SLOW DOWN. NOTICE MORE.
featured coffee
Our Reverie Espresso is what started it all for us at Adrift. It serves as an homage to all of the scruffy alleyway cafes scattered across Europe and was designed to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside— like a pleasant daydream. :)
Being an espresso blend, this profile stands out well in milk drinks and thrives as a stand alone coffee for folks just trying to get their day going. Components rotate seasonally. Curious about our sourcing? Check out our sourcing page to see what our standards and practices look like. Want to know whats in your bag? Shoot us an email with your bag and roast date and we will let you know!
We taste cacao nibs, nut butter, and dried fruit, but if our grandpa asked, we probably say “sweet, bold, and classic.”
Ephemeral is our everything blend. Not that you can’t brew our other coffees outside of their suggested categories, but this blend can truly do it all, and do it well.
Inspired by life’s beautiful moments that show up as sweet reminders of the beauty of it all, and the plants that share its name, we hope this cup greets you like a burst of yellow trilliums at the end of winter, signaling the warmth to come.
This blend heavily features natural processed coffees for their fruity depth, layered with consistent washed coffees from around the world for their inherent ability to bring out clean chocolatey notes that don’t muddy with development.
This coffee could best be described as sweet, vibrant, and expressive. We taste: berries, and chocolate.
As soon as we sampled this coffee something clicked. we immediately noted the sweet citrus orange top notes and the dark sugary sweetness of brown sugar or raisins— something we think pairs perfectly with milk.
We roast this one just a touch further in development to increase solubility and build body for espresso. The brightness still cuts cleanly through milk, while the structured sweetness delivers that classic, lush mouthfeel we love in a balanced espresso.
About the producers:
La Tribu is a network of allied cooperatives based around Jaltenango, in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, operating in and around the buffer zone of the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve. Most member families are smallholders farming 1–3 ha between ~1,500–1,800 masl, cultivating Bourbon, Typica, and Caturra under mixed shade and largely organic
management. The group organized to improve bargaining power, professionalize quality, and move coffee with a unified voice from a region that has long been fragmented by geography, poverty, and limited access to infrastructure (finance
and mills). La Tribu’s leadership is young and collaborative: La Tribu coordinates pre-harvest financing, quality control, and export under a common brand so families can produce specialty coffee with the patience it requires, rather than parchment to
coyotes. That coordination emerged as a response to price volatility, roya cycles, and out-migration; it’s designed to keep value—and youth—on the mountain through dignified farm income.
La Tribu’s members reflect the indigenous makeup of the highlands (Tzeltal/Tzotzil communities among others), where land inheritance has meant smaller plots and strong mutual-aid traditions. The cooperative model leverages that social
capital—work parties, shared drying space, micro-beneficios—to meet quality specs while navigating structural constraints like credit, road access, and market power held off-farm.
the coffee cart & catering
What started as a way to get the word out has turned into one of our favorite ways to stay connected to our community—and keep ourselves honest, serving up what we’ve been spending our days perfecting in the roastery.
The coffee cart is a completely mobile, fully equipped espresso bar catering to East TN (and occasionally beyond). Dressed to impress, but not distract. We’ve set up at weddings, in corporate spaces, at university events, and even in folks’ homes. Get in touch to book your next event!
wholesale
Our wholesale program is where we get to do what we do best: help you find the right fit for your coffee program. Whether you’re a café, restaurant, shop, or office space, our M.O. is matching you with coffees that make sense for your menu, your people, and the moments you’re trying to create.
We’ll help you land on a standout single origin or a dependable everyday staple—and if you want something that’s uniquely yours, we can even build a custom blend together.
KNOXVILLE BASED // SERVING THE SOUTHEAST // AND BEYOND
inspired by & in homage to
the natural world
Oh, what’s in a name? A lot, actually. We have some wild stories to tell—moments (and hyper-fixations) that led us here, to Wednesdays spent roasting to the dulcet tones of TDWP, Fridays hand-delivering orders, and weekends working events.
It’s always been about a good cup of coffee: pouring cappuccinos in the Old City, becoming a regular at our favorite shop in Boston, sipping some instant while sailing down the East Coast.
But it’s also always been about how the way we experience coffee intersects with the way we experience the world around us.
Learn more about Adrift Coffee and how we aim to fit into the bigger picture, including our mission to make ethically sourced coffees and sustainably packaged products less novel and more normal.
Pretty straightforward. Good coffee, thoughtfully roasted, delivered to your door. A little less forethought and a little more thanking your past self when you roll out of bed.