The Desert Is Crazy!!!

Last week I took a few days off from my work at Organica to go on a camping adventure in Moab, Utah. The big lesson I learned from this trip is that the desert is crazy!!! Landscapes, scenery, and all forms of life are completely different there than what we find here in the mountains. I felt like I was on some alien planet the entire time I was there. Moab is filled with huge rocks all over the place, and they are all truly beautiful and unique. I feel like words can't even describe what my trip was like, to truly understand I believe you have to experience it for yourself. After a long, cold winter, it was definitely great to get back in touch with nature and the elements for a few days.

Adam

LUNCH WINNER!

WHEPHEW!!!....Organica has been BUSY lately! And for that, we say thank you!
Its been so busy that I almost forgot to announce this week's free lunch winner.
This week's winner is our wonderful neighbor, Jeannine, from the Center for Resource Conservation. Congrats Jeannine!...What exactly does the Conservation Center do?? --

The Center for ReSource Conservation operates through three different divisions: Energy, Water and Waste. Through these divisions we provide educational programming and services to help conserve natural resources. I started my work with the CRC as an irrigation auditor for Slow the Flow Colorado during its pilot year in 2004, then continued to work as an auditor in 2005. I've acted as the Program Assistant for Slow the Flow in 2006 and now the Water Division Director. I received my B.A. in Geography from the University of Colorado at Boulder. My coursework had a strong emphasis in environment and society relations as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Thanks Jeannine!

Lunch on us!

hey everyone!
our loyal friends at texture media stop in SO much that they were bound to have their business card picked at some point....today was that day!
todd gamber is this week's winner!
haven't heard of texture media huh?...todd, fill us in --

Simply put, Texturemedia builds brands online. We combine strategy, design, and technology to create powerful interactive ideas. Our portfolio ranges anywhere from basic websites that showcase products and services to online marketing campaigns to complicated web-based applications. We specialize in delivering a boutique agency feel with award-winning design and best-in-business technology. Our website is at

http://www.texturemedia.com and our blog is at http://buildbrandsonline.com

you can catch the daily Texturemedian Coffee Run to Organica every week day sometime between 9:30 and 10:30 am.

FREE LUNCH WINNER!

this week's free lunch winner is jonathan smolens, who is doing some very interesting things around town --

I mostly work on houses. I am very interested in green building, but unfortunately most of the work I do is not that green. I am also very passionate about helping Boulder prepare for Peak Oil. For those of you not familiar with the term Peak Oil refers to Global Peak Oil Production. Globally we have peaked with the amount of oil that we can pump out of the ground in one day which is around 85 million barrels a day. From here the amount to be pumped per day is only going to get less. Our culture is scarily dependent on oil for everything from transportation to food, clothing, medicines and toothpaste being brought to us from far distances. I have been studying the situation and how to help us as a community prepare to be more self-sufficient. I am preparing a presentation for a city government group and hopefully we will be able to get some momentum with this before things get out of control. I am glad to participate in your blog. I love coming to Café Organica because I think that serving local organic food from a locally owned store is part of the solution to peak oil. I am always interested in discussing this stuff more if anyone is interested. Attached is a photo of my son and me. See you soon.
Jonathan

Jonathan Smolens, P.E.
Lopez Smolens Associates
1526 Spruce Street #206
Boulder, CO 80302
303 447-2813
303 447-2814 fax

thanks jonathan!

just another day at organica...

While we’ve been focusing the past week on our customers, I think it’s important to get a feel for the guys, and Mel, who make Organica run. So we’ll end the week with a kind of behind the scenes look at what happens everyday at our coffee shop.

Currently, Organica is staffed by three terrific employees. Mark takes care of the early morning birds, arriving at the store by 6 AM in order to prepare everything for opening. I come into work at 10, and by that point in the day Mark is ready to take a break from the craziness of having to run everything by himself all morning; and it can indeed be pretty hectic trying to juggle lattes and egg sandwiches! So he’ll take his huge bowl of salad downstairs to relax a bit and catch up on all the latest sports news while I take care of all the people who need a late morning caffeine fix and breakfast.

Jeff, our delivery guy and soup chef, then comes in around 11. From then on, it’s the three of us giving you guys great service, making sure everything behind the counter is nice and sparkly, making grocery trips to get the freshest ingredients, and filling the café with the tasty aromas of stewing soups and brewing chai.

Anytime between noon and two is when all of our days are brightened with Mel’s intense energy bursting through the door heading straight towards the split pea soup. We’ll all make sure everything is running smoothly and discuss anything we’d like to do differently or something new we’d like to try. This is definitely the best part of the day, and can result in anything from starting up a blog to moving the microwave to improve our kitchen feng shui (check it out, some of you guys have already noticed).

From there, Mel and Mark will take off by two, and Jeff and I will start cleaning up all the mess we undoubtedly made during the day. After mopping the floors and cleaning up the sinks, Jeff will take off to enjoy the rest of his day, while I hang around to give everyone afternoon coffee and clean up the rest of the store. By the time everyone has trickled out by about five-thirty or six, I will lock up and take off to go home, relax, and chill out.

One of the best things about working at Organica is that our staff is really like a team; we’re all there to help each other out and all of our strengths combine to be able to make the café run so smoothly. I know I can count on all of these guys for anything, and it’s a really enjoyable atmosphere to work in. It may not look like it, but it’s hard work being a barista and it’s good to know I’ve got such good co-workers I can rely on.

That about sums up a typical day at Organica, giving some of you insight into what’s happening when we’re not fixing up your delicious drinks and food. Next week, we’ll do a meet and greet with our staff, so you guys can get to know us outside of our work; where we come from and what our interests are. Have a good weekend and we’ll see ya next week!

FREE LUNCH WINNER!

our good friend kristin was this week's free lunch winner!...we'll let her fill us in on the details of her line of work--

I own Magical Music for Kids, and I offer music classes for preschools, daycares and elementary schools around the Boulder and Westminster area. I get paid to do music with kids! I couldn't ask for a better job. Everyday I sing, dance and play instruments with kids. I play my guitar and teach kids songs, and they light up and sing along. All people have a natural ability to sing and make music, and starting music early with kids helps them to feel confident and passionate about making music.

I often come into Organica Café to refill my coffee cup before I teach music classes on Tuesday mornings at the First Presbyterian Preschool down the street on Walnut and 15th. The people are nice, the atmosphere is warm and you gotta try their tuna salad - shredded carrots, tuna and a dash of curry.

I just released my first CD, Magical Music with Kristin. With originals and traditional songs, my CD captures the songs that get the most enthusiastic responses from the kids in the classroom. An activity book is included with each CD, and my hope is that the CD can provide songs and activities for teachers and families to make music with their children.

You can hear two songs from my CD if you go to my website, www.magicalmusic4kids.com

Happy listening!!

thanks kristin!

hope you enjoyed your lunch!...just a reminder to everyone, dont miss a chance to be next week's winner, just stop by, grab a coffee, and drop off you business card!

todays guest blogger

Hello my name is Julie Gerdes and this is my post

It's 1 o'clock on a Thursday and I'm sitting at a computer, which is not unusual. What is unusual is that I'm not at work, I'm not in Louisiana, and I'm drinking some exceptionally good chai tea, which brings me to how I ended up here in the first place. Here is the Organica Cafe in Boulder, Colorado. I'm in town for four days while my boyfriend looks at CU's Aerospace program. I'm here to, well...eat and maybe snow board a little.





Despite being from New Orleans "Fat City," home of Crawfish Etoufee and Beignets (donut like pastries), over the years I've developed an affinity for all things organic and delicious. After a fantastic lunch at Sunflower I stumbled across Organica Cafe. The atmosphere is great, the staff is friendly and after a few moments I felt right at home. The incredible number of delicious organic options on the menu made me realize that in addition to being one of the most beautiful places in the country, Boulder is also an organic paradise.





While New Orleans reigns supreme as a Culinary Capitol, I tend to pass on the Chicken Jambalaya and Oyster Gumbo in favor of the vegetarian fare, which is few and far between. Here in Boulder the options are almost overwhelming. What's a girl to do? Order a Chai Tea of course, which is amazing (not too much sugar and no caffeine) and contemplate moving to Boulder. A move that will clearly be hazardous to my waistline- the soup on the menu here is looking pretty good and a second lunch isn't looking too out of the question. I might have to do more snow boarding than I thought.