Good-bye, Pumpkin…Hello, Gingerbread!

This fall at HeBrews we experienced a lot of things pumpkin–all delicious and spicy. Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, pumpkin has gone off the radar as well. I will miss the Pumpkin English Toffee cookies the most I think, but there are other delicious sweets to look forward to.

This week started off with a Gingerbread Scone frosted with Maple Buttercream. I do believe it will be a holiday favorite around here. There are also other treats and drinks in the mix with gingerbread this month too, so drop by and check out our baked goods or put in your request for a Gingerbread Latte.

‘Tis the Season!

 

Summer Salads on the Menu

If you’ve visited HeBrews lately, you know that we’ve added 4 salads to our menu–just in time for summer! We offer 3 main dish salads and 1 side salad, which is a perfect complement to a half-sandwich. Bring a friend and join us for lunch for a refreshing and filling salad.

Harvest Salad – Mixed greens, cranberries, pecans, & cheddar cheese, croutons, served with raspberry dressing (Turkey, Ham, or Chicken, optional)
Fiesta Salad – Mixed greens, tomatoes, onions, pepper jack cheese, black bean salsa (pictured), tortilla strips, served with ranch dressing (Turkey, Ham, or Chicken, optional)
Caesar Salad – Romaine mix, parmesan cheese, croutons; served with Caesar dressing (Chicken, optional)
Cafe Salad (side salad) – Mixed greens, carrots, tomato, onion & cucumber

To see our complete menu, click here.

 

Spring is in the Air

Spring Break is over and customers are getting back into the daily grind. We’re super excited that their daily grind includes a serving of HeBrews espresso beans.

Take a deep breath and you can tell it’s spring outside–the iris and red bud trees are in full bloom–and yesterday it even felt a bit like summer as the temperature climbed into the upper 80’s. Still, this morning it’s cool enough that everyone has ordered a hot drink–all the way from a 12 oz. 4-shot Caramel Macchiato to a 24 oz. 4-shot Cafe Mocha with whipped cream! As the 7:00 hour has passed into mid-morning, we’ve served up six frozen coffee drinks and two over-ice specialty drinks.

Yes, indeed, spring has arrived.

~Tina

 

Something About Lemon

Something about lemon reminds me of spring, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s going to be in the seventies outside today. I think I have a case of spring fever coming on! A friend of mine showed me a bouquet of sunny-yellow jonquils she picked from her yard this past weekend–and it’s still February!

Anyway, back to lemon. Lemon finds its way into almost everything here at HeBrews, except maybe the coffee. Today we have a cute lemon poppy seed scone on the menu, drizzled with a sweet-n-tart lemony icing. Other days you might find lemon in a cranberry lemon scone lemon blueberry scone or raspberry lemon muffin.

Something about lemon, just makes you want to smile.

~Tina

 

Happy New Year & Happy New You!

2012 has gotten off to a speeding start! It’s already January 10th and it seems like we celebrated the turn of the year just a few days ago. For many people, with the new year come New Year’s Resolutions. If you’re watching your waistline after the holidays, we’re happy to work with you! Here are some helpful tips for ordering some of your favorites from HeBrews:

• Order your bagel sandwich “skinny.” You’ll save 1/3 of the calories by doing so. All we do is slice the bagel in thirds, toast the top and bottom for your sandwich, and toss out the middle slice–along with the extra calories!
• Order your coffee drink “skinny.” Save 40 calories for every cup of milk by substituting skim milk for 2% milk. Skim milk does amazingly well in steamed drinks–you’ll never miss the calories!
• Try regular or spicy mustard on your sandwich in place of mayonnaise and save up to 45 calories per tablespoon!
• Order your favorite sandwich without cheese and save up to 90 calories per slice.
• Try Baked Chips instead of regular and save almost 100 calories–or better yet, have a piece of fruit and save another 100!

Remember, it takes 3500 calories to equal 1 pound, so over time with just a few consistent changes, you’ll see the difference in your waistline!

Happy New Year and Happy New You!

~Tina

 

Cafe Mocha Madness!

December is almost here and it’s time to splurge on all things mocha! It’s hard to beat the coffee + chocolate combo, whether it’s in a drink or baked into a muffin!

Our Mocha Cream Cheese Swirl Muffin is a sight to behold–a mocha muffin studded with chocolate chips and a special cream cheese topping swirled throughout–now that’s a muffin you can treat yourself to this Christmas season!

This month why not try a Candy Cane Mocha for a seasonal twist on a classic hot drink. If Santa Claus has a favorite drink besides milk, it’s got to be a Candy Cane Mocha.

This holiday season, what kind of mocha madness will you experience?

 

Hello, Pumpkin Scone!

The Pumpkin Scone is back, making its 2011 debut, topped with cinnamon-spiced cream cheese frosting. With cooler temperatures, cloudy skies, and Thanksgiving coming up in two weeks, pumpkin-flavored goodies are a menu-necessity!

Until the end of the year, you can expect Pumpkin Scones and Pumpkin Pie Muffins, chock full of spices and pecans, to make frequent appearances at HeBrews.

And while you’re here, remember to order your favorite fall drink–a Pumpkin Spice Latte or Cappuccino, or a decadent Pumpkin Pie Chai Tea–served steaming hot or as a frozen concoction topped off with delicious whipped cream.

Happy November!
~Tina

 

Fall + Pumpkins = Happiness

With the arrival of October, I feel fall is officially here; although the weather outside is still too warm for fall in my opinion. But we are thinking positively for falling temperatures and offering fall-inspired goodies–from drinks to baked goods. Today, the Sugar Cookies decided to get decked out for fall and are adorned with green icing and a candy corn pumpkin–a sure recipe for happiness!

For drinks, we have Pumpkin Pie and Gingerbread flavor for lattes and cappuccinos. Since it’s still warm outside, we decided to experiment with our Spiced Chai mix. We added some Pumpkin Pie Sauce to make a Frozen Pumpkin Pie Chai drink. It tastes like a pumpkin pie shake. Words simply can’t describe the deliciousness….mmmmmmm will have to do.

Discover your recipe for happiness today!

~Tina

 

If at First You Don’t Succeed…

The Mocha Muffin you see in the picture is the result of my belief in the motto “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!” Sadly, the first muffins I mixed up this morning are resting in the bottom of the kitchen trashcan. They didn’t even make it to the oven. When I scooped the 10th muffin into its liner,  I came to the awful realization that I had forgotten to add sugar to the batter! The thought of sugar-free muffins–unintentionally sugar-free–didn’t sound too appetizing to me.

So, out came a clean mixing bowl, 2 more eggs, flour, sugar, & cocoa, along with the rest of the ingredients (ALL of them this time) to make another dozen muffins.  I think they turned out just right on my 2nd try.

My daughter took one with her on the way to school; another customer bought one on his way back to work after lunch, and one customer lingered at the display case for several minutes before finally choosing the Mocha Muffin over the other baked goods–only to come back 30 minutes later for a second one! This leads me to believe that I can only fail if I give up when I make a mistake.

Remember, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!”

~Tina

 

Cafe Latte or Cappuccino?

Before we started making coffee drinks at HeBrews, I never knew the difference between a cafe latte and a cappuccino. I don’t remember the first time I ordered an espresso-based coffee drink, but I probably ordered the same drink that the person I was with ordered. I tend to be indecisive (ask Brian and he’ll gladly tell you what restaurant-ordering has been like for the past 29 years), so it was to the benefit of all those behind me in line that I ordered in copycat fashion.

I have since learned from different sources that a cafe latte is  espresso and steamed milk with a small amount of foam on top, and a cappuccino is equal parts espresso, steamed milk and foam. Simply put, the cafe latte is milkier than its cousin, the cappuccino!

The majority of HeBrews’ coffee drinkers order cafe lattes with flavored syrup. Caramel and vanilla are consistent favorites at HeBrews, but if you allow Cafe Mocha to join in the race, it comes out on top more days than not.

I’ve come to believe that, in my case, the art of mastering the espresso machine’s frothing wand–key in the process of cafe latte and cappuccino making– is going to be a lifelong process. But hopefully, while I’m on my journey to frothing-mastery, customers are enjoying their choice of cafe lattes and cappuccinos!

What’s your favorite–cafe latte or cappuccino?  Something else, perhaps?

~Tina