Bean Baby!

Congratulations to Will and Katrina, they're baby girl was born April 14th.

Welcome to the world Simone Noel!

Spring Specials!

Welcome spring with these new latte flavors. And don't let the warm weather deter you from sampling these lattes, ask for them iced!

Chocolate Orange- Dark Chocolate and Manderin Orange

Chunky Monkey- Banana and Dark Chocolate

Bananas Foster- Bananas, Brown Sugar and Cinnamon

Irish Coffee Brownies

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine softened
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Irish Whiskey
2 tablespoons instant coffee crystals
1 cup chopped walnuts
2-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon Irish Whiskey
1-1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 to 4 tablespoons brewed coffee. We recommend French Roast. For added flavor, try Jamaican Me Crazy or our holiday flavor, Highlander's Grogg.
Chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Heat granulated sugar, butter or margarine, and 1/2 cup cocoa powder in a large saucepan over medium heat until butter or margarine melts, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla; beat lightly just until combined.

2. Stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl; set aside. Stir together milk and 1/4 cup whiskey; stir in coffee crystals. Add flour mixture and milk mixture alternately to the chocolate mixture, beating by hand after each addition. Stir in nuts. Pour into a greased 15x10 inch.

3. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick will come out clean.

4. The Irish Coffee Glaze: stir sifted powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon Irish whiskey, and 1-1/4 teaspoons vanilla together. Stir in 3 to 4 tablespoons brewed coffee until of drizzling consistency.

Also check out last month's recipe for Creamy Irish Coffee

March Music

There are some great acts coming up this month! Be sure to check out

The Debbie Kentrick Blues Band
Saturday, March 15th at 8pm

Queen (blues- not 80's rock)
Saturday, March 29th at 8pm

March Drink Flavors

Here are the new latte flavors for the month of march!

Nutty Irishman- Hazelnut and Irish Cream

Clover Latte- Irish Cream and Butterscotch

Lucky Latte- Irish Cream and Tiramisu

Espresso 101

What is Espresso?

Espresso is a concentrated brew of coffee. Both flavor and caffeine are intensified in a 1.5oz to 3oz. "shot" of coffee. A shot of espresso contains about as much caffeine as a regular cup of coffee. This concentrated brew can be enjoyed on it's own or mixed with milk in either a cappucino or latte.

Typically, espresso beans are a dark roast coffee, but really any coffee can go through the espresso brewing process. Espresso brewing starts with a very finely ground coffee that is packed into a "group handle". Espresso machines force very hot water at high pressure through the packed coffee grinds and extract the flavors and oils.

There is a lot that goes into pulling a good shot of espresso. The grind must be adjusted regularly through out the day because air temperature and moisture can effect the quality of the shot pulled from the espresso. Packing the shot too tightly can cause bitter espresso, and too light can cause a watery shot.

When grind and packing are performed correctly it should take about 27 seconds for the espresso machine to force the water through the espresso. At the Leaf and Bean we time all of our shots to be sure that only correct length shots are served. If the water flows too quickly it is watery, and if it is too slow it will be bitter.

Another way to tell the quality of an espresso shot is the texture and color of crema. Crema is the caramel brown cream at the top of the shot where all the flavor is held. A good shot will have thick, rich crema.

We make use of bottomless group handles which allow more crema to flow directly into your cup rather than through spouts.

Just In Time 2/23

Just In Time packed a full house saturday night and pleased the crowed with some funked up jazz. If you missed it, don't worry, they should be back again soon and we'll let you know when!