May 23, 2021

Happy spring and almost summer!

We are excited to look out our window and see flowers on the fence line and so much green!

We are also excited with the Covid numbers in Austin, TX. and the guidance the CDC is posting.

We are planning on reopening part of the shop on Monday, June 7th.  We are busy reworking the space so that folx can come in, purchase beans and drinks and either take them to go or sit outside under the tent and enjoy the open air!  We are going to keep our pick up window open for those who prefer a bit of distance and hey, that is truly okay!

We ask that customers continue to wear masks in the building and at the window.  The CDC guidance says that if someone is fully vaccinated the rules are not so stringent but we aren’t the mask police so masks up please.  We hope that soon more people will be fully vaccinated so that the guidance will change but no worries, it’s just a mask and by now we all know how to wear one.  :)

We are excited to see you all in the shop again!  Take care and please get vaccinated.

Beth and Rc

April 23, 2021

Hello!

Things are looking up in Austin, Texas ! Rc and I are excited to be fully vaccinated and the staff at TCT is almost done. What a relief for everyone!

As we reach the level of vaccination that the CDC considers a safe level, we will be opening some of inside retail space so that folx can come in and get their beans or drinks. It’s going to look a little different and we are excited for the changes we are making and hope that everyone enjoys the new layout as well.

There are a couple of reasons for the changes. The first is that over the last year, we have moved some of our sales staff into what used to be the back third of the retail shop. It has been a great area for them to spread out and also to be available for sales questions that come up in our shop during the day.

The second reason is because the spread out space is safer and allows us to keep a 6 foot distance between workstations and until we are given the “all clear” from the CDC this is the best configuration.

We look forward to this happening in the near future, and can’t wait to have folx in our shop again. For those who want to avoid coming into sites, we get it, and we are going to keep our pick up window running for drinks, beans and pastries!

We have so much gratitude to everyone who has adjusted with us this year as we figured out how to provide great customer service without any contact.

Looking forward to safe and healthy spring/summer! See you soon!

Beth and Rc

March 13, 2021

Hello all!

One year ago today Rc and I sent out a note to the Coffee Trader customers explaining our plan for staying safe during a pandemic that at that time we knew very little about.  We knew that it was contagious, that it had the potential to be deadly and that we were susceptible due to our constant contact with the public.  

When we talked about and wrote the letter, we thought maybe we would be serving from a window, wearing masks and keeping a distance for a month or two?  LOL.  One year later and our protocols have become commonplace and we continue to roast, bag, make drinks, etc. while serving from our pick up window, shipping boxes of coffee across the U.S. and delivering coffee to our cafe and restaurant accounts.

This year has taught us a lot and shown what we can accomplish as a team.  We learned that a face mask is not a big ask.  If it keeps us safe and our customers safe, then why wouldn’t we wear it?  The health department requires us to wash our hands regularly and especially after tasks that might cause cross contamination.  That health rule has been in place for years and we don’t rail against it.  Why would we?  Just like washing our hands, face masks haven’t been our issue this year because they are common sense.

We have learned a lot about versatility and changing quickly so that we can provide great customer service in new and different ways.  We have online calls in order to show folx how to reinstall water filters, videos on different methods of brewing coffee while working from home, virtual tours of the coffee farms in Costa Rica.  We have learned how to have engaging conversations and provide delicious drinks through a window!  

Speaking of new ideas, if you are going to attend SXSW this year in its virtual format, how about enjoying a box of coffee to enjoy while watching.

https://www.texascoffeetraders.com/monthly-boxes/sxsw-box

The ability to pivot and provide great service in unique formats has been essential and Rc and I are ever grateful to the group at Coffee Traders for their creativity and commitment to keeping it safe and fun.

We want to thank all of the customer community that have supported us during this year and we look forward to the changes this year will bring once we can safely reopen. We are so close!!  Rc is fairly chomping at the bit and as soon as we are reopened get ready for that energy. :)))

Until we can all be vaccinated and the CDC says it is safe to fully open, we will be serving from our very cool pick up window.  Our tables and chairs are set up and under a tent so that you can sit and enjoy your delicious coffee drink in the open air.  

Take care folx, mask up (required at Coffee Traders) and get a vaccine when you can.  

Beth and Rc

March 4, 2021

Welcome to March!

It is hard to believe that two weeks ago we were being buried in snow here in Austin. Today it is 65 and sunny!

Today the Governor of Texas announced that he would be lifting the face mask ban here in Texas starting Wednesday, March 10th. The goal is to get Texas 100 percent open. His statement was that those businesses that "want to open" can do that.

Rc and I both applaud the idea of getting fully open. We cannot wait to see everyone inside our shop tasting, talking, enjoying delicious freshly roasted coffee. That is the goal for sure! In other words, we "want to open".

The issue, for us, is the lack of vaccinations for our staff. The CDC has requested that everyone stays vigilant for at least another 12 to 16 weeks so that the variants are stopped and so we don't start this whole thing over again.

We are 10 percent vaccinated here in the Austin area which is a great start but not anywhere near "herd immunity". As a business owner that wants to open our shop, we want our staff and family to be safe even more.

Our face mask rule here at Coffee Traders remains the same. Please put on your face mask before placing your order at our drink window. If you prefer to have beans delivered that works too! Our online ordering is super easy and we will happily box up and send your order to your home or office.

Thanks for the business and we look forward to a healthy and safe spring!

Mask up folxs!

Beth and Rc

February 15, 2021

Well, our world keeps surprising us. Today we woke up to over a half a foot of snow here in Austin, Texas. At the same time over 40% of the homes and businesses in Austin were and still are without power. It is currently 23 degrees at 2 p.m. today with an expected overnight low of 7 degrees. Whoa, we have some challenges.

Needless to say, we are currently closed at Texas Coffee Traders and hope to open again on Wednesday but we will have to wait and see. Right now we don’t have any power in our building so that is the first requirement to get open again. Fingers crossed that this storm decides to leave and Austin can begin to thaw out.

For those in other parts of the country, this might seem confusing. Further north or east or northwest, towns don’t have to shut down during winter cold. Austin, Texas is not equipped for cold because we don’t have it. There is no sand or salt or snow plows or any of the items needed to make this easier and unfortunately our systems that supply electricity to our homes and businesses are obviously not winter proof either. So, we are “staying in place” again and bundling up in lieu of heat.

We hope each and every one of you are staying safe and can be warm. Drinking hot coffee helps a lot! Maybe an outside firepit with a cowboy kettle? Take care, wear your face mask please! It not only keeps you safe from the coronavirus, but it is actually warming as well!

Peace,

Beth and Rc

January 25, 2021

Rc and I both hope that everyone had a peaceful, relaxing holiday season. We are very grateful for the wonderful support we have received from our community with so many holiday package orders! There was a lot of coffee being enjoyed this year and we are very appreciative.

Austin remains in the Phase 5 restrictions and that means that no change over here. We are still roasting coffee daily and serving coffee/tea drinks out of our Drink Window. We have fresh baked goods from Easy Tiger and all the alternative milk choices that you might want to try. We are still window only and look forward to seeing everyone’s half faces!

It is still a great way to pick up your bean orders. Just follow this link - Order Here - and we will email you when you order is ready.

Our hope is that this year is an end to the pandemic, a time when we can safely be together again and more calm, less worry. We are truly grateful to the support we receive from our community and look forward to the future. Take care, mask up.

Rc and Beth

December 26, 2020

Good morning and happy holidays!

Rc and I want to take the opportunity to thank each and everyone of you for your business, your loyalty and for working with us this year as we tweak our services so that we stay safe and in compliance while providing our customers with freshly roasted coffee.

It has been challenging and scary sometimes, but all the while we have really appreciated the well wishes, ideas, suggestions and participation from our coffee community.  

We are taking off the weekend of Christmas so that our staff has a chance visit with their families, rest, recharge and be ready for a busy week before the New Year. We hope all of you have moments of rest and renewal as well.

Thank you again for supporting us and enjoying our coffee!

Looking forward to 2021.

Rc and Beth

May 25, 2020

THE TEXAS COFFEE TRADERS WINDOW!

We are so thrilled to welcome y’all back!

While our red door will remain closed for the safety of our team, we have created a new window front through which we will again be able to lovingly hand off your coffee to you.

We welcome walk-ups for drinks and beans, and you can also order ahead online for a pick-up. For those who wish to stay home or are not able to make it down to our warehouse here on East 4th, we will continue shipping out orders as well.

To ensure the safety of our team and customers, masks are required, as well as staying at least 6 feet apart as recommended by the CDC. Our hours for window service are Monday through Friday, 8AM to 4PM, and we will continue to roast the coffee fresh.

Again, THANK YOU for y’all’s support through this time. We can’t wait to see you!

April 30, 2020

A WORK IN PROGRESS.

Hey' y’all!

THANK YOU for y’all’s continued support through our online retail store by ordering your favorite coffees for delivery. It is because of loyal customers like you that we are able to weather this crisis.

We miss seeing you all in person and look forward to being able to do that again in the near future.  At Coffee Traders, our goal remains to have a safe environment to roast, package, and serve delicious fresh coffee, so we decided to not yet open to the public.

It’s important that we all all continue to help in the process of flattening the curve by staying at home as much as possible, wearing masks, etc.  

We anticipate opening in the next couple of weeks once our new safety procedures are in place.  We want to respect the sacrifices our community has made in staying safe and not undo the work already done.

When the doctors and scientists say it is safe, we will open with a brand new walk up window in front of the shop where we can serve drinks and provide coffee beans, teas, etc. safely while still having the opportunity to see each other and share stories.

With the uncertainty of this virus, we have focused our reopening on creating a new method of selling that will be able to remain open safely should we be required to shelter in place once again.

It will be a “work in progress” and we will welcome comments and suggestions!

See you all soon and we will keep you posted on when we start.  In the meantime, our online shop is busy and ready for your order! We will continue to roast and ship our coffees out to y’all.

March 30, 2020

This week, RC and I made a choice that no business owners would ever want to make.  We walked through our roastery and retail shop and realized that we could not safely protect the members of our team from a virus that no one knows much about.

Our company is 100% about providing the best customer service that we can along with great products, delicious freshly roasted coffee and wonderful drinks.  Not being able to personally provide an extraordinary experience goes against our customer service DNA.  Not taking the steps to protect our team, however, would go against our fundamental core value of providing the best service and leadership to our employees. 

We decided to temporarily lay off 90% of our staff using the disaster mass layoff available through the TWF.  We did it because we couldn’t guarantee our team’s safety and we wanted to make sure that everyone would be paid, receive benefits, and could go home and practice social distancing as we are being told to do.

We are still roasting & shipping coffee M-F 

So, now what?  The staff that is still working at TCT  is busy roasting coffee like crazy right now in order to keep up with the online orders coming in from customers who still want beans and have traded a visit to our shop with a visit from UPS.  We plan on continuing to offer this online service for the duration of the “pause” and hope that everyone will stay home and order your favorite coffee through our website at www.texascoffeetraders.com.

There are still some cafes and groceries who are open in new formats that we supply beans to and we will continue to do that, as well.

We miss everyone!  We miss our customers, our community, and we miss our team.  We are a family (literally) and it is hard to think about not being together to share this time as a group.  Hopefully, this distancing and business pause will help stop the growth curve of this horrid illness and soon we can hug again.  In the meantime,  please continue ordering your favorite coffees - we will  roast and ship them right out.  Thank you for your loyalty and understanding.

Beth and RC Beall

March 18, 2020

WE’LL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER.

We at Coffee Traders want to thank everyone for working with us during the rapidly changing COVID -19 environment.  As always, we appreciate and are grateful for your loyalty as we navigate the current health situation in our community. 

Our mission at Coffee Traders is simple.  “To be a positive part of people’s everyday lives” and this remains our number one priority.  Being extra cautious and following the guidance that have been issued by the CDC as well as local health authorities and our own industry standards, we have changed some of our protocols. 

Actions that we are taking

We are taking the Coronavirus COVID-19 very seriously.  We already follow the Food Safety Laws which go a long way in ensuring that we serve coffee and our grab and go foods in a clean and safe way.  As we do everyday, we make sure to follow all of the standard operating procedures regarding sanitation.

We are also following the guidance that has been issued by the CDC concerning additional systems to be added to establishments open to the public as well as the local health authority guidance regarding food, food handling and safety.

Practices

• Clean and sanitize thoroughly throughout the day.  Reinforced and heightened protocol on all of our sanitation efforts.

• Training and education of our staff on prevention, as provided by the CDC.

• Posted informational sheets provided by the local health authorities and CDC.

• Handwash!!  Strict handwashing guidelines.  Post visual instructions and remind about 20 second rule.  Sing Happy Birthday twice or the choruses of most songs.

New Practices

• Suspension of ceramics, reusable and cups or tableware that must be washed.  For the duration of the COVID – 19 restrictions we will be using paper cups.

• Self-serve will be suspended for the duration.  Please allow us to serve your cream, cold brew, sugars, etc.

• Our delivery drivers are sanitizing our trucks after every run.  We have an in-house team of delivery drivers and their health is our top priority.  We feel very confident in the measures we have taken to provide a safe product in a safe way.

• Hand sanitizers in all vans for our drivers to use between deliveries.

• All hard surfaces in our retail and production facility will be heavily sanitized every two hours.  Timers are set to go off when it is time to clean.

• No hand shaking but we have lots of other ways to say hello!  Should we reinstate bowing?  Foot tap, elbow shake…….

Over the years we have become a part of the community of Austin and we know so many of our customers personally.  We will get through this together.  We look forward to seeing each of you daily and sharing our stories, good news as well as bad, ideas and cups of coffee!  Want to order by phone or online? Call 512-476-2279, place an order at www.texascoffeetraders.com, or write us in on your Favor App and have a cup brought to your door!

RC, Beth and the Bean Team