Isa Cruz

Over the summer, Tern Coffee and Tea joined the downtown Brunswick café lineup, opening their storefront on Maine Street between School Street and Center Street. The micro-roastery is a family operation, owned by Heidi and Chris Townsend of Topsham. The roastery was previously run out of the Townsends’ home after launching in 2023.

The small menu consists of typical espresso drinks such as cortados, cappuccinos, Americanos and lattes in addition to other tea-based drinks such as matcha and chai lattes. The menu also features drip coffee, cold brew, nitro cold brew and kyoto drip—a specialty slow-drip coffee. Patrons can customize their drinks with vanilla, mocha, maple and caramel sweeteners. The store also offers milk alternatives, including their homemade almond milk.

In addition to craft coffee and tea, the store sells coffee and espresso machines as well as other accessories.

The couple previously worked for Wicked Joe Organic Coffee based in Topsham, which is the College’s coffee supplier. As coffee industry veterans, they decided Brunswick was the perfect place to take the next step in their careers.

“When we first came to Maine, we loved coming into Brunswick. I grew up in Middlebury, [Vt.], and it had a similar vibe to it, and so it kind of just felt like home,” Heidi Townsend said. “We looked around at different places, and we thought Brunswick needs its own roastery. We just really wanted to be the little hometown roaster. We’ve worked at every level of coffee now, from small little roasteries all the way up to huge companies. And we like that size of just having our own base.”

Heidi Townsend emphasized that the mission of Tern is bigger than selling drinks as coffee education is integral to its identity.

“We love educating about different coffees and different coffee cultures and things like that. I really loved, having been in Middlebury for years, the interaction of having people that are just really into learning and that part of it. I’m excited to have that be a part of what we do,” Townsend said.

She hopes to forge connections between her industry experience and her commitment to fostering a sense of community.

“I really want to share what we’ve learned through the years, and what we’ve learned about sourcing coffee and working with other communities that are growing coffee and being good ambassadors for them so that they can share their crop with people here,” Townsend added.

She highlighted the importance of connection with their global partners. Tern sells roasts from across the world, including Oaxaca, Mexico, Guji, Ethiopia, Aceh, Indonesia and more.

“We’re really striving to go to the origin every spring and make connections with little family farms. I really wanted to … make the connection between the farmers there and our community and what we bring in as imports…. We like having that connection to all of these farmed commodities that come from different family farms that we connect with around the world,” Townsend said.

Tern has become a frequented spot by students, including Mariana Vidaurri ’26.

“I love Tern because I’ve been able to make morning coffee runs a fun activity with my friends. I get a chance to hang out with them while enjoying great coffee. I’ve also had a great time getting to know the baristas and owners who have helped me appreciate the value of supporting small businesses within Brunswick,” Vidaurri said.