee is determined by the individual, so join us in our quest to find the most unique coffee along Coastal Mississippi’s coffee trail.
Gulf Coast Coffee – the Birthplace of Coffee In America
The French drink coffee, while the Brits prefer tea. Before Boston’s famous tea party, French colonists were brewing coffee on the bayou. Fort Maurepas was the first permanent European settlement along the Gulf Coast. It was located near Ocean Springs in Mississippi.
New Orleans was founded in 1718 and became the largest coffee importer in the United States. New Orleanians grew their coffee supplies by adding roasted chicory roots to their coffee during the Civil War blockade. They added a bit of lard, as good southerners do, to give it a face. After the war, New Orleans remained an important culinary center for America. This attitude and tradition extends all along the Gulf Coast.
Bright-Eyed Brew Coffee
Our coffee trail begins in Ocean Springs, just like the coffee in America. The charming coastal town has a pedestrian-friendly downtown with gourmet restaurants and boutique shops. We wandered in to the bright-eyed brew coffee store.
I expected a classic coffee because of the majestic live oaks that towered over the sidewalks, with their long, wispy Spanish Moss hairs swaying in the ocean breeze. Instead, I discovered a modern masterpiece of cold-brewed coffee. Bright-Eyed Brew Coffee is steeped for 24 hours. Slow, controlled extraction results in a coffee with higher caffeine and a smooth, chocolatey flavor, as well as 65% less acidity. The brew is even infused with nitrogen to give it a creamy, rich texture. Bright-Eyed Brew Coffee gives Ocean Springs another reason to be loved.
The District
After walking through Ocean Springs Entertainment District, we found a cute coffee shop called the District. After a year spent traveling around America in his Airstream, the owner rebuilt the coffee shop from scratch. It’s exactly what you would expect if an old-fashioned speakeasy and coffee shop were to have a child. This is appropriate since Ocean Springs was once the southern headquarters of Al Capone.
The District offers a complete coffee menu including affogato, nitro and more. Even an Oji slow drip Japanese coffee is available. It’s a robust, 18-hour process that makes a strong coffee. We were in the mood for a CBD-infused vanilla hot latte. Jenn enjoyed the earthy undertones but I felt they detracted from the sweetness of the latte. The coffeehouse experience in Amsterdam is far from the CBD. The decor and menu were both great.
Tato-Nut
Tato Nut marks the final stop on our coffee trail in Ocean Springs. This store was mentioned as a stopping point for coastal Mississippi bicycle rides. We thought that if riders just burning a thousand calories ate here, it must be good. They had a neon sign saying ‘Gourmet coffee’.
They serve Coast Roast Coffee, which originated just up the coast from Long Beach in Mississippi. The 100-year-old roasters are used to create a vintage blend of coffees, which includes a New Orleans Chicory Blend with South American Coffees and roasted American Chicory. TatoNut, unlike New Orleans serves potato flour donuts in place of beignets. Their other neon sign reads – “The Only Real Donut”, which I’m sure doesn’t bother the beignet crowd at all.
Greenhouse Biloxi
The Greenhouse on Porter was our next destination, but it’s now a venue for events only. We crossed the bridge to Greenhouse Biloxi. Biloxi is often mistaken for a group of casinos along the coast. Greenhouse Biloxi is located in the historic downtown.
On our visit, we were fortunate to be there for their grand opening. We were lucky to be there for their grand opening, or at least the celebration of it since the party was delayed by a year due to covid 2020. As part of our celebration, we had a vanilla latte, and literally everything else that was on the menu. We fell in love, however, with their biscuits for breakfast, which pays homage to Mississippi’s southern roots.
Jacked Up Coffee Bar
Jacked Up Coffee Bar can be found on Howard Ave., just behind the Biloxi lighthouse. We were there for a meeting in the morning with the Visitor Center, and also to have a power-meeting with the Gulf Coast Heritage Trail. We ran into Captain Mike of the Biloxi Shrimping Trip as well as what seemed to be half the local officials.
Jacked Up is a bar that offers a full menu. We did not indulge in this due to the time constraints of our meetings. It made me wonder if someone had put something in their go-juice. Cotton Candy Coffee was our version of naughty. The coffee was poured over a cup of cotton candy that had been overfilled. The fluffy fluff melted to a delicious finish, much sweeter than King Cake Coffee we loved during Mardi Gras. This is not for diabetics or those with weak hearts.
Mockingbird Cafe
Bird has been dubbed the “Livingroom of the Bay”. Bay St Louis is a vibrant community. Bay St. Louis, the westernmost town in Coastal Mississippi should have a lot of local flavor.
Mockingbird’s coffee menu is a great place to find local flavors. The Mockingbird Breakfast blend from Coast Roast is the first thing they serve, but that’s not all. Elevated Coffee is a blend of organic coconut oil, ghee and coffee that has a taste reminiscent of old New Orleans traditions of adding a spoonful lard. It’s healthier than the traditional New Orleans method. Also available are Bright-Eye Nitro Cold Brew, and Bird Brew 24 hour cold brew. We were tempted to try a latte with honey from Mississippi, but we chose a lavender latte. The perfect blend of pick-up-and-chill-out, we sipped and pondered our trip on the Coastal Mississippi Coffee Trail.
The Mississippi Coffee Trail: Future Stops
You’ll want come back to Mississippi’s “Secret Coast” again and again. We are eager to return, and we can’t resist trying Cat Island Coffeehouse after a Mystic Ghost ride tour in Bay St Louis, or Bankhouse Coffee before taking a Sunset Sail out of Long Beach. We’ll continue to visit Coastal Mississippi as long as it remains an understated culinary treasure.