Late start has begun, giving you enough time to grab coffee before school. On the Northwest Passages Instagram, smnwdotcom, we asked students what they’re drinking on late start days.

First Watch and 7 Brew Coffee were the top two places voted.

At First Watch, we both ordered the Honey Caramel Crunch Iced Coffee.

Here’s what we thought:

Sage: The Honey Caramel Crunch Iced Coffee was okay, not my usual order of coffee but it was sweet enough. The workers there were very nice, although the employee at the cash register did manage to rip Hope’s 10-dollar bill in half. Besides that awkward encounter, the coffee was average, not too bad and not the best. My favorite part of the coffee was the crunched-up health bar sprinkled on top and a little in the drink. It was pretty sweet but kind of a burnt taste. I’d rate it a 5/10.

Hope: I prefer iced coffee over hot, it wakes me up. The Honey Caramel Crunch consisted of honey-iced coffee, salted caramel sauce, sweet cream, and a health bar. I enjoyed how sweet the coffee was. Caramel and honey didn’t complement each other well, it just tasted a little off. The drink also had a crunched-up health bar, which was a nice feature. The bar has tree nuts, soy, and milk. It didn’t taste like anything, but the crunch was tasteful. The staff at First Watch were super sweet, and there was great service.

The next place we went to was 7 Brew Coffee in Overland Park. 

Sage: I’ve never tried 7 Brew Coffee before, and I have to say it’s one of the best coffees I’ve tried. The workers there were so sweet, and the coffee was very tasteful. I ordered medium caramel vanilla blended coffee, I liked that it was blended, it felt like I had more in the cup. I loved seeing the workers jam out to old 2000s music, it was overall a very positive environment. If you like sweet coffee, I would definitely recommend what I ordered. 

Hope: This was my first time going to 7 Brew. I really liked it, the drive-through reminded me of Dutch bros. The service was great, the employees made lots of small talk which was sweet. Everyone was positive and quick. The music was quite loud, but it was amusing. I got the Iced Caramel macchiato. I normally have to order coffees with extra sugar because some places don’t add enough, but this was the perfect amount.