Life is Sweet in Napa Valley with Yo el Rey Roasting Organic Coffee

Life is Sweet in Napa Valley with Yo el Rey Roasting Organic Coffee

By Kat Thomas, Edible Skinny

The next day we rose with the sun to experience all that Calistoga had to offer… but first our JAVA FIX at Yo el Rey Roasting Organic Coffee!!!  A SUPER COOL space right in the middle of Calistoga, Yo el Rey Roasting Organic Coffee is a small coffee spot filled with colorful art, kitschy vintage furniture, and handwritten poetry all over the walls.  This is perfect caffeine cove to clear your mind of all that Chardonnay, Cabernet, and Pinot Noir or to wind down after an afternoon of window shopping in Calistoga.

Kelly and I deemed it an extremely solid java spot!  Yo el Rey Roasting Organic Coffee was voted best cafe/coffeehouse in Napa County and best Wifi Hotspot in the Valley as a whole (a very important aspect after a day of places with no service...).  Their commitment to superior quality, organically farmed coffee has allowed them to become organic, California-Green Certified, and Napa County-Green Certified.

Focusing on espresso and pour over drinks, their coffee blend is a nice medium roast of beans chosen by and roasted by the owner personally right in the middle of the floor using a chromed out Diedrich Roaster.  Be sure to get the honey vanilla latte, it's the signature drink of the place: rich, satisfyingly and not too sweet! ;-)

So here’s to life being delicious, all your moments being postcard worthy, and follow your dreams…and drink up bitches!!!


Kat Thomas is the Editor in Chief of Edible Skinny, a site dedicated to making your life postcard worthy. She is also the CEO of the creative media company This Way Adventures. You can find more about both brands at http://www.thiswayadventures.com

Life is Sweet in Napa Valley with Mount View Hotel & Spa

Life is Sweet in Napa Valley with Mount View Hotel & Spa

By Kat Thomas, Edible Skinny
Time to wine down…  Kelly and I checked in at the iconic Mount View Hotel & Spa, which sits centrally on Calistoga’s Lincoln Avenue and has been a beacon for enthusiastic travelers searching out the region’s abundant amenities and mineral-rich waters for over a century.  Designed with relaxation in mind, Mount View Hotel & Spa has been a favorite since 1919.  It’s the detailing that sets this place apart, upon our arrival Matthew, one of the hotel’s managers, gave us a bottle of One Hope Sparkling to celebrate Kelly’s impending nuptials!

At the Mount View Hotel each of the 33 guest rooms, suites and private cottages have been furnished with it's original art deco architect in mind, mixed with contemporary accents to give a relaxed and trendy vibe.  Mount View Hotel & Spa was recognized in 1981 on the National Register of Historic Places, and with due reason.  The Mount View Hotel & Spa has had a handful of colorful proprietors who have left a lasting impact on the grandeur seen and felt today.  While staying there Kelly and I stayed in the “Twin Bedroom” (something right out of a 1940s screwball comedy..), the tub and sink were classic clawfoot (perfect for rogue champagne bottles) something the in-room Illy Coffee counterbalanced the next day! ;-)


Mount View's beautiful backyard includes an outdoor heated pool, natural mineral whirlpool (gotta get your healing waters in...), cabanas, private grounds patio that allows you to relax in comfort and style with a glass of wine. The hotel has dining on the property, with two on-site restaurants: boasting contemporary American eats at Johnny’s Calistoga and French-inspired fare at Veraison, as well as the newly opened Indie Blue Lounge, where guests can enjoy an artisanal coffee experience and wine tasting.

Inspired by One Hope Wines and the first of its kind in Calistoga, the Mount View Hotel has adopted “cause integration” hospitality in the Napa Valley.  Mount View Hotel donates 50 percent of its profits to charity from environmental causes to children’s needs (that’s right you read that correct: 50 percent!!!).  Oh, and the hotel is also a certified Green Hotel.  The Mount View Hotel’s vision is to create exceptional experiences that inspires people to indulge while doing good.  Talk about the perfect reason to take an overnight to Calistoga! ;-)

Life is Sweet in Napa Valley with Calistoga

Life is Sweet in Napa Valley with Calistoga

By Kat Thomas, Edible Skinny

After all our imbibing (and there was A LOT of imbibing), Titus of Beau Wine Tours & Limousine Service chauffeured us to Calistoga, depositing us at the Mount View Hotel to start embracing the art of relaxation! 

Calistoga is located on the north end of Napa Valley (75 miles north of San Francisco).  This small town is famous for its hot springs, hotel and spas, world-class restaurants, and whimsical wineries, including Castello di Amorosa, a 13th century Tuscan castle.  Earlier this year, Amy Poehler shot a portion of her new Netflix film comedy, Wine Country, in this picture perfect hamlet.

Calistoga has a population of just 5,330 people while maintaining 46 lodging properties, 23 restaurants/cafés/bars, and 18 spas.  The latter’s most famous is Indian Springs. which dates back to 1860 when California’s first millionaire Sam Brannon envisioned a world-class resort based on the area’s steamy mineral waters.  3 million years ago a volcano erupted and created a petrified forest and these watery healing grounds used by the Wappo Indians from the 1700s on. 

Brannon coined the name “Calistoga,” a combination of California and Saratoga, a resort in Upstate New York he admired.  From then on Calistoga becomes noted for its natural mineral water and elegant hot springs resort.  Two ingredients that make Calistoga’s spas so unique are the volcanic ash and the geothermal mineral water.  And the results are more than popular as more than half of the spas in Calistoga offer hot springs or mineral pools.  Another famous natural landmark of the town is Old Faithful Geyser of California, a small geyser set against the backdrop of palm trees and mountains that historically erupts every 45 minutes. 

Calistoga is designated as its own distinct AVA with an area of seven square miles and over 60 different wineries.  Other than the Madrigal Family Winery, landmark wineries in the area include include Frank Family Winery (the third oldest winery in Napa Valley), Twomey, Sterling Vineyards, Dutch Henry Winery and Chateau Montelena Winery, which is housed in a jaw-dropping, ivy-covered castle with landscaped gardens.  In 2019, Napa Valley’s first Four Seasons will open in Calistoga with 85 guest rooms, 20 villas, and its own vineyard and winery.