In 1975, The Coffee & Tea Exchange opened its doors in a small storefront in East Lakeview.  Back then Steve, our founding father, roasted all our beans right there in the store, which made the entire block smell like freshly roasted coffee.  The beans were then displayed in large wooden barrels (and still are to this day), so that customers would be able to see and smell the beans for themselves.  In this way Steve wanted to help educate people about their coffee, not simply hand it off to them. The newly enticed residents of Lakeview could smell the coffee (both inside and outside the store), see it for themselves, and then ask questions about it.  He showed residents that coffees from different places had different flavor profiles, which allowed them to develop preferences for different locales.  He also taught them that different roasting levels gave the beans different flavor profiles.  Thus, customers were able to decide for themselves which origin and roast they preferred.  Nowadays all the roasting is done at the warehouse location to accommodate larger quantities and longer roasting hours.

The store in East Lakeview is located at 3311 N. Broadway, which is just across the street from the original location.  And to keep it in the family, Steve’s daughter, Lauren, runs it.  Amazingly, many of the original customers from the neighborhood still come in, even though many have since moved away.  And, because our customers are so wonderfully loyal, many who have moved too far to make the trek to the store wanted to have our coffee shipped across the country to them!  And, of course, CTX was happy to oblige.  Thus, the mail order business was born.  Now everyone can have our great tasting coffees and teas mailed fresh to them!

Our goal continues to be providing the freshest coffee possible at an affordable price.  We keep our operation running in much the same way that we started it 35 years ago.  Our shop maintains its original “mom n’ pop” vibe because we just don’t think that great coffee needs to come from a trendy environment.  We put all our efforts into keeping our coffees and teas tasting great.