New Tampa Cafe Brings Jazz Music, Coffee and Tea to the Area

Local New Tampa cafe, Coffee Speaks N Tea Talks, is a dream for owner Arlene Brooks.

Brooks opened the store in 2019, just before the pandemic forced it to close.

“So I lost my mother in November 2016. I knew I wanted to have a memory of her every day. And so coffee is part of the memory of my mother waking up smelling coffee every day. so was there, how that And other things kind of pivoted and moved away into space, and I left corporate America. Now I’m doing the things that I love,” Brooks said.

Brooks also didn’t let the pandemic stop her dream.

This led her to start Jazz under the Starz. At the time, the event happened in his parking lot. It’s an ongoing event, just like Jazz after Dark.

“So we have Jazz after Dark every first Saturday of the month, usually and we bring in an individual artist and it’s more of a kind of intimate, reservation-based vibe that we do. You have to book for that in advance, and we’re giving it out to about 32 people, and that’s it. We’ll bring in individual artists, whether it’s a sax or a fiddle or something jazzy, sometimes it’s a little music singing, and sometimes I sings but not all the time,” Brooks explained. “And that just brings up a collective of people who want to have a place to go here in New Tampa.”

The shop also supports local artists. What you see on the walls is facing outward.

“You can feel comfortable and create whatever you want to create, whether it’s a meeting, whether you just have a cup of coffee or tea and relax as well, that’s the ‘one of those great places,’ Brooks said.

If you go try the whipped coffee and the beast chicken salad, it’s only served a few times a month so be sure to keep an eye on their Facebook page.