You’d think coffee, coming straight from the ground, would
be an obviously organic food.
Nope. Turns out coffee beans are probably as chemically
processed as a Big Mac.
But things are different at the all-natural Urth Caffé, the
first exclusively organic coffee company in the United States.
After they spent two years in Italy to learn the art of roasting
coffee, Shallom Berkman and his wife and business partner Jilla
began selling their brand to caterers, wholesale shops and regular
folk by the pound.
But when people walked into the store asking for a
ready-to-drink cup of coffee, Berkman had to turn them away.
“They said, “˜What kind of a crazy cafe is
this?'” he said.
Berkman gave in and began offering steaming cups of coffee. And
then bagels and muffins.
His clientele grew from five, 10 to 200 per day.
“Then everyone who came in wanted a tuna fish
sandwich,” Berkman said with a shrug, as if to say, “I
didn’t have anything to do with it!”
People just wanted lunch with their daily joe.
Demanding customers spurred a kind of business growth as organic
as its coffee. Soon after, Urth Caffé was serving 2,000
customers sandwiches, salads, soups and entrees in addition to
organic coffee at its first location in West Hollywood.
Berkman’s recipe for success is simple.
“Quality is excellence. We’re not scientific in any
manner, … no business plan,” he said. “The food has
to please myself and my wife first.”
Indeed, I can’t get enough of their Japanese green tea
latte ““ I take mine with soy milk.
The Urth version is perfectly concocted, soothing with the
malty, slightly bitter taste of matcha and, I suspect, infused with
a barely there peppermint.
I was pleasantly surprised by the vanilla honey latte. Most
coffee shops use artificial vanilla flavoring; I get tired of most
latte drinks quickly because they’re too sweet. Urth’s
is flavored with natural vanilla and not overly bitter or sweet
““ just smooth. Best of all, they’re served in homey
mugs and topped off with foam in a swirly white design.
The coffees and teas are so downright good that I used to think:
“There’s no way the food could be good too!”
But it turns out that I’ve found a veritable heaven on
Urth.
Paninis (aka greasy sandwiches) are simple concepts but hard to
do right. Urth’s portabella panini is right for multiple
reasons. First, along with the portabella mushroom, Urth packs its
panini with super-fresh ingredients: plenty of organic spinach,
artichokes and roasted red pepper.
Second, the herbed goat cheese takes me by surprise, but it adds
creamy body and turns out to be the perfect complement to the
veggies.
Third, the panini is accompanied by a baby spinach salad studded
with meticulously halved teeny tomatoes and two (only two) whole
homemade candied walnuts ““ trust me, homemade makes the
difference here. Sharply vinegary dressing cuts the olive-oiliness
of the panini.
I’d also recommend the umeboshi plum rice wrap, which I
ordered even though I had little idea of what it would look or
taste like. (I had faith in Urth Caffé after my panini
encounter.) The wrap, cut into four segments, looks like jumbo
sushi and tastes like Japanese rice balls, called onigiri or
omusubi.
Featuring a hearty mixture of brown rice, lentils and avocado,
the wraps went well with the wasabi and soy sauce provided.
I reeled from a bit of fusion confusion, but was again,
pleasantly surprised.
With locations in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa
Monica, I make Urth Caffé my default spot whenever I’m
not near Westwood.
But I’ve sometimes been known to make illogical detours
(read: purposeful journeys) for much-needed rejuvenation at the
happiest place on Urth.
E-mail Hsu your happiest coffee hotspot at
lhsu@media.ucla.edu.