Cuppa Tahoe is a cafe and bookstore featuring fantastic lattes and a productive, welcoming shared workspace. Here’s my review after my latest trip to South Lake Tahoe.

I’ve been celebrating the wonderful women in my life all month, and I’m not about to stop now! The most exciting celebration is a reunion with my PNW girlies this week in South Lake Tahoe. Some background. I spent the first three years of my professional career in Seattle, Washington. Coming from Northeast Ohio, the Pacific Northwest inspired little more than culture shock. Working in tech didn’t help either. The stereotypes of tech workers are not wrong: zero personality, very flakey.

It took much longer than I expected to settle into a new city and secure solid female friendships. But once I did? PHEW. These women are a goddamn force: motivated, nurturing, protective, and ridiculously fun. I am the best version of myself when I’m in their presence, unless we’re in Ibiza, Spain. But that’s a story for another time after I receive proper mental health counseling for the events.

We haven’t been together since the Christmas before Covid. Our reunions are nowhere near as frequent as the weeknight drinks and Sunday brunches we used to host, but they’re just as special. We all live in different states across different time zones, yet time and distance has little impact on the love we share. For this latest reunion, we rented a quaint, reclusive log cabin in South Lake Tahoe for snow sports, hot tubbing, and more wine than our livers can handle. But as much fun as it is to hole up in the middle of nowhere, cabin fever is real.

If you find yourself in South Lake Tahoe with your loved ones, but your skin starts crawling because you just need some fresh air, check out Cuppa Tahoe. Nestled in a shopping plaza, you’ll find a bustling cafe of both locals and tourists trying to get warm. The moment you walk in, you’re greeted by stack after stack of new release books. Artful curation of fantasy, non-fiction, self-help, you name it. It might be a smaller space than other independent book sellers, but the limited real estate doesn’t impact the selection.

The wall immediately to your left is a makeshift library. For readers who might not be able to afford a new release but still want to read, you can “borrow” a book from Cuppa Tahoe. Each book has a library card of sorts, but the books don’t leave the shop. So readers can come in each week, grab a cup of coffee, and pick up right where they left off. Mark your progress on the card and leave it behind for another reader to share in the story. It’s one of the most unique programs I’ve seen to inspire reading without expecting a financial investment from customers. This feature alone would make me a return visitor.

There are two features I look for whenever I visit an independent bookstore: staff recommendations and comfortable seating. Cuppa Tahoe has both. I’d say every fifth book has a carefully and consciously written recommendation as to why you’d want to pick up a copy. The cafe also hosts a monthly book club, which the baristas encouraged me to join. If only I were a local. The clear excitement and community around reading shows how much the entire staff loves to read. I asked a bunch of questions about latest releases and recommendations, and everyone was more than happy to answer.

Not only does the space offer artful literary curation, but their seating arrangements are also just as thoughtful. Cuppa Tahoe arranged their bookshelves in a maze-like manner. When you browse the shelves, you stumble upon comfy reading chairs and reclaimed leather couches. While their space is designed for meetings and community, they found a way to incorporate privacy.

One of the other great features is their shared workspace. For $3 an hour, you can bring your work to Cuppa Tahoe’s casual coworking space. There is no reservation required and open seating. If the space is a little too open, they also have private rooms you can access for meetings and phone calls. Some people might argue that paying to work somewhere defeats working from home, but if you need an incentive to get a project done or meet a deliverable’s deadline, it’s a great motivator.

And let’s talk about the drinks. Tasty, well-crafted, great espresso. It’s that simple. From their cold brew, to their iced lattes and teas, everything we had was delicious. And of course we splurged on a couple brownies and muffins. We were on vacation, how could we not?

So if you find yourself in South Lake Tahoe or the Heavenly Resort area, you’re going to want to take a load off at Cuppa Tahoe.