There are times when you have those big plans, the ones that require you to be wide awake and ready to go, and you think coffee is just the little treat you need. You order, you drink, you enjoy, you wait, anticipating the subtle alertness that is sure to come. And nothing. You drink your coffee, and not only do you not feel energized, but you still feel sleepy. So what happened?

To better understand how our specialty menu came to life, we sat down with co-owner Joanna to talk through her process in creating each drink for our opening menu, the stories behind them, and what inspired them in the first place. Cheers!

With the creation of Libertyville’s Carrot Cake Latte and Easter hosting duties being right around the corner, I was inspired to bake something worthy of a brunch spread. The perfect combination of a hearty pastry and a delicious dessert, this Carrot Coffee Cake recipe was given to me by my coworker Marissa, who found it on Soko’s Kitchen. If anyone knows Marissa, she is an incredible baker, so I trusted her endorsement easily.

If you know us, you know we’ve never shied away from experimenting with unique flavors on our menu. From carrot juice to pandan to activated charcoal, we’re no stranger to “out of the box” ingredients here at Tala.

So… we figured it was time to lean into something a little more local.

Introducing: the Malört Latte.

As the weather turns, we’re excited to offer an exciting lineup of events this month to ring in spring, help you defrost, and treat yourself after braving yet another Chicago winter.

Read what’s brewing this month.

There’s something about recipes that feel like an inheritance of sorts. They aren’t just instructions, but tiny windows into how someone lived. My grandma’s recipes were mostly simple, but thoughtful and always meant to be shared. When I began working on the recipe for the Carrot Cake Latte for our Libertyville Café seasonal menu, I kept coming back to that same idea: creating something simple, thoughtful, and worth passing around. 

I think somewhere along the way, everything just… expanded. Sizes got bigger, menus got longer, prices got higher, and the ever-so-innocent cappuccino got swept up in it all. It adapted. It stretched. It lost a bit of its sense of self.  Now it shows up rebranded, reinterpreted, and occasionally followed by the one silly question that keeps me up at night. “Hot or iced?”

Spring is finally here, and so is our long-awaited seasonal lineup. With a mix of café exclusives and returning favorites like the Ube Latte, Main Squeeze, and Dirty Horchata, there’s something for everyone to enjoy this season.

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.