The Right Way to Drink Coffee is the Way You Like It
Has this ever happened to you?
You walk into a fancy, specialty coffee shop just hoping to get a simple, elevated cup of coffee to get you through the morning.
You order a small drip coffee with room for cream.
The barista stares at you blankly before saying, “We don’t have cream here.”
What coffee shops like this think happens next:
You take a sip of black coffee that is so excellent that your life is forever changed and you have a magical life-altering realization that coffee is more than you ever thought possible and you’re done with cream and sugar forever.
What actually happens:
Although you aren’t used to drinking coffee black, you’re desperate enough to accept it, but now you have a bad taste in your mouth from such an off-putting experience that totally shapes the way you experience the cup of coffee. You might enjoy the flavor, but can’t stop thinking about how much more enjoyable it would be if you had a little cream and sugar in it like you’re used to.
Coffee snobbery
Not all specialty coffee shops would go so far as to remove cream and sugar from their premises (although many did), but a whole host of shops also just ignore everything about the experience other than the craft coffee itself. I’m amazed at how many specialty coffee shops use syrups like Monin–filled with artificial flavors and colors–in their drinks alongside the most exclusive and delicious coffees. It’s like they wholeheartedly believe that the second you add anything to the coffee, it negates all quality.
Coffee is meant to be enjoyed
This kind of thing is what we set out to undermine when we started Tala. A decade ago, this kind of experience was pretty commonplace in the specialty coffee world, and although I personally do enjoy my coffee black, I always felt like the coffee-snob thing was so silly. You can’t mandate the way someone enjoys the product you created, and why would you want to? What’s the point?
We’ve always taken a different approach, one that–thankfully–is becoming more commonplace in the industry at large. We believe that the “right way” to drink coffee is whatever way you like to drink it. What good is the fanciest, most exclusive coffee if you don’t actually like it?
At the outset, we wanted to provide drinks that people from all across the coffee spectrum would enjoy, and provide them all with exceptional quality, attention to detail for the drink itself, and also the experience of getting it. Whether you’re ordering a single-origin espresso for here or an iced seasonal latte, we believe it should taste incredible.
We’ve always loved the playful side of coffee. It’s fun to be able to pair exceptional coffee with housemade syrups and serve interesting concoctions that make people smile.
And you know what we’ve seen over the years?
Someone may start out ordering a large flavored drink, like a mocha. After a while, they may remove that chocolate and just order a latte. Then those lattes get smaller and smaller, as they start enjoying the taste of coffee with less and less milk. Before you know it, they’re drinking a cappuccino, and then a Gibraltar, and maybe eventually just some espresso. They’ve had a slow transition from the more sugary drinks to enjoying the taste of pure coffee. How fun!
Or not. Maybe they keep getting mochas forever because they’re delicious. Who cares. We just want to serve them what they love.
Joanna Tong
Joanna is one of the owners here at Tala, heading up Operations and Strategy. Born and raised in Minnesota, she moved to Illinois in 2014 with no intention of staying long-term until the idea of Tala came to light. When not in the office or the cafe, you can find her in a forest preserve enjoying the outdoors or at home hanging out with her cat.
