NoCo Chai

I just discovered a new Boulder based chai called Sanctuary chai. I haven't tried it out yet. I just heard about it from this Edible Front Range post. 

It's been awhile since I've been to the Alley Cat. They had put in a very cool looking serpentine bar that I liked the look of, but didn't feel very comfortable working at. But it was along the wall with the windows and I liked the light (and the other tables by windows are in the busier part of the cafe that I like to avoid) so I rolled with it. 

14 S Tejon St, Colorado Springs - (719) 635-1600

In March I went to the AAAI-ISMA conference in Colorado Springs, CO. Before the conference I met a friend at Pikes Perk downtown. This is near Pikes Peak Blvd and I thought it would be cool to some day go to Pikes Peak and then get some chai at Pikes Perk! This day we just did the chai. 

The kind of chai Pikes Perk uses is Oregon Chai and they have many boxes for sale that you can take home. There are mugs as well as Pikes Perk coffee bags with the Pikes Perk logo on them for those of you who want souvenirs. For the month of March their specialty cup was chai mate. This is chai mixed with mate, which I remember the barista saying was from South Africa, but mate is also found in South America.  I was pleasantly surprised that he asked what my preference of milk was. I've never tried chai mate before, so I don't know what to compare it to, but this one was less thick than regular chai, even with the whole milk that I asked for. The barista put it in a large ceramic mug, which is exactly how I love it served!

When I went, they did not have a house blend of chai, but the cashier said that they were working on creating one. He said that he always makes his own because he is a vegan and the regular chais have honey in them. I'm sure that if he is there, he would be happy to make the vegan chai for you, though this is not on their main menu.  

The ambiance has a fun downtown feel to it. There is a roomy upstairs area with many sitting options, with a large bookshelf filled with books and games. There are many different window views where you can peer down onto the street and people watch, or just have the sunlight gleam in while you study or hang out. They had many rich and colorful attention grabbing paintings on display.

Downstairs there was also a lot of seating that included the comfy couches that I always enjoy as well as wooden tables and chairs. As the time neared when I needed to leave I had to do a double take at the clock because the numbers and the direction the hands move are backwards. Needless to say I got my phone out to see the time because that was way too complicated for me! I was enthralled by the cleverness though! 

When you go, make sure to bring enough coins for parking. Also, come early, because it is not easy to find a spot.

	12 oz	16 oz	20oz
Chai Tea	$3.09	$3.59	$3.99
Iced Chai	Add a shot: .69	$3.59
Chai Mate	$3.09	$4.19	$4.59

STAY TUNED FOR PICTURES!!! =)

The Alley Cat Café
120 1/2 W. Laurel
Fort Collins, CO 80524
(970) 495-0123
alleycatcoffeehouse.com

I love the Alley Cat Café.  I think I need to get that out in the open right from the beginning.  The Alley Cat is my favorite cafe and so I feel compelled to tell you, right from the get-go, that I'm biased.  That said, I'll do my best to turn the gushing off and give you the straight story on the Alley Cat.

The Alley Cat Café is located in, of all places, an alley. Despite having a Laurel St. address, the building is actually in between College and Mason, and between Laurel and Myrtle. Not only is there street parking along Mason that's fairly easy to secure, there are also some parking spaces inside the alley area, just to the east and south of the Alley Cat building. The cafe is about 2 blocks from the CSU oval (or 2 tenths of a mile) making it easy to walk to, and there are two long bike racks if you'd prefer to cycle over.

The ambiance at the Alley Cat can best be described as eclectic.  The walls often display the work of various local artists (I first saw Darren's work at the Alley Cat. It knocked my socks off!) and anyone can put down a deposit and take home a ceiling tile to decorate.  (Most of the tiles are painted, but some have collages on them, others are done in pencil or some other medium.  One even has a series of little pinwheels on it.) Old windows are hung from the ceiling and act as area dividers. And a massive map adorns one entire wall.  (It looks like something out of an old National Geographic, but I'm not sure this map would have fit inside the magazine, even when folded up compactly.) There is a mixture of seating areas including smaller tables, two couch areas, a computer bar, two other bar areas for general hanging out, booths and a room downstairs that can be reserved for group meetings.

In addition to serving locally roasted coffee, a large variety of teas, smoothies and bottled drinks, the Alley Cat also serves its own chai, which is made on the premises using a secret formula that only a handful of employees are privy to. Alley Cat chai can be served hot, iced, with a double shot of espresso, or blended into a milkshake. And depending on who your barista is, you may get a dash of nutmeg tossed on top for added flavor.  My kids love going to the Alley Cat with me, not only because they feel really welcomed and comfortable there, but because when they order chai or hot cocoa, they can get it with more than the recommended daily allowance of fresh whipped cream added on top. Yum!  And for those that are afraid to venture into the unknown, Oregon Chai and Chai Maté are also served. 

The Alley Cat Café is open 24/7, making it the perfect place to hang out if you have to pull an all nighter for class. They carry a variety of munchies, serve breakfast burritos from La Luz, make fresh salads and sandwiches, and have two varieties of soup available each day.  Every Monday night, at 8pm, the cafe hosts a poetry night, and Fridays, from 9-11pm, are open mic night.  There is a piano, and often a couple of guitars, that live at the café and can be played by anyone, at any time, that might care to plunk out a few songs. Books and games are stored here and there throughout the cafe for perusal (including a few kids books).

The café offers free wifi and, as mentioned earlier, has a computer bar available for use. One of the wifi channels available is called "Alley Cat Chai" leading Kendra to exclaim "I'm connected to Alley Cat Chai!" as her computer linked in. Ah, there is bliss, to be connected to Alley Cat's chai.  Mmmm!

Alley Cat cards	sitting at the serpentine bar
fair trade coffee, local milk	computer bar
Alley Cat chai	Alley Cat chai with whipped cream
the Alley Cat, in the alley	a bit of the ceiling

Sometimes, as much as you might want a nice steaming hot mug of chai, you're just not up for getting out of the house and dragging yourself to the cafe. So Kendra and I thought we'd try an at home variety of chai using a few different flavors of Celestial Seasonings chai tea bags. Kendra's mom had recently been on a tour of the Celestial Seasonings factory and had picked up four flavors of chai - 1) Original India Spice Decaf, 2) India Spice Chai, 3) Sweet Coconut Thai Chai, and 4) Vanilla Ginger Green Tea Chai. We prepared each mug of chai exactly the same way and tasted them at various points in the process (after steeping, after adding milk and after adding honey).

Original India Spice Decaf - This chai was very bland. It had virtually no flavor after steeping and adding milk and honey only helped moderately.  On a scale of 1 to 10 we rated this chai  1.

Indian Spice Chai - This chai was slightly better than the India Spice Decaf, but only slightly. There was a little more flavor, but not enough that we'd rate this chai higher than the first one.  It also receives a 1.

Sweet Coconut Thai Chai - This chai had more flavor than the first two, but again, the improvement was very slight.  There was also very little coconut flavor (which one might expect when consuming a chai with "coconut" in the name. Once again we gave this chai a 1.

Vanilla Ginger Green Tea Chai - We could smell the vanilla in this chai, but we couldn't taste it. Again we gave a 1 rating.

In general we determined that adding milk and honey greatly improved the flavor, but pouring honey straight into a mug of warm milk would have had an even better flavor than honey and milk mixed with any of these chai teas.  In the end we gave up, poured the tester mugs out in the drain and made our own quick version of chai - which we called a One Shake Chai.

Cups is located on the site of the original Mugs Coffee House on Taft in Fort Collins.  Now under new ownership, Cups still uses the same font as Mugs on their sign, making the two cafés still seem connected, but Mugs and Cups are different not only in ownership but also in overall feel. Whereas Mugs might be considered a home away from home for the Old Town business person or shopper, Cups is located only a mile from the CSU campus and is surrounded by neighborhoods with a high student population, making it the perfect home away from home for the student cramming for a test or taking a break from classwork.

Ironically, when Mugs was in this location, the decor was on the ratty side (in keeping with the college chique perhaps) But under the Cups management, all new furniture has been brought in, from comfy faux suede couches to classy café and bar tables. There's even a large wooden table in one of the upstairs rooms that's perfect for study groups. Unfortunately, all of this new furniture seems slightly too much for the small space on the main floor. (The furniture in the upstairs rooms is well suited to the spaces.) When you first walk in, you have to squeeze between a baked goods cabinet and one of the cushy couches.  After you've gotten your food and drinks, you have to navigate between tables to reach the condiment station and then through more tightly packed tables towards the back of the room.  The work area, on the other hand, is quite spacious and several baristas could comfortably prepare food and drinks without bumping into each other.  In the few visits we've made to Cups, however, we've only seen one person working at a time.  Perhaps the lesson here is that a high priority is placed upon the comfort of the workers.  On the other hand, it could just be that they haven't figured out a better way, yet, to arrange the furniture for the best use of all involved.

One of the things that surprised us on our first visit was that our drinks were served to us in paper cups, despite the fact that we had given no indication that we wanted our drinks to go. On our second visit, Kendra ordered a blended chai (the smallest you can get is 16 oz. for $3.83) which came in a compostable, made-from-corn cup, but Meg's hot chai again came in a paper cup.

Cups serves Big Train (California based) and Third Street (Boulder based) chais. But on our first visit, Kendra was bold and tried the Golden Chai, which is chai spiked with a hit of espresso.  Similar to a mocha in style, the Golden Chai was sweet and tasted richly of coffee.  It was also served at a good temperature for drinking (though this might also be in part because Kendra asked for a ceramic mug to pour her drink into).  Meg's first chai, on the other hand, was too hot to drink for almost 10 minutes.  It was also a little light in flavor, though her second cup (of Big Train chai) was more flavorful, so the difference might lay entirely on who was serving us.

Cups has a good selection of salads, sandwiches, desserts and other munchies. There are even several types of sugary cereals available. (Like we said, Cups is located in the student populated part of town.)

Cups has free wifi (look for tsunami). 

When we visited, there were only a few other customers in the café, but I suspect business picks up quite a bit before exam time and may also be better in the mornings and evenings than in the afternoon when we visited (and when students may still be in class).

Cups has ample parking as it's located in the same shopping center as King Soopers and Nick and Willy's Pizza.  If you ride your bike, however, you'll probably need to use one of the support columns along the outside of the building to tie your bicycle to as there's no designated bike parking. 

	12 oz.	16 oz.	24 oz.
Big Train & Third Street Chai	$3.39	$3.89	$4.09
Golden Chai	$3.89	$4.29	$4.69

chai in paper cup	golden chai in mug
upstairs group study table	looking down from above
chai options	Cups from outside

Don’t let the fact that the Lyric Cinema Café is a movie theater throw you. In addition to being an independent movie venue, the Lyric is also a full service café, open from 8am to 11pm (or so – whenever the last movie gets out). The café serves food and drinks, all of which can be taken into the movie theaters if you want to combine your café and movie experiences.

The café has a bar area, several small tables, and a cozy couch corner and is decorated both with movie posters as well as movie related bits of art (from doors decorated with strips of film to paintings drawn from classic movie moments). Finger foods (such as Thai chicken skewers, bruschetta, hummus plates etc.) are served as well as drinks (espresso drinks, sodas, wines and beers). And of course, being a movie theater, there is also the usual movie treats such as popcorn and candy bars.

The café carries Oregon chai, which was both the perfect temperature and sweetness when we stopped in for a mug. ($3)

In addition to street parking (which isn't as bad around this end of Old Town as it is for cafés along College), the Lyric Cinema Café has a bike rack just outside the front door and is only a block away from the Old Town parking structure. If you come to the café around the time that a movie is starting, be prepared to wait in a fairly long line to get your drinks (since the food line is the same as the ticket line).

If you're interested in seeing a movie, tickets are $8/adult, $6.50/student, and $6/matinees.  There are also several free opportunities.  The inauguration of President Obama brought in a huge crowd.  Watching the Oscars at the cinema is becoming an annual event. And from 10am - noon every Saturday morning, you can watch old cartoons and consume all you can eat from a cereal buffet.  (OK, so the cereal will cost you $5, but the cartoon watching is free.) And the café is open for all of these events, so you can watch a flick while you sip your chai.  What could be better than that?

One of my favorite features of the Lyric Cinema has nothing to do with the movies or even *gasp* the chai.  Get ready for a "true confession" here...  I love the newsletter emails.  That's right.  You can sign up to join the Lyric Cinema mailing list and get laugh out loud funny spiels from one of the owners about upcoming movie showings and other events taking place at the Lyric.  It's a great way to keep in touch with what's happening and add a giggle or two to your day.

chai	cabinet door decorated with film
slumdog millionaire	kendra
sign on theater door	the pointy corner of the Lyric

The Bean Cycle is located in the heart of Old Town Fort Collins, on College Avenue. This popular café serves only organic, fair trade coffee which is roasted in small batches in a hand-crafted French roaster. The café is also home to a non-profit bookstore which is located in the rear of the building and which partners with the Bean Cycle to host local discussion groups and other community related events.

from the back of the cafe looking forward	from the front of the cafe looking toward the back
bike used as wall decoration	tea selection
kendra and meg	matter bookstore

Mugs Coffee Lounge is located at the corner of College Avenue and Olive Street.  If you make a visit, aim for the north west corner of that intersection.  You could watch for the Mugs signs on their windows and over their doorway, but more than likely you'll miss them entirely. (They're rather hard to see, especially behind the tall trees along College.)  But once you're there you'll find Mugs to be a very pleasant, slightly bohemian sort of café that serves not only a wide variety of drinks but a large selection of edibles as well.

Mugs carries two brands of chai, Third Street Chai (made in Boulder) and Big Train Inc. Chai (made in Foothill Ranch, California). They bill the former as a spicy chai and the latter as a sweet chai.  Kendra got the Third Street Honey Vanilla Chai, which wasn't so spicy after all (and seemed to be made with a bit too much milk as it wasn't overly flavorful in general).  Meg got the Big Train chai which was made with a beautiful steaming mug design in the foam.

Mugs has a plethora of other drinks available as well and we would be remiss if we didn't at least touch upon the broad selection that they carry.  Not only do they serve 6 different fresh fruit smoothies, but they have 3 power smoothies, 4 juice blends, 7 "blendies" (one includes brownies), specialty lattes, and the usuals when it comes to tea and coffee.  And their food selection, while including foods that you might expect like bagels and sandwiches, also includes a fair bit of vegan fare (a rarity in Fort Collins, the land of cattle and wild game hunters) as well as many gluten free variations.

Mugs is also unique in that they run their own hydroponic garden in the basement of the cafe.  The fresh veggies (and wheatgrass, as pictured to the left) are used in the foods (and drinks) that they serve.  Can't get much fresher than that.

There's also an over all environmental ethic throughout the store, from a bag of trash hanging from the ceiling (representing the amount of trash produced from consuming only one cup of coffee every other day for a year in paper cups), to to-go smoothie cups that are compostable as well as bikes and bike-related paraphernalia used as general café decorations.  Local and organic products are used when possible (including the hydroponically grown food which fits smartly into both of those categories).  And there's also a strong feeling of support for community needs and events.  Mugs has a long list of local charitable giving and they host a bulletin board where community events can be announced.

Free wifi is available in the cafe and there are several desktop computers (in equal numbers of macs and pcs) that are available for walk up use. The basement, in addition to hosting the indoor garden, also has a large room which can be reserved for group meetings.

Depending on the time of day, street parking may be a bit hard to come by (though I've never had to park more than a block away), but there are several bike racks around the outside of the cafe, and for those who work or live in Old Town, Mugs is a convenient destination to walk to.

	small	medium	large
Chai	$3.75	$4.00	$4.25

t-shirts and mugs on sale	community bulletin board
notice the sign about "Vegan sausage now available" over the forks and knives.	um... no clue what this is.
save money on refills - in ceramic mugs only	computers available for use
the large basement room	chair back in basement
basement	Mugs from outside

If our first visit is any indication, Wild Boar Coffee is wildly popular. Located one block from the CSU School of Art, and only a few blocks south of Old Town shopping, the café resides in a converted 1922 house.  Not only is varied seating available, but the original rooms of the house were preserved, providing five different places, from cozy/comfy to business meeting formal (complete with large tables for groups) in which to sip your chai.  The coffee shop also serves breakfast dishes, sandwiches, salads, soup, burritos and pasta and has a wide selection of local beers.

What struck us most about Wild Boar Coffee was the spacious feel and the tastefully decorated rooms. Much of the original wood work of the house has been preserved and there are several antique pieces (such as an old coffee grinder and old photos) located throughout.  The thick wooden tables are sturdy and darkly stained, giving the place almost a European manor house feel. Despite the fact that the café was packed when we arrived (there were only two vacant tables for us to choose from) there was still a very calm, relaxed, and uncrowded feel.

The Wild Boar offers three types of chai: Bhakti and 3rd Street (both Boulder based chais) and Oregon chai. Mugs are provided for chai drinkers that will be staying in-house, and guests can pick up a card at the counter to get every 10th drink for free.

Free wifi is available, but the password is changed every day so be sure to ask your server for the key of the day.

The café does have it’s own parking lot behind the building.  To access the lot, either turn into the alley from East Prospect (before the right hand turn lane that will put you on to College Ave.) or pass the café on College and turn right onto Lake St. where you can either grab street parking, or turn into the alley to reach the lot. There are also two bike racks along the north side of the building.  You can access them using either the alley entrance or the (blocked to cars) driveway that connects to College Ave.

The business meeting room can be reserved in advance.

	12 oz.	16 oz.	18 oz.
Oregon Chai	3.50	4.20	4.95
3rd Street Chai	3.50	4.20	4.95
Bahkti Chai	4.45	4.75	5.49

the boar	the chai
meg	fireplace
northeast room	old coffee grinder
kendra and meg	meg is boared

The f/stop café is located in The Center for Fine Art Photography building on North College about a stone's throw away from the Northside Aztlan Community Center.  The name, f/stop, refers to an aperture setting on a camera, a fitting name for a café located in a building where photography is a large focus. Sandwiched in between the north and south galleries, the café offers not only drinks, but also standard breakfast and lunch fare (see pdf menu attached to the end of this post). There is a variety of seating inside the café, and during warmer weather, there is a large patio area available as well. 

We visited the f/stop in mid-January and therefore didn't get to enjoy the outdoor seating.  We did, however, have a nice chat with the owner of the cafe, Darren, who gave us the run-down on the various types of chai that the cafe has to offer: Tazo (which is what we ended up drinking), Bahkti (which is made in Boulder), and Mountain Kettle (which is their in-house brand of chai).  We had hoped to try the house chai, but they were out (The gal who makes the chai was on a long vacation.). 

Darren was not only pleasant to chat with, but he also took great care in making our chai. He asked how sweet we wanted it to be and adjusted the mixture accordingly, and he pointed out that some people scald the milk when making chai.  Neither of us had ever considered the appropriate heat level for freshly made chai, so his statement definitely got us thinking.  We also noticed that our chais were a very comfortable sipping temperature from the moment we sat down with them.

The cafe had varied seating -- tables for two, two comfy chairs, and a bar area -- all of which included easy access to electrical outlets for laptops.  There is free wifi, but you'll have to ask the barista for the password to use it.  The overall shape of the cafe is long and skinny -- bowling alley shaped -- with photography galleries on either end, so you can gaze out upon the art work as you sip your drink.

Despite the fact that f/stop cafe is close to downtown Fort Collins, there is ample parking around the building making it a nice place to stop for a cuppa if you're in your car and don't want to drive in circles around Old Town looking for a place to park.

chai with a smile	comfy chair
cream and sweeteners table	chess set
south photo gallery	upstairs galleries and shops