After a long time of dreaming and planning and several months of build-out, we are excited to bring you a cafe in Libertyville! You can find our new cafe in the industrial district tucked behind Liberty Lake. We have quietly roasted in this building for over six years, and are so excited to finally be able to serve our coffee under the same roof as we’ve been operating since the beginning. For us, opening this cafe is like a homecoming.

The twists and turns of this project have significantly impacted the design, so much so that our original plan differs hugely from our final product. As frustrating as limitations can be, I find that sometimes the best creativity comes not from what can be done, but what cannot be. It was precisely the limitations we were met with along the way that brought us to our final design.

It’s always interesting to me how much curiosity people display, how much they want to know and how much they seem to truly care what the future holds for our little company. It is in that spirit of curiosity and care that I was persuaded by inquiring people to give something of a “behind the scenes” look at what this process has been like for us in the form of answering some commonly posed questioned.

The rumors are true—we’re expanding! In fact, we’re working on opening two different cafes soon: one in Winnetka and one in Libertyville.

With the change of each season comes the change in our seasonal drink menu. Designing genuinely delicious seasonal drinks has become a big part of what makes Tala what it is, which is why we’re so excited to share our new lineup each season.

The days are warming up and sunshine is filling up the forecast for the week! It’s beginning to look a lot like spring and we are very ready for it! From walks through the forest preserves, to sitting on the rocks down by the lake, to roller blading on the bike path, there are (almost) endless possibilities. The only thing that will make all these activities just that much better is stopping by Tala and grabbing your new spring drink before you get going!

Our newest single origin release comes from the Kanzu washing station in the Nyamasheke district of Rwanda. This is a washed coffee with bourbon varietals. The flavor notes that we picked up on from this specific coffee are blackberry, honey and custard. We are so excited to share this coffee with all of you since it has been quite some time since we’ve featured a Rwandan coffee in our lineup!

“When we were looking for a new coffee (in 2021) we had this gap in our lineup for a coffee that was really round, really rich, really sweet and approachable. We were specifically cupping coffees to find something that was everything that the Mico de Noche was which was the really approachable warm flavors that are super easy to market, super easy to enjoy. We were looking for a bridge between our house blend Ruca and some of the other single origins that we had. It was kind of a gateway coffee, if you will”, Keith shares after recalling their first cupping of Mico De Noche over a year ago.

We’re getting creative to fight the mid-winter blues. This year on the winter drink lineup we have the Espresso Coquito, The Irish Goodbye, and The Ice Melt latte all coming back for another round! For those of you who are always looking for our newest (or maybe oldest?!) creation, we are excited to bring back the Moose Tracks Latte!