The Treehouse Coffee Shop

Something I have really enjoyed doing lately is visiting independently-owned specialty coffeeshops. This interest really peaked when I decided to do an assignment on them and really got into research and interviewing owners. 

The Nutty Irishman

I really got to dig into the goals of the shops, topics of beans, brewing and barista training and the community aspect of the coffee shops. 

So, on an out-of-town trip, I decided to look for indie coffee shop. And I found one. 

The Treehouse Coffee Shop in Audubon, New Jersey. 

The Treehouse was started in May of 2003 by Tina and Randy, with the additional help of family, friends and a few loyal staff. 

"It was an exciting time. We felt a calling to open a shop that showed love through care oriented customer service and delicious food," commented Tina, owner of The Treehouse. 

In first going to the coffee shop, I found the name really interesting. Come to find out the meaning behind it is very cool. The name came from Psalms 1 and Ezekial 47. 

"Both of these verses describe healthy trees growing by streams of water. These trees grow leaves to heal people and food to feed people," explains Tina. "Over the years, we have evolved and grown so much in our ability to obtain the idealistic goals to which we originally felt called. The 

Treehouse has matured, and we are developing new recipes and procedures to meet the ever evolving dietary needs of our customers. We have a dedicated and experienced staff who have genuine relationships with our customers (i.e. The leaves). We have connected with local farmers, a CSA based out of Camden County to incorporate wholesome foods into our recipes (i.e. The fruit)." 

The shop is customer friendly in so many ways. The atmosphere of the shop is inviting and relaxed. The floor plan is mostly open except for the L-shaped wall that displays their merchandise. They have tables of all shapes and sizes, circular, square or rectangle, mainly two or four seats. They have a small area where you can find children's toys and books. Their menu is filled with homemade and freshly baked items, including gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options. 

In addition to the all of the above mentioned, The Treehouse also hosts several nights of live music and open mic nights. You can check out their calendar to see the different types of live music and open mic times available. 

Finally, the wide variety of beverages. Their beverage menu includes classic espresso beverages, "Gang Creations," which are different combinations they have created, non-bean beverages, such as tea, milkshakes, smoothies and iced coffee beverages. 

The Treehouse's coffees come from local roasters. The shops most popular blends are from Crescent Moon Coffee Roasters in Mullica Hill, N. J. 

A unique fact about this particular Roasters is they practice relationship coffee

practices. Tina explains what this means, “This means, they have developed relationships with the farms they purchase their beans from through visitation of the farms and proper

compensation for the raw beans.” Another local favorite roaster is Revolution Coffee Roasters out of Collingswood, N.J. 

On my visit to The Treehouse, I decided to try one of their gang creations titled the Nutty Irishman, which is an espresso beverage with hazelnut and Irish cream syrup, with a little whip cream on top. My boyfriend also tried a gang creation titled the Cara-Van, which is an espresso beverage with Caramel and Vanilla syrup. 

Our final conclusion . . . we thoroughly enjoyed our coffees. The flavor was really good and the coffee was hot. I think next time I will opt out of whip cream, I think it took away from the flavor.  The young lady behind the counter was very kind and patient as we asked what several of the creations contained. 

I would highly recommend visiting The Treehouse. The coffee was great, even though I didn’t have any of the food, you could tell it was baked and made fresh, the atmosphere is relaxed and inviting and the staff was very kind and helpful. 

So, if you are ever up in the Audubon, New Jersey area drop in and give The Treehouse a try.


Do you have a favorite independent specialty coffee shop? Give me a shout and I may just try it out.