Our behind the design series is a closer look at design elements that make up Tala. From packaging to merchandise to party themes, explore the who, when, why and how to the what you know and love.

We hosted our second-ever latte art competition at our Highwood café, and it was an absolutely awesome night. On February 28th, folks from all over Chicagoland, and even some out-of-staters, joined the Tala crew in throwing down behind the bar. Contenders showed up, showed out, and showed us their best pours.

“Frunchroom” is a Chicago-style slang word for the front room or the formal, rarely used sitting room that you usually find at the front of the house. When pronounced, it sounds more as if the speaker is saying “French room” quickly due to the thick Chicago accent that started this casual usage of the term.

The mornings feel colder, the days feel shorter, and the motivation to leave the house ultimately feels… negotiable. But if there’s one thing we believe, it’s that the best way to get through the cold months is by filling them with warm drinks, good company, and experiences that make you forget about the temperature entirely.

Mastercol – Terra is our first fresh-crop coffee of the new year from Huila, Colombia, arriving after an exceptional run of standout Huila lots throughout 2025. It immediately caught our attention as a double-fermented, single-varietal Caturra from Mastercol—one of our most trusted producer groups and long-term partners since 2017. This is a coffee that feels both familiar and exciting, building on everything we love about the region while offering a renewed sense of vibrancy.

Yet another impressive coffee from Huila, Colombia! This time it's the super exciting Chiroso varietal. This one from the farmers in La Argentina & Pitalito jumps out with ripe, strong, jammy cherry filling sweetness, tangerine juice concentrate, and round apple flavors. A truly beautiful coffee we're excited to share at an incredible price, punching way above its weight class.

The ~cosmos~ have spoken. Your destiny? Delicious. Gone are the days of circling your horoscope with a glitter gel pen and feeling known by the universe from a paragraph that told you to “embrace your sparkle”. Lucky for you, we’re bringing back that magic… coffee edition.

Summer comes but once a year and it can be difficult to keep track of all the fun plans and ideas you had at the beginning. Writing them down and creating a bucket list is one of the simplest ways to set those intentions and meet your summer goals! I wanted to see how our Tala team would do when tasked with setting those plans in motion- and got to check in to see how it went!

This past Memorial Day weekend, here at Libertyville, we celebrated our second birthday! Two Septembers ago, the cafe at the roastery opened its doors for the first time, bringing longtime Tala fans a glimpse into the process, as well as another cafe to love.