In honor of the upcoming year and rounding up the last few moments of 2022, we have asked Tala team to take a moment and share their new year’s resolutions or past year’s fondest memories. Since so many of us get to see so many of you everyday- you all can join us and check in on our progress as we chat across the bar! With that, here are the Tala team’s reflections and hopes as we end yet another wonderful year!

This year we celebrate the whimsical imagination of a faraway land of fluffy trees and funny hair and lots and lots of Christmas cheer, and one bad apple with a very green hand, who seeks his vengeance on the land… Wait—did that rhyme?

Boy are we thankful for yet another Small Business Saturday! We love a good reason to celebrate around here–especially when it means celebrating the people and the community that are constantly supporting us.

When it came time to craft a house blend and an espresso blend we knew we wanted to exemplify our feelings about coffee in these two staples. We sat around my and Stefan’s tiny apartment table cupping samples to decide our blends. When we finally decided on the recipe, we were all obsessed with the final product. Now, we had to name our blends. We finally settled on what you know today: Ruca and Amoret.

Running a small business is always a wild ride, but running a small business through a pandemic has been a new kind of wild. What’s more: our cafe has officially been open longer during the pandemic than not. What felt like an emergency interruption has become our new reality. But that’s not unique to us, that’s everyone’s story as of late.

We felt like this summer needed a little something extra, a little more celebration, a little more color and a lot more positive vibes. All summer long we are channeling the chill, care-free vibes with Tala Tiki Time.

Today is National Read Across America day, a perfect day to celebrate our friends over at Freadom, a new non-profit launched just a few months ago, whose aim is to support literacy across America. Any product purchased from Freadom right now also comes with a sample bag of our coffee, and 100% of profits goes toward literacy initiatives across the country.

In typical 2020 fashion, this Small Business Saturday hits differently than most. The strangely somber undertone of this year is how many small businesses across the country—and world, for that matter—are closed for this special day, some temporarily and others permanently. With that as the backdrop of today, it is with even deeper gratitude that we extend our sincerest thank you to all of you.

“Good Morning! How are you?” are my first words to the customers that consistently get the worm. I usually work in the AM (6:30-12:00 with the adjusted COVID schedule), and let me tell you, getting out of bed at 5:30 to beat Marcus to the cafe is not the most enjoyable thing to do, especially when you’re not a morning person.