Q&A: One employee tells all about this unique, dairy focused, breakfast stop; The Howling Cow Cafe
Tori Cayle is a barista at the well-known Howling Cow Cafe in Bellvue Colorado. Just a short, scenic drive northwest of Fort Collins at 5821 W Co Rd 54E, Bellvue, CO 80512. When people do choose to go to this unique coffee shop tucked away at Morning Fresh Dairy, it feels like you’re headed out on a cozy mountain getaway. Although this location may not be an everyday stop for the Fort Collins community, it is a producer of commonly purchased dairy brand, Noosa, as well as glass bottled milks.
Cayle has been working there since mid-May. She first started the job as a fun way to make money and work inside of a cute cafe over the summer. Cayle loved the work environment and kept the job into this fall instead of going to school. Not only is she a barista for the cafe but she is also a tour guide and farmers market employee for Morning Fresh Dairy Farm. I was able to chat with Cayle via email and got the inside scoop on all that the Howling Cow Cafe has to offer and trust me, its not just milk.
The Howling Cow Cafe offers a variety of activities for its guest because of its connection to Morning Fresh Dairy. On top of that, the beautiful scenery allows for anyone to have a nice picnic and enjoy the fall weather with friends and family. Morning Fresh Dairy is also progressive and has worked to make the operation more consumer friendly. All of the products offered are from local businesses in the area creating a one-stop shop for a variety of specialty items.
Q: How do you like working at the Howling Cow Cafe and for Morning Fresh?
A: All my coworkers are amazing and we have a great time. The offices for home delivery and the milk creators are behind the cafe, so I get to see all of that side as well. Everyone is super happy there and all of the customers are always really excited to be at the cafe.
Q: Has working there changed your view of these products or the dairy industry in general? Why or why not?
A: I used to not drink milk at all but I will drink the milk at the dairy because i see the process and see how our cows are treated. It makes me feel better about drinking it. But I still also drink oat milk and other alternatives. My views have changed a little too because I see how differently our dairy works compared to others. We milk our cows three times a day because of our herd size, and we have lots of staff to make sure all of the cows stay healthy and cared for.
Q:How are the values of Morning Fresh Dairy Farm consistent with the Cafe?
A: The dairy is really well-known for its USDA approved All Natural stamp, so that is really important for Morning Fresh and Noosa. Also all of the products we use are 100% local from around the area in Bellvue. For example MouCo (a cheese brand), Mary’s Mountain Cookies, Barista Pro, and lots more.
Q: What is the USDA approved All Natural Stamp?
A: We have the all natural stamp because all 9000 acres of our land is specifically for the cow feed. No hormones or additives are added at all and we use a flash pasteurization process for our milk instead of the long pasteurization which keeps all the good enzymes and bacteria in the milk instead of burning it off. Customers that have a hard time digesting dairy have an easier time digesting our milk because of the enzymes that are naturally in milk that help us digest it.
Q: Since most of the food offered can be bought at closer locations, what draws people to the Cafe?
A: The land that the dairy sits on is absolutely beautiful and there is outdoor seating with the option to sit inside as well. People return to the cafe because if you are not a home delivery customer there are certain flavors of milk and Noosa Yogurt that you can only get at the cafe.
Q: What are the flavors of milk and Noosa Yogurt that are only available at the cafe?
A: At Sprouts & Whole foods you can get the Chocolate, Root beer float milk, and all of our white milks. Normal flavors of Noosa Yogurt like honey/plain/vanilla are definitely sold in stores. But at the cafe exclusively you can get milkaccino milk (Dazbog Coffee infused into our whole milk and cream) and our flavored milk of the month which changes by the month, obviously. September’s was a salted caramel milk, and this month will be a milk for Halloween! At the cafe we sell ALL of the flavors of Noosa Yogurt including the smoothies, mates and other mixed flavors that are seasonal like pumpkin.
Q: The specialty coffees and variety milk aren’t the only thing the Howling Cow Cafe offers customers, what are all the activities someone could do when they visit morning fresh?
A: On the dairy there are tours that run where you learn about the history of the farm, a one room school house (which is the oldest in Larimer county) where customers learn about our partnership with Noosa; you also get to see the cow rotary, and then meet the babies (the calves). At the end there is milk & yogurt tasting. So this is a really good way we draw attention to the farm and get to teach a lot about the cows and the dairy process as a whole. We will also be holding a really big (COVID safe) event for Halloween at the end of the month, so get excited!
Q: What is your favorite specialty coffee/drink or food item to get and why?
A: My favorite is called the Spotted Cow. It is chocolate milk, a white chocolate powder and espresso. You can get it hot or cold and I love it because the chocolate milk is so creamy and rich it makes the drink so good! When I am not in the mood to have dairy I make a dirty chai. We use Bhakti Chai (which is also a local brand, where we have original and unsweetened) and its SO good iced and hot. Both drinks are a must try!
Q: If there was one thing you would want the Fort Collins community to take away about The Howling Cow Cafe, what would it be?
A: I would mostly just encourage people to visit the Cafe in person, because it’s a super cool experience that you can’t get everywhere, and it’s something super interactive and unique that we have with the dairy being right here! I would also just tell them to take advantage of the high quality, natural, and local products that we all have access to in Fort Collins, sourced from our dairy, and the best way to do that is by visiting the Cafe itself!
