How rude! We've forgotten to introduce you!

To those of you who've been wondering, 'who's the cute new the girl behind the counter?', her name is Alex, and she's our new book store clerk and barista extraudinare.

Talk about right place, right time.

Jefferson and I were starting to discuss how busy the morning rush was becoming, and that Jefferson was struggling to give the best possible customer service he could on his own. In walks Alex. Buys a coffee, hangs out for a bit, and asks if we're hiring. Alex said she came to us specifically because she liked what she read about us on our Blog and thought, that sounds like a cool place to work. Complimenting the owners. Already on a good start.

She's fresh out of college, with a Literacy major, looking for some kind of work to keep her occupied until she finds, as she puts it, a 'real job'. She went to College in Montana, and moved back to Colorado recently. She loves water sports, and she brews her own beer (and she's damned good at it too... we know, she's given us a few bottles to sample).

What we love most about Alex (apart from the delicious home brews she brings in for us) is her cool, calm, and friendly personality. We love her genuine enthusiasm for her work, and for the success of our store.

For example - most of you would be shocked if you knew that Alex had no barista experience before she came to RW&B. I say shocked because of the quality of the drinks she now prepares. Well yes, Jefferson can take credit for training her in everything he knows, but she's gone over and above what Jefferson taught her. We happened to mention in conversation one day that eventually we'd like to start creating latte art with our coffee drinks. Alex jumped at the opportunity to learn something new, and after a few Googled online videos and practice sessions, look what she can do now!


Get a latte to stay next time you're in, and you too can have your own Read, Write & Brew art in your latte froth... as long as Alex is behind the counter.

Oh, and remember that article in the Denver Post a few weeks back? Alex's parents thought of the idea to mention us and get us that free feature article!

So, talk about setting the bar high, hey: quick learner, personality, latte art, home brewed beers for the boss, free feature article in the Denver Post! Future RW&B employees, you've got your work cut out for you to try and top that... and we're waiting eagerly to see what you come up with!

Oh, and Alex..
Please don't ever find a 'real job'.
We like you too much.

From Jeff, Jules and the kokopelli's.

Java Junkies of the month - Jack and Melissa

Jack was one of the very first customers to walk through the door at Read, Write & Brew, and has been coming in almost daily ever since. He lives in the condo complex across the street, and discovered us one morning while going for a walk through the neighbourhood. He came in daily for his usual, which was a cappuccino. Then he started coming in with Melissa, his caregiver. He got her hooked on us (she comes in sometimes without Jack now), and she got Jack hooked on our White Chocolate Mocha's. He wasn't interested in trying anyhting new, but after she talked Jack into taking a sip of her white mocha one day, just to taste it, it's been Jack's 'usual' ever since. For the summertime, Melissa has switched to the frappé version though. Jack still likes his hot.

Q: What book are you reading right now?
A: (Jack) Patton (no author given).

A: (Melissa) ..something by Dean Koontz, but I can't remember the name of it right now...

Q: What is your favorite author/book?
A: (Jack) No favorite author. I like Non-Fiction books best.

A: (Melissa) Stephen King.

Q: What do you do for work?
A: (Jack) I'm retired now, but I graduated from CU and worked in the army, and when I came back to Colorado I worked for the government.

A: (Melissa) Professional Caregiver. My husband and I also own our own hardwood flooring business.

Should we plug their business? Of course we should!

If you need new hardwood floors, or your old hardwood floors refinished to look like new, look no further than the 'Rocky Mountain Floor Company'. Website http://www.iwanthardwood.com/.

Jack has travelled the world, and 17 years ago married his wife, Francie. He has a total of 5 kids, 16 grandkids and he even has great-grandkids!

Melissa is also married with two kids.

Q: What would you like people reading this blog to know about you?

A: (Jack) I've met the Queen of England.

Jefferson: Really, as in 'Queen Elizabeth', the current Queen of England?

A: (Jack) yes.

A: (Melissa) I've met Mr T!

Thanks Jack and Melissa for being great customers and loyal supporters of our 'lil 'ol coffee shop and used bookstore. Jack and Melissa received a $10 Read, Write & Brew gift certificate for being our July Java Junkies.

We were the featured business in yesterdays 'Your Hub'!

For those of you who read The Denver Post, you may have noticed your 'lil old Read, Write & Brew featured in the Your Hub section of yesterdays' paper. If you didn't catch it, here's the write up they did on us.

(If you click on the image you will be able to see an enlarged version that you'll be able to read).

How awesome, right? We were so excited, first of all to get recommended, and second of all, to make it to print!

Java Junkie of the month - Nick Roman

Introducing Nick Roman - our June Java Junkie. Nick's in pretty much 5 days a week for his fave drink, 1/2 caf Americano with skim.

Nicks a licensed CPA, and has been married for 10 years, with two kids, 7 and 8 years old. Golden has been his home for the past 10 years, and we're glad he's made Read, Write & Brew his home for coffee. He's one of our most frequent regulars.

When he's not crunching numbers, sipping coffee, or spending time with the wife and kids, Nick loves to scuba and ski. He's been skiing in the Dolomites (Italy) and scuba diving in Palau. Pretty exotic, huh!

When randomly asked what his favorite dinosaur is, the answer is an Argentinosaurus, also known as the 'silver lizard'.



Something you may be surprised to know about him: in High School he played in both the state championship football and state championship soccer game in the same year.

His personal motto is, "Live life while you can, then die and be done with it."

Nervous About Alzheimer's? Coffee May Help

I found the following story on the NPR iPhone App:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128110552&sc=17&f=1128

Nervous About Alzheimer's? Coffee May Help
by Allison Aubrey

- June 28, 2010

It's an appealing notion that our daily pick-me-up may also confer a range of health benefits. And for coffee drinkers there's a lot of research percolating. Several studies suggest that a daily caffeine habit may help protect against Alzheimer's disease. But there's a catch. The cup or two a day that most Americans drink doesn't seem to be enough. Researchers say 500 mg of caffeine, or about five cups of regular coffee, is the dose that seems to protect the brain.

Five Cups A Day

This may sound like an excessive amount of caffeine. After five cups, lots of us would end up with the jitters and be making extra trips to the bathroom. But some coffee lovers are hard core:

"I drink five to six cups a day religiously," says Gary Arendash, a researcher at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, part of Florida State University. Arendash says he's convinced that caffeine is protecting his brain.

Arendash and his colleagues at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center have been studying the effects of caffeine on the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease. They've found that adding caffeinated water to rodents' diet results in big improvements. The mice perform better on short-term memory and thinking tests. But only if they get enough caffeine.

"The human equivalent of two to three cups of coffee does not have benefits in our Alzheimer's mice," says Arendash.

Arendash's team also documented that these super-caffeinated mice end up with about a 50-percent reduction in abnormal amyloid proteins, which are thought to play an important role in the development of Alzheimer's.

The typical American drinks about a cup and a half of coffee a day. "So you can see that many of us are below that threshold level that we believe confers protective benefits," says Arendash.

Evidence Not Conclusive

The Alzheimer's mice studies on caffeine are intriguing to researchers who are trying to translate the findings into advice for humans. But interpreting an animal study can be tricky.

"It's always a good starting point," says Joan Lindsay of the University of Ottawa. "But we never know how well it's going to hold up with humans." After all, people are a lot more complicated. And researchers have learned that mice can respond really differently than humans do to a drug, an environmental toxin or a change in nutrition.

Another challenge is to find a reliable test of the memory of mice. Arendash uses a mouse maze to assess the spatial memory of his Alzheimer's mice. He puts the mice in little swimming pools with lots of alleys and dead-ends to see how quickly they can find and remember hidden escape platforms. Similar computer-based maze tests are used in human studies.

"The first thing that is lost in Alzheimer's is short term memory -- the memory for what happened a few seconds or a minute ago," says Arendash. "That's what (the water maze) is focusing on."

Observations Of Coffee-Loving Middle-Aged Folks

There wouldn't be as much interest in Arendash's mice studies if scientists hadn't also begun to gather some evidence that a steady caffeine habit is beneficial to people, too.

One recent study comes from Finland where researchers followed about 1,400 coffee drinkers for more than two decades. Researchers found one group seemed to benefit the most: the people who'd been drinking three to five cups of coffee a day in their 40s and 50s.

"They had about a 65-to-70-percent reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in their 70s," says Huntington Potter, a neurobiologist at the University of South Florida. Potters says effects held up even when researchers controlled for things such as cardiovascular disease, which can influence the risk of dementia.

A few other smaller studies in Europe have led to similar findings, but experts say the research only establishes a correlation between coffee drinking and brain protection.

"I'd hesitate to say that there's epidemiologic evidence that coffee prevents Alzheimer's disease," says Reisa Sperling, an Alzheimer's researcher at the Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard University.

It's possible that these regular coffee drinkers might have other habits in common that could explain the protective effect. "People who are very active in mid-life are more likely to be drinking coffee than couch potatoes," says Sperling. Maybe the coffee drinkers aren't benefiting from the coffee as much as they are from keeping their minds and bodies active. The studies make it difficult to suss out.

Coffee Drinking Can't Offset Genetic Risks

Sperling says Alzheimer's is an incredibly complicated disease. Exercise and good nutrition do seem to be protective, but a person's risk is largely determined by genes. No one behavior or diet change -- like coffee drinking -- can erase that risk.

If future research brings stronger evidence that caffeine may modify the risk by some small percentage that means coffee lovers will have one more reason to drink away.

Just make sure those five cups don't keep you up all night -- sleep is important to health, too. [Copyright 2010 National Public Radio]

To learn more about the NPR iPhone app, go to http://iphone.npr.org/recommendnprnews

We get by with a little 'Yelp' from our friends...

So now that the word of mouth is spreading about our store, we've noticed people are 'Yelping' us to find us, and some are even spending the extra time to leave a comment about our store. Here's what people have been saying about us on Yelp.

"Very peaceful place to sit read and drink coffee. It is located next to the foothills of the mountains, so you can see hills out the window."

jo j. (Lakewood CO)

"Independent coffee shops tend to have great coffee, of course. But this stuff is about the smoothest and most flavorful I've had. But the bigger surprise was the low prices. I had just popped-in to grab an eye-opener, but and definitely planning on going back, frequently and soon. And that's saying a lot since we're up in the Bailey area and don't come down the hill unless there's something special for us."

Me F (Park CO)

"I am there at least twice a week."

Angela C (Denver CO)

We love getting comments on Yelp (especially the positive 5-star-rating kind!!). It helps us know if we're on track in delivering the kind of customer experience we set out for. If you're registered with Yelp, and have been to Read, Write & Brew, why not leave us a comment as well?

Closed Memorial Day

Read, Write & Brew will be closed Monday May 31st in observance of Memorial Day.

Is't death to fall for Freedom's right?
He's dead alone who lacks her light!
~Thomas Campbell

Java Junkie of the month - Sara Webb

Jefferson and I still remember the first day we met Sara. We were building out the store - tiling, painting, cleaning, dirty and exhausted - and along comes a bubbly fresh face "Hi! My name's Sara and I can't wait for you guys to open. My two most favorite things in the world are books and coffee. My kids go to the Taekwondo school, so I'm sure you'll see me in your store all the time". Truer words were never spoken, and here we are 8 months later, Java Junkie of the month (our second ever Java Junkie).

On that day we were pretty excited at having officially met our first customer, before we'd even opened for business, and had no idea at the time how we'd come to get to know the awesome person Sara is, and that she would become a valued friend of ours.

Sara comes in almost daily (sometimes bi-daily) for her steamed soy latte - but as the weather has gotten warmer, now she's switched to iced (as per the pic above). She enjoys these at the store while Chloe and Brett (her twin 11 year olds and 'partners in crime') are working their martial art butts off at the Taekwondo studio across the parking lot. They come in after class for their well deserved sugar free and chocolatey drinks and muffins.

Sara lives just down the road in Morrison, and is a teacher at Jefferson Highschool. You'll probably spot her at the store from time to time researching for her classes, or meeting with her fellow teachers. She's passionate about being a high school teacher and by the way she talks about her students, it's obvious she genuinely cares about them, understands them, and respects them. She often comes in wearing 'Jefferson' (school) t-shirts, and has to explain to Jefferson (Read, Write & Brew) that no, she's not his number 1 fan, it's a school shirt, and enough with the wise cracks.

Julie: So, what book are you reading at the moment?
Sara: Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Pena

Julie: I haven't heard of that one... is it any good?
Sara: A few of my students said they'd read it and said it was really good, so I thought I'd give it a try, amongst others I'm reading right now. But I'm enjoying it.
Jefferson: (comes up from behind us and takes over, without invitation) I've got a Jefferson 'Hard Core Question' for you. Name your favorite break dance move.
Sara: I don't even know any break dance moves....
Jefferson: Would you rather burn to death, or..... what?
Sara: What's my alternative?
Jefferson: That's for you to say!
Sara: Ummm.....
Jefferson: (while Sara is saying 'ummm') What do you never leave the house without?
Sara: My nails painted.
Jefferson: What do you think of animals with tentacles?
Sara: They're cool because they can re-generate.
Jefferson: What would you like to come back as?
Sara: A tree, because they last for a long time in the proper environment and they're constantly changing.
Customer walks in and Jefferson crawls back into his cage, where he belongs.
Julie: We'll, I guess Jefferson covered pretty much everything. I've got one last question. What's the one thing you'd like the Read, Write & Brew blog readers to know most about you?
Sara: That I'm super passionate about working with adverse kids, and eventually I'd like to finish my counseling masters and work in a halfway house. I think that'd be really worthwhile.

Box 'o Books #3 - $4

You've gotta be fast - they're going quick!

Here's what's in Box 'o Books #3.

Wild Animus - Rich Shapero
Seabiscuit - Laura Hillenbrand
Kitchen Counter Cures
Valley of Horses - Jean M. Auel
Scarlet Feather - Maeve Binchy
Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution
The Ruins - Scott Smith
The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
The House of Spirits - Isabel Allende
Summer Sister - Judy Blume

For all 10 books, that's only 40 cents each!

Email or call if interested, and we will hold them for you.

Box 'o Books #2 - $4

The first Box 'o Books has been snapped up, so here is our second value pack.


The Da Vinci Code (hardback)
Hannibal - Thomas Harris
Ashes to Ashes - Tami Hoag
Clear and Present Danger - Tom Clancy
The Icarus Agenda - Robert Ludlum
The Godfather - Mario Puzo
Kane & Abel - Jeffrey Archer
Critical Judgment - Michael Palmer
The Hunt For Red October - Tom Clancy
Sphere - Michael Crichton

For all 10 books, that's only 40 cents each!

Email or call if interested, and we will hold them for you.

Box o' Books #1 - $4

Its a huge John Grisham pack! Forget about any of the crappy movie adaptations you saw, and get the real deal instead:

A Time to Kill
The Chamber
Pelican Brief
The Runaway Jury
A Painted House
The Firm
The Street Lawyer
The Client
The Rainmaker
The Testament

For all 10 books, that's only 40 cents each!

Email or call if interested, and I will hold them for you.

Breggo's Haiku Contest

Anyone who works at a store that sells Breggos is eligible to participate in their Haiku Contest. The winning entry gets a dozen free Breggos sandwiches! Naturally, Jefferson and I have submitted our entries.

Here's what we came up with:

One minute thirty...
Counting down the seconds 'till,
Breggos in my mouth.

by Julie

Man, I'm starvin dude.
Check it yo! They got Breggos!
Hunger problem solved.

by Jefferson

Yeah, yeah, I know. Jefferson's is better.

If you want to see all the entries, become a fan of Breggos on Facebook, but only give a thumbs up to ours (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

Wish us luck!

Contest ends May 15th. We'll let you know if we win anything.

Freshly baked Breggos being prepared for delivery to your local coffee shop. Yum!

New monthly post - Java Junkies!

Welcome to the first of our new monthly posts to the Read, Write & Brew blog...

Java Junkies

Since we've opened up our store, we've met many many interesting and wonderful members of our local community. We've loved getting to know them all, and we think you would too. So this new monthly post is dedicated to all our interesting regulars. Come in often enough, and perhaps you'll get talked into getting your mugshot and story featured on our blog site too!

Without further ado, may we introduce to you Edwin and Pauline Ellis.

Edwin and Pauline regularly donate great books to Read, Write & Brew's book fund. Ladies, if you visit our craft section, and find fabulous knitting, sewing and crochet books from the 60's and 70's, chances are that these awesome finds originally belonged to Pauline. You've got to come in and check them out. You know how everything old is new again? Well if you love retro, and think yourself crafty, you'll love these books.

But enough about the books, and back to Edwin and Pauline. This lovely married couple of 4 years have spent their last 3 years as residents of Golden Colorado, and are originally from North Carolina.

Edwin is a Korean War Veteran, and a retired fireman, after 35 years of service.

Pauline worked in a textile factory, and her hobbies include crochet and reading.

Their favorite TV shows are, The Price Is Right, Jeopardy, and Wheel Of Fortune.

We're really grateful to you Edwin and Pauline - not only for your service to this country and your local community, but we know how hard it is for you to lug those books into our store, and yet you keep them coming! We'd like to thank you for these reasons, and thanks for being Read, Write & Brews' first Java Junkies!

Featuring the LIVE musical stylings of Jeff Brinkman!

A reminder to everyone that our official Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting event is being held this Thursday, with free food and drink samplings, as well as door prizes to give away to all who come help us celebrate.

And now, we also have some awesome LIVE music lined up for you to enjoy too.

Jeff Brinkman lives in Boulder Colorado, and has recorded his first album, 'To The Bones'.

jeffbrinkmanmusic.com

Joe Kovack of Marquee Magazine has this to say about Jeff:
"Every once in a while there is a musician who emerges with a genuine and honest approach to their craft, and whose music accurately depicts that unadulterated simplicity. With his debut album To The Bones, Jeff Brinkman places himself in that category"

Click here to sample some of the songs from the album and get a sneak peek at what you'll be hearing if you can make it to our Ribbon Cutting Thursday.

Even if you can't make it Thursday, support your local Colorado musicians. If you like what you hear, please buy his new album. My guess is that Jeff will be the next Dave Mathews, and you'll wanna be able to say, "I knew him back when...".

Read, Write & Brew

Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting

Thursday April 8th, 5pm - 7pm

CLOSED: Easter Sunday

We are closed for Easter Sunday.

Hope everyone has a great Easter with their families.

That's how we're spending ours.

See ya Monday!

Read, Write & Brew, and SMOOTHIES!

Now not only can you read a book, write an email, and have a cup of 'brew' at Read, Write & Brew, but you can also have a cup of creamy, frosted, refreshing deliciousness as well. We call 'em Ice-Creamers (because they're made with ice and are m-mm-creamy good)... but we're open to other quirky name suggestions, so if you can think of something cool, let us know. We tried to brain storm name ideas, but drank to many 'ice-creamers' and got brain freeze, and couldn't come up with anything we're really in love with.

Jefferson trying to think of a cool name for our smoothies, while suffering brain freeze.

We decided to go with 'Island Oasis' for our smoothies, because their products contain the highest percentage of fruit content in the smoothie category. They claim to pay more for their fruit to ensure their product is of the highest quality. We've had a few (hundred) taste tests of their smoothies, and if taste is anything to go by - then they're tellin' the truth.

Their products are pasteurized, contain less sugar than other smoothie products out there, and contain 100% of the RDA of Vitamin C.

Lookie! Now doesn't that look soooo good...
... and, whhhaaaatttttttt, only $3.90! Now that's a refreshing luxury that anyone can treat themselves to. And we're not talking just slap it in a cup $3.90. We're talkin' make it all fancy with whipped cream on top and stuff fancy.

The fruit flavors you have to choose from include: strawberry, banana, peach, and mango. Have them on their own, or mix-n-match. We also have ice cream and non fat yogurt, if you want more of a "strawberries 'n cream" kinda twist. Need caffeine, not fruit? We hear ya. That's why we also make coffee smoothies, with real shots of espresso.

We've got the patio set up all nice like, with umbrellas and tables and chairs, and great views of the Golden Foothills. We're far enough away from 6th Avenue that you can't hear the constant shushing of the traffic, but instead you'll be serenaded with the music coming from the speaker we have positioned so that you can hear it outside.

Keep up to date with the weather channel, and the next nice day comin' up, you've just got to relax on the patio with an ice cold smoothie... and on that note (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) it's meant to be 60 degrees and sunny this Sunday. Better come on over and take advantage.

See ya there.

Come join us on APRIL 8th for our Grand Opening Event!

Read, Write & Brew will have its official 'Grand Opening' in conjunction with the Business After Hours event at Heritage Plaza. We'll be open for an extra hour, until 7pm, and will have free food and drink samplings, and door raffle giveaways. Other Heritage Plaza businesses will also be open with entertainment and giveaways of their own. The official Ribbon Cutting event will take place at 5.30pm. We'd love to see you all there for this special occasion!

Personalize your own free invitation

FREE FOOD! Soup Taste Testing on St Patty's Day

Upcoming Events

Secret Menu Item

Fancy yourself as one of those 'in the know' kinda people, do ya? Well, by logging onto our Blog site and reading this post, you actually are! So here's a little something for ya... a secret menu item only people who read this blog post are 'in the know' about.

We have a lot of tasty syrups to choose from at our store - but hands down the best flavor we have is definitely 'toffee nut'. It's not written up on our menu board, but ask for it, and you'll get the special nod, wink, and delicious sweet caramelly toffee nuttiness added to your drink for just 45 cents.

Why keep such a great flavor a secret and not promote it for everyone to try? Well, we are going to add it to the menu eventually - for sure! It'll become our best seller we reckon. We just like the idea of a secret menu, and are curious to see which of our customers read our blog site.

Children's Reading Time

Bring the kids in on Tuesday February 2nd for Children's Reading time!

Starts at 10am.