BY TARA BURKE

As I’m sure many of you agree coffee is a way of life! Cailin and I love trying new coffee spots in the city and throughout our travels. When we were in Austin we got the awesome opportunity to tour the ins and outs of Texas Coffee Traders in East Austin. It was our cousin’s favorite coffee place and we certainly saw why! They have so many different roasts and a sampling station to try some of their varieties.

We went through the area where they coffee beans come in, had a look at what raw coffee beans look like, learned about the roasting and flavoring processes and also had a look at their teas. It was really cool to see the whole process in motion and how much work goes into our morning cup of joe. Cailin and I had also noticed a NYC coffee trend in which a lot of house brews had a distinct berry flavor. During the walk around we learned that raw green coffee beans can be processed in three ways; natural, washed or semi-washed. How the beans are prepared from the start actually has a huge impact on the taste of the coffee and is where you can get that berry flavor.

Afterwards we tried some of their coffee samples for the day. Cailin couldn’t get enough of their cold brew and I was loving the dark roast from Peru. At Texas Coffee Traders there are so many blends from all over the world to choose from, so if you’re looking for your new favorite brew, chances are you’ll find it here!