The Tala Blog
Featured Article
The Return of the Baklava Latte
It started as an experiment, and now it’s the drink our regulars refuse to let us take off the seasonal menu. The beloved Baklava Latte was formerly an exclusive drink at our Libertyville café, but it was met with such rave reviews that we knew it needed a semi-permanent spot on the seasonal menu at all of our cafes.
Lainequel Zamora Microlot: La Escuadra, Costa Rica
This coffee comes from the La Escuadra region in Costa Rica. It is a red honey process, which means the mucilage is left on the bean while it dries, usually resulting in a more fruit-forward flavor. This particular coffee tastes like tangerine and blackberries with a nice creamy texture. We think its the perfect way to end the summer.
Guji: Shakiso, Ethiopia - Natural Process
This is our second offering from our of our favorite subregions of Ethiopia: the Guji zone. This coffee is special to us because it is our very first naturally processed coffee that we’ve had as an offering. We taste honey and concord grape-like sweetness with a subtle blueberry aroma. This coffee is everything we love about deeper, rich Ethiopian coffees. This coffee was also chosen with help from our customers at our first public cupping.
Utuezi Jimbo: Kirinyaga, Kenya
Uteuzi Jimbo (oo-tay-oo-zee), meaning ‘country select’, brings the best crops from the Kirinyaga region together for a beautiful cup with notes of candied grapefruit, orange marmalade, and caramel.
Brew Coffee In The Wild
We’ve partnered with REI to bring you a comprehensive guide to brewing coffee in the wild. For step-by-step instructions as well as tips and tricks from the field, keep reading! We also are celebrating REI’s 81st anniversary with them on Saturday, May 18th by doing a coffee demo at our local REI store. For details check out our event page.
Spring Drink Menu 2019
We launched our Spring menu maybe more with the hope of Spring coming than with the reality of it being here. Regardless of how many more snow storms we get here in Northern Illinois, we’re calling it Spring!
Mother's Day Ideas
Mother's Day this year is Sunday, May 13th--but you already knew that, right? It's the day when we get to celebrate the incredible miracle that mothers are and honor all the moms in our lives! I'm sure you've been planning for weeks, but in case you need some last-minute inspiration we're sharing some of our favorite Mother's Day ideas with you!
Timana: Huila, Colombia
While cupping through many samples, this coffee stood out to us for its clarity and simplicity of flavors. Memorable notes of chocolates, sweet peanut butter, and red apple make this one tasty and approachable coffee that will shine no matter how you brew it. If this coffee were a type of dog, it would be a Golden Retriever because of its reliability and easy to love nature. Timana: man’s best friend.
Winter Drink Menu 2019
As much as we all loved our Holiday drinks, it is time for a change! We have three new wintery drinks available at the cafe.
Our Recent Cupping Event
Here’s a sneak peak at last’s weeks cupping event. Cupping is what we call the process that is used to taste coffee. Think wine tasting, but for coffee.