Unfiltered.

Trio Craft Coffee Is Educating Suburbanites On The Merits Of Good Craft Brew.

Welcome to Unfiltered, our weekly feature that explores the Dallas coffee scene — and how it often manages to thrive in the most unusual places. Given that we live in a time when Starbucks locations are about as prevalent as the golden McDonald's arches, when new coffee shops seem to open every other week and when almost everyone uses a ChemEx to brew their coffee, we're here to show you some alternatives — for when your coffee shop routine becomes monotonous or when you're just looking for something different in your caffeine endeavors.

Trio Craft Coffee.
2628 Long Prairie Road, Ste 103.
Flower Mound.

While the Dallas craft coffee scene has grown considerably over the past couple of years, there are still a few holdout areas that remain fiercely loyal to their morning drive-thru routines.

Such an area exists between Grapevine and Highland Village, where you're more likely to find yourself embrace the likes of a Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts.

But off the beaten path in Flower Mound, you'll find Trio Craft Coffee, where the Palacio family — husband and wife duo Susan and Carlos, and Carlos' son Eli — has decided to share their love of coffee in their own “backyard.”

“We wanted our first shop — we hope this is one of many — at least to be where we do life naturally,” says Susan Palacio about the shop's concept. “Carlos and I are both just passionate about entrepreneurship, but also just people and a life of service. That, combined with a passion for coffee, it was a really natural fit.”

Inside of the cozy suburban shop, a coffeephile can feel right at home between a profession of black coffee love muraled on one wall and a breakdown of the three most important elements of good coffee on another. These three elements — the bean, water and people — also serve as the inspiration for Trio's name.

Here, classics like drip coffee and espresso are done well enough to set coffee standards, utilizing such roasters as Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters, Madcap and Cuvee. A chalkboard listing the roasts provides suggestions for the best extraction methods for each coffee.

There are also some pretty cool seasonal drinks, like the strawberry latte. For those who preferred their milk pink, the drink resembles the childhood favorite, but with an added dark chocolate flavor, courtesy of the espresso that balances out the sweetness.

Another espresso drink to try is the honey shooter, perfect for people who enjoy a quick caffeine boost. Espresso is layered with milk and local honey in a 5-ounce short drink. Taking it in a shot-like fashion gives you the instant sensation of caffeine, chased by the sweet creaminess of the milk and honey combo. Or, you can sip the drink over time to savor the complex flavors that lie somewhere between a cortado and cortadito.

Additionally, the shop pays homage to Mexican culture with housemade horchata, where the flavorful cinnamon, anise and rice milk make for a great dairy and caffeine-free option.

As with most growing coffee destinations, there's a bit of a learning gap for customers transitioning from chains to craft measures. At Trio, this means that every cup comes with a bit of education, from detailing the complexities of each roast to explaining to regulars why they prefer certain flavors over others. For them, it's more about showcasing the love of coffee than conversion tactics.

Says Susan: “We kind of call this area a little bit of a coffee desert. We're still growing the presence of craft coffee, and I think that's probably true of most suburbs in general. You tend to see urban areas have the more developed coffee drinkers, [so] it's been interesting. We're not trying to be Starbucks, or compete with Starbucks. We don't want to. We're not trying to. But there's plenty space to play with in the coffee world.”