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.

For some reason, stockings have always been my favorite part of Christmas. I know for many people stockings are an afterthought, but in our family their the main event. There’s something magical about the myriad of tiny presents—to me it feels like the grand finale at Fourth of July fireworks shows, a rapid fire of epic little treats.

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.

When I first began drinking specialty coffee, I was excited about the idea of having great coffee at home, but honestly wasn’t sure if I would follow-through with what seemed like such a complicated process every morning or just swing by the local shop to drink theirs instead. Of course, both are great options, but I was concerned about buying an expensive grinder for it just to sit around. For me, the hand grinder was the perfect solution. It was cheaper than an electric burr grinder, but a huge upgrade from my blade grinder at home.

Coffees from Burundi have long been a favorite of the Tala Team for the unique flavors that seldom are seen in coffees from any other African region. Where a lot of other African regions tend to be full of brighter citrus fruits, we love Burundi’s for their deeper, richer fruited tones closest to dried and cooked fruits. This one is exactly that and tasting like sweet dried golden raisin, dried apricot, date, fig, goji berry, that are all wrapped up in a lavender essenced gift basket. Trust us, this is a gift basket you’re going to want to keep receiving.

Coffees from Burundi have long been a favorite of the Tala Team for the unique flavors that seldom are seen in coffees from any other African region. Where a lot of other African regions tend to be full of brighter citrus fruits, we love Burundi’s for their deeper, richer fruited tones closest to dried and cooked fruits. This one is exactly that and tasting like sweet dried golden raisin, dried apricot, date, fig, goji berry, that are all wrapped up in a lavender essenced gift basket. Trust us, this is a gift basket you’re going to want to keep receiving.

This is maybe the most anticipated of all seasonal menu changes. For weeks we’ve been getting questions about when we’ll switch to our fall menu and what will be on it and if we’re back back (insert personal favorite) from last year. I’m not sure if its the crisp changing air, the return to a more regular schedule or maybe just the passage of time and craving for change. Whatever the case, it seems like we aren’t the only excited ones to bring on the Fall flavors.

We recently launched our first coffee in our Tala Truest line: the Israel Hernandez Gesha from Tolima, Colombia. As much as we’ve been loving it hot, the thought occurred to us to conduct a wild experiment. It came in a stroke of genius—the kind of genius that seems hyperbolic at first—and we quickly realized it might actually work. We made cold brew with the Gesha, a bold move none of us have seen from the specialty industry before. The result? Amazing. So we’re going to share! This limited-edition cold brew will be sold in bottles in our cafe and be available for Neighborly delivery to local customers.

This coffee simply put, tastes like everything we love about the fall season. It’s loaded with brown sugar, caramel, and candied pecan sweetness, soft and ripe pear and apple, as well as warm and cozy cocoa. It pairs perfectly with a hayrides, pumpkin carving, apple picking, and bonfires.