Brew Ha Ha! Espresso Cafe and Newsstand

Reminder: Writing Contest Deadline is February 15, 2012

2012-02-07T05:33:00.000-08:00

· A reminder to everyone interested in entering the first annual BHH writing contest -- a 500-word mini-memoir with excellent prizes -- the deadline is next Wednesday, February 15th. Share your story and it may end up being published in an upcoming book about BHH, our customers, staff, and community!

Try Our New Seasonal Varietals

2012-01-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

We're featuring several new varietals in our ever-changing seasonal lineup. try our Brazilian Santos, Brazil's finest coffee. We're bringing back Tanzanian Peaberry -- I know that many of our customers and employees are big fans! We're also featuring a dark-roasted Kenya AA, creating a full-bodied coffee with hints of citrus and blackberry.

Brew Ha Ha! Writing Contest

2012-01-09T09:33:00.000-08:00

Brew Ha Ha! is hosting a WRITING CONTEST. In 500 words or fewer, write a short memoir -- the only "rule" is that your story needs to involve Brew Ha Ha! in some way. Perhaps BHH is associated with some turning point in your life: where you met your spouse, wrote a book, or reconnected with a long-lost friend. Or maybe one of our cafes served as a refuge during difficut time in your life. Whatever your story -- large or small, funny or poignant -- we want to hear it.

The First Place Winner will receive a $100 BHH gift card, a BHH T-shirt, and many lavishments of praise from the BHH community. Kudos will also be extended to the Second Place Winner, who’ll receive a $50 BHH gift card and the Third Place Winner, who’ll take home a $25 BHH gift card.

All other entrants will receive a $5 BHH gift card and their stories will be considered for publication in a planned 20^th anniversary “coffee table” book about the history and culture of Brew Ha Ha! and the Delaware communities we serve.

CONTEST GUIDELINES:

Theme: Memoir that involves BHH in some way

Eligibility: Any and all BHH customers (BHH employees not eligible)

Essay Length: Maximum 500 words

Judging Criteria: Originality / Writing Quality

Deadline: February 15, 2012

Submit To: alisa@brew-haha.com

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY FEBRUARY 28, 2012

Visa: Stop SQUASHING The Little Guy -- Reverse Your 200% Rate Increase on Small-Ticket Merchants

2011-11-22T10:48:00.000-08:00

Please sign my petition on Change.org to right an economic injustice against small businesses and American consumers.

http://www.change.org/petitions/visa-stop-squashing-the-little-guy-reverse-your-200-rate-increase-on-small-ticket-merchants

Small-ticket retailers -- those with an average transaction of $10 or less -- are being squashed by Visa's recent move to dramatically increase their credit card swipe fees, by taking advantage of a loophole in the recently enacted Durbin Amendment.

Before Durbin, a coffee shop might pay a 7-cent fee on a $2 cup of coffee and a 35-cent fee on a $20 group order. Durbin hoped to cap the latter fee at 23 cents, and leave the first unaffected: a ceiling, not a guideline. Instead, that $2 cup of coffee now comes with a 22-cent interchange fee, an increase of over 200 percent.

Visa's price increase-- immediately matched by MasterCard -- was a cynical move to regain lost profits, a move that squashes small businesses and reduces their competitiveness against national retailers who benefit from lower card processing fees.

It also hurts American consumers. Americans were outraged when Bank of America tried to charge a $5 fee on its bank card statements? Wait till they find out that a $5 monthly charge is a mere pittance compared to the higher prices they'll now be forced to pay for a cup of coffee, a burger, a bagel -- pretty much anything that costs less than ten bucks. Money from these price increases will go directly into Visa and MasterCard’s ample coffers.

Visa and MasterCard control over 80% of the credit market, and they charge American merchants the highest interchange fees in the world. If Visa is allowed to continue raising interchange prices with impunity, the Visa/MasterCard Duopoly will turn Main Street into Pottersville.

Please join me in telling Visa you're fed up. Sign my petition calling on Visa CEO Joseph Saunders to swiftly reverse their decision to more than triple credit card swipe fees on small-ticket businesses.

Brew Ha Ha! Roast Levels

2011-11-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

Many of our customers ask our staff which coffee we're offering on a particular day is the darkest or strongest. What they're referring to is the roast level. Roast levels range from a very light Half-City roast to a very dark French roast, as shown below:

Our roaster's philosophy is to match the roast level to the varietal of coffee bean. They consider the weight, volume, water content, and flavor characteristics of the beans to determine the optimum roast. Most Brew Ha Ha! varietals are roasted at a City to Full City roast level. Our Dark Guatemalan Antigua is roasted darker, at a Full City+. Our Espresso Enlightenment and Espresso Nirvana blends are roasted at Full City and Italian roast levels and then blended, creating a sweet, full-bodied taste.

The current lineup of Brew Ha Ha! blends from DARKEST TO LIGHTEST:

-- Espresso Enlightenment and Caffee Nirvana blends

-- Dark Guatamalan Antigua

-- All Other Varietals -- Ethiopian Mocha Harrar, Nicaraguan Matagalpa, Kenya AA, Mexican Altura Pluma, Indian Malabar, Sumatra Mandheling

Introducing New Coffee Varietals

2011-10-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

If you’ve visited our cafes recently, you’ve likely noticed some changes to our varietal coffees. While we continue to feature our popular Sumatra Mandheling, Kenya AA, and Guatemalan Antigua (now dark-roasted to enhance its crisp, mellow flavor), we’ve added some exciting new offerings:

Mexico “Altura Pluma.” A high-grown coffee from Southern Mexico, it's a sweet and smooth medium-bodied coffee that is low in acidity.

Nicaraguan Matagalpa. A medium-bodied coffee, offering a rich, nutty flavor, with chocolate and spicy overtones. Nicaragua, a rising star in the specialty coffee world, is a rich land of lakes and volcanos, producing medium-bodied coffees that are full of flavor and distinctly less acidic than other Central American coffees.

Indian Malabar. Light in the cup, exceptionally smooth, with pleasant chocolate undertones and a mellow taste and aroma. This complex coffee is grown on India’s southwestern coast and produced by leaving dry processed coffee beans out in large, open-roof silos during India’s monsoon season. The result is a full-bodied coffee that is low in acidity.

Ethiopian Mocha Harrar. A winey, pungent coffee with a piquant aroma and wild taste. Ethiopia is the ‘cradle of coffee,’ considered the home of Coffea Arabica. The Harrar region of Ethiopia is noted for a dry process or "natural" coffee in which the coffee fruit dries on the bean, which gives the coffee a full range of flavors.

With the exception of the Dark Guatemalan Antigua, our current varietal offerings are roasted to a full-city roast level to compliment the unique flavor characteristics of each varietal.

All of these varietals, as well as our popular Enlightenment Espresso Blend and Nirvana drip coffee blend, are now available in heavy-duty, re-sealable, valve-locked one-pound bags.

Ask your server for a taste-test of our varietals and travel the world in a Brew Ha Ha! coffee cup!

The Inspiring Life of Steve Jobs

2011-10-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2011-10-18/steve-jobs-death-memorial/50816654/1

I read this article this morning, and wanted to share it with you all. It made me remember how important it is to do what you love and to not be afraid to fail.

Before I started Brew Ha Ha! I followed other peoples’ agendas for my life without much questioning. I did what was expected of me, without asking myself what I really wanted. I dutifully went to college, chose a “safe” major, got married, and above all, didn’t take unnecessary risks. I spent fifteen years studying subjects that I found boring, and working in careers that were safe and that paid well, but were so mind-numbing that I couldn’t wait for Fridays and dreaded Mondays.

In my heart, I wanted to forge my own path in life but I didn’t know how to go about it. Starting my own business seemed like an overwhelming task, and I was afraid I would fail and look bad to my friends and family.

It turns out that I was my own worst critic – because I lacked the confidence to commit to my dream. I had tried several careers before I started Brew Ha Ha! and none of them had really worked out. I realized that I needed to take this chance – now—and run with it, or I would always be looking back on my life and saying “what if?”

Seeing the dream of Brew Ha Ha! become a reality has made me a believer in the power of dreams. Not to say that all of my dreams have had a magical ending – many of them have died on the vine, despite my best efforts. Some needed to die, because they were bad ideas. And guess what – I still get shot down when I voice new ideas. I do try to listen to what people say, and many times I’ve received good advice, advice that has prevented possible disaster. And there have been times when I’ve moved forward because I believe so strongly that I am right. I’ve learned that it’s important to know the difference between good advice and negative thinking.

I’ve also learned to not worry that I’ll make a mistake as I continue to forge my path through life. Because I’ve made many mistakes in the past, and I will no doubt continue to do so. I keep in mind what Albert Einstein once said: “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

Most important, I've learned not to listen to people when they tell me I might fail. Because I will tell you that the greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

The life of Steven Jobs inspires me. It reminds me that we have within us all the power to create our own dreams and make them happen. We all have an opportunity to change the world, or at the very least, a little corner of the world. In the words of Harriet Tubman, every great dream begins with a dreamer. We all possess the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars.

And hopefully have fun along the way!

Check Out Our New Website!

2011-08-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

Many of you are saying -- finally! Your old website was so.....four years ago. A hulking dinosaur in the midst of sleek, trendy new websites featuring videos, podcasts, and graphics galore. Not to mention the unimaginable -- our old website didn't even have a link to Facebook, Twitter, or Foursquare. As if!

The truth is, until now, I have deliberately held off on doing much more than the minimum with regard to our website, social media, and all other things electronic. While I find computers and the internet useful for running a business, I've always wanted the BHH cafe experience to be a very personal one, a respite from an increasingly technological world. My original idea -- one I've held sacred since I started the first Greenville cafe 18 years ago -- was that BHH was to be a gathering place, where people could meet up with each other face-to-face and customers recognized as old friends. A call to our past that was lost with the onslaught of the national cookie-cutter fast food chains and coffee bars.

But then I realized something. Our old website didn't have much to say about what really makes BHH special -- our cafes. Each one is unique and is an integral part of its surrounding community. Our website didn't tell the story of who we really are -- a local collection of neighborhood cafes strongly linked to the culture of the Brandywine Valley. A Delaware-friendly kind of place that's just crazy about great coffee.

So, our new website at brewhaha.com tells the story of each of our cafes, and also includes a handy-dandy store-finder so customers can easily identify which of our cafes is closest to them and how to get there. At the same time, the new website is lighter, brighter, and easier to read, with lots of great photos of our cafes, employees, beverages, and food.

And yes, in the very near future, we'll link our website to our new company facebook page. And maybe even Twitter if I can come up with a steady flow of pithy remarks. With the understanding that the real conversation takes place in our cafes.