Friday, August 6, 2010

The secret menu...

There are some drinks that are common among coffee shops, but don't always get posted on the menu. We're going to spotlight some of those, and give you some ideas of what you can do to make a drink your own.

Shot in the dark or Red-eye: Both of these are names for the same drink, a cup of coffee with a shot (or more) of espresso. This will really give you a caffeine boost. This is also sometimes called a Hammerhead.

Macchiato: Despites what the competition has done to this word, hardcore coffee fans know that the drink is really a shot of espresso with a dollop of frothy milk or cream.

Cafe Au Lait: For this drink we take half a cupful of brewed coffee and top it off with steamed milk. It is also known as a Misto.

Why Bother: A clever name for a non-fat decaf latte. It can also be adapted to flavored drinks - for example, a Vanilla Why Bother would have sugar-free vanilla syrup.

Affogatto: Technically, this is a hot espresso shot poured over ice cream, but in our case we'll pour that hot shot onto a freeze and call it good. Real good.

Breve: Instead of milk, we use steamed half and half to make a latte.

Tea Latte: Instead of hot water to brew your tea, try using steamed milk instead.

London Fog: A variation of the tea latte, this drink is made with steamed Chai and Earl Grey tea.

Of course this is only a short list of some options. Espresso is an ingredient that begs for creativity, and we enjoy helping you express yours.

Featured Flavors, August 2010

This month we're celebrating Back-to-School at YellowLeaf. Show your school spirit with the August Featured Flavors.

The Badger - Creamy Caramel, Hazelnut and Cinnamon

The Bear - Dark Chocolate, Hazelnut and Cinnamon

English Class - Chai with English Toffee Syrup

Enjoy all these flavors iced, hot or blended!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Congratulations!

Back in April we ran a contest to suggest a special for the month of May. We got some entries, but they came after we had chosen the Featured Flavors for May, so we held onto the ideas until we needed one.

Well, that time has come. We needed something for July, and Shalmarie's suggestion was chosen. She suggested a Mocha with Irish Cream and Hazelnut, and we loved it (so will you)! We decided to call it the Monsoon Mocha, 'cause it's getting to be that time of year.

Shalmarie, stop in at the shop and pick up a $5 gift card for your winning suggestion!

Featured Flavors, July 2010

It's a new month, which means new Featured Flavors!

Day at the Beach Latte: Vanilla and Coconut

Monsoon Mocha: Chocolate, Irish Cream and Hazelnut

Enjoy these drinks hot, iced or blended!

Also, new for the summer:

Flavored Lemonade: Enjoy a nice, cold lemonade with your favorite syrup flavor added. Some top suggestions include Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry or Cherry. Try it today!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Biscotti Crunch Freeze

It's a special treat, just in time for summer! For a limited time only, you can get a tasty YellowLeaf Freeze with Biscotti blended in for just $.50 extra. Try Grasshopper Mint, Hazelnut Zebra or Lemon Almond (while supplies last).

Biscotti

Of all our food items, we probably get asked about the biscotti more than anything. Mostly the question is, "What is it?"

Usually, I answer that it's like a hard cookie that you could dip in your coffee. Which, as it turns out, is pretty much an accurate description. Here's what Wikipedia says - "Biscotti are twice-baked cookies, often containing nuts or spices. Almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, and pine nuts are popular choices. Popular spices include anise and cinnamon."

While they're great to eat alone, they are designed for dipping. Imagine a rich, hot latte and a chocolate-raspberry flavored biscotti. The chocolate dipping melts into the drink, flavoring it, while the coffee infuses the biscotti with its own flavor.

Try out a biscotti today. We offer several flavors of biscotti, produced by Be-Bop Biscotti in Bend, OR.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Meet the Baristas: Part 8, Cynthia

Cynthia ("original Cyn") has been with YellowLeaf for four years. When she started, she was in high school, but now she's gone away to NAU and only graces us with her presence during summer break.

At NAU, Cynthia is a business major with an emphasis in marketing & a certificate in international business. In her free time, she likes to make short films, like this one that she made for us...


Check out more of Cynthia's videos on YouTube on channel Teampadackles1

Cynthia's "insider information" for the week is: "YellowLeaf employees can never truly leave." True. "Even when a 'Leafer's' shift is over, they stay in the kiosk to hang out." Also true. "Actually, there are 10 little beds squeezed in the back for all of us to sleep. It's quite lovely, really." Not true at all. Really.

Cynthia had a hard time deciding on a favorite drink, but ended up settling on our Chai - served with whipped cream and cinnamon of course.

If you haven't tried our Chai, or if you already think it's great, order Cynthia's special this week and get a Chai (hot, iced or even blended) at 15% off, and enjoy!

P.S. - We have not included a picture of Cynthia because no still camera can capture her image. We don't know if it's mystical, scientific or something else entirely. Personally, I'm thinking some weird vampire-like thing is going on.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Featured Flavors, June 2010

This month we are featuring a flavor we don't normally stock - Banana. Enjoy it in the following drinks, or come up with your own creation!

Banana Split Mocha*** - Milk Chocolate, Strawberry and Banana

Summer Fling*** - Creamy Caramel and Banana

Sunny Days*** - Dark Chocolate and Banana

All three are great hot, iced or blended!


*** flavor not available year round, enjoy while supplies last.

Meet the Baristas: Part 7, Justin


Through this feature, we've profiled 6 of the amazing baristas that work at YellowLeaf Coffee, but aren't there at least a couple of guys who work there, too? Yeah, and this week we're profiling one of them - Justin.

Justin is coming up on five years at YellowLeaf, and still loves it! He has been married for close to 4 years, and has a 2 1/2 year old son. Justin loves comic books, Star Trek, Star Wars - in short, he's a certified geek.

When he's not at YellowLeaf, Justin is also the director of youth ministries at Willow Hills Church.

Justin likes to experiment with the various flavors that YellowLeaf offers, and has come up with some great flavor combinations. He's not the only one, either. All the baristas really like it when customers ask us to surprise them. We love being able to offer drink options beyond what is on the menu.

When it comes right down to it, Justin's favorite drink is a small, double shot dark chocolate mocha. So, for this week's website only special, order Justin's special and we'll throw in an extra shot of espresso for free!




Monday, May 24, 2010

Meet the Baristas: Part 6, Emily

Emily has been with YellowLeaf for about 8 months now. She's an '09 grad of Prescott High School, a lifeguard, attends the Heights Church, and is a member of the Yavapai College swim team! Emily loves reading, travel and music, too. She obviously keeps herself pretty busy.

Emily's favorite drink is a black iced tea with blackberry flavoring. It's a great treat as the weather is getting warmer.

This week, ask for Emily's special and get a free syrup flavor added to either tropical or black iced tea.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

We will return to your regularly scheduled program shortly...

You may have noticed by now that there is not a new profile up yet, and there's a perfectly good explanation for it! Really!

You see, the individual responsible for this blog has recently moved into a new home (Yay!), but in the process of moving, packing and unpacking, he has mislaid the Barista Profile forms. Additionally, internet service was not turned on until late today, so he's running a bit late.

Keep watching this space, as our next Barista Profile will be posted soon. Check back soon to find out more about Emily!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Meet the Baristas: Part 5, Erica


Erica has been with YellowLeaf for 3 1/2 years while completing her degree in meteorology from Embry Riddle. She's originally from Seattle, Washington and, unsurprisingly, loves the weather in Arizona, particularly the summer monsoon season. In her free time, she plays soccer and studies weather.

Erica wants to reiterate that we really do enjoy spending as much time as we can with each customer, finding out how their day went, and hearing any ideas they'd like to share.

Her favorite drink is an au lait (sometimes called a misto), which is half brewed coffee and half steamed milk. Erica likes it with soy, but you can enjoy it with whole or non-fat milk, too. It's a great combination of the full, bold flavor of the coffee and the rich, creaminess of the milk.

Order Erica's Special this week to try an Au Lait for 15% off.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Featured Flavors, May 2010

We got a couple suggestions in our "Suggest a Special" contest, but they were a little late to be considered. We will be doing these contests periodically, though, so keep checking back for your chance to win.

For May, we have two great Featured Flavors to try:

May-Day - Milk Chocolate, Hazelnut and English Toffee

Spring Fever - Milk Chocolate, Coconut and Almond

Enjoy either of these all month long, over ice, blended or hot (since the weather has been so unpredictable lately!).

Monday, May 3, 2010

Meet the Baristas: Part 4, Adrianne

Adrianne is our world traveler, having been to 33 countries. She's even taught English in Southern France!

Adrianne has been with YellowLeaf for just about a year, having been referred by her sisters-in-law, Kristina and Cynthia, both of whom worked here over the past few years.

She would like you to know that we here at YellowLeaf really do enjoy talking to our customers about the "ins and outs" of coffee making, so if you have a question, feel free to ask!

Adrianne's favorite drink is an iced cherry almond latte, made with hot shots (we can do that!) and 1% milk.

Ask for Adrianne's special this week and get a cherry almond latte (iced, hot or blended) for 15% off.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Meet the Baristas: Part 3, Karen

Karen is the owner of YellowLeaf Coffee, but that wasn't always the case. Karen started out as an employee of the original owners, but when they decided to sell the shop, she snapped it up.

Karen is the mother of three; you may have met her two daughters Sydnie and Savannah as they worked in the shop up until about a year ago. Karen loves nothing more than to sit down with her family and enjoy coffee together.

Karen's favorite drink is a vanilla latte. Simple and sweet. For this week's special, order "Karen's special" and get any flavored* latte for the price of a plain latte.

*Flavored lattes are made with any of our syrup flavors, but do not include any drink made with Chocolate, Creamy Caramel or White Chocolate.

Featured Flavors, April 2010

We hope you enjoyed this month's Featured Flavors. If you ever want to revisit these flavor combinations, feel free. All the ingredients used are flavors we keep on hand all year long!

Egg-streme Latte - Dark Chocolate and Almond

Cottontail Latte - White Chocolate, Blackberry and Almond

Super Spring Latte - Creamy Caramel and Coconut

Monday, April 19, 2010

Meet the Baristas: Part 2, Vicki

Vicki (or Victoria, if you're being formal) has been with YellowLeaf on and off for three years. She is a wife, a mom of three and a grandmother of one (so far). She loves music and enjoys singing. She has also been known to play the occasional game of bingo.

The "trade secret" that Vicki wants to share is that we "Specialize in quality rather than quantity." We work hard to make sure that each individual drink is of high and consistent quality. We want you to know that if there is ever anything wrong with your drink, please let us know so we can make it right.

Vicki's favorite drink is a coconut and vanilla latte. She prefers hers iced and with soy, but you can enjoy it either hot or cold, and with any choice of milk.

Ask for Vicki's special this week and get a coconut and vanilla latte at 15% off.

Keep an eye out for this one to be a Featured Flavor some time this summer, too!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Meet the Baristas: Part 1, Michelle


Michelle has worked for YellowLeaf Coffee on and off since opening day (coming up on six years). She's been married to her husband John for nearly three years. In addition to being a barista at YellowLeaf, Michelle is a licensed cosmetologist.

We're asking all our baristas if there is a "trade secret" - something that we know that we want to share with you. Michelle said that most people don't realize just how much you can customize your drinks, particularly the YellowLeaf Freezes. Our menu lists the three main flavors - Mocha, Caramel and Vanilla - but we can do any flavor, or combination of flavors that we offer! Additionally, the drink normally comes with espresso, but we can make the Freeze without, or with extra, whatever you like!

Michelle's favorite drink is a caramel almond latte, which we called the "New Leaf Latte" when it was featured in January.

Ask for "Michelle's special" this week and get a caramel almond latte for 15% off.

Check back each week for a new profile and a new drink special!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Our way of saying "Thank You"

Thank you for checking out the YellowLeaf website. We appreciate your business and we are always looking for ways to serve you better.

Through this website, you'll be introduced to our employees, have the opportunity to suggest specials, and learn more about the coffee business.

As a thank you for stopping by the website, from Monday, April 5, through Sunday, April 11, just tell your barista that you visited our website, and you'll receive 15% off a single drink* every time you come in throughout the week.

And after the 11th, check back regularly for additional website only specials!

* any size drink, does not include extras such as additional espresso shots, soy milk or half and half, or extra flavor.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Suggest a Special!

We've got our April Featured Flavors picked out, but we're looking ahead to May and trying to decide what to serve. So, we're opening it up to you! Leave a comment below with a flavor combination and drink name, and if we choose your suggestion, you'll get one on the house!

A few guidelines:

1. When making suggestions, please use existing ingredients (see our menu for a list of syrup flavors). We are much less likely to use a suggestion that requires an ingredient we have to go shopping for.

2. Make sure you comment using an e-mail address that we can get back to you at. We don't sell or rent your info, but we do need to send you a coupon for the free drink.

3. Feel free to submit as many different ideas as you want, but don't submit the same idea over and over. However, if we don't use your idea this time, we will run contests like this in the future, feel free to resubmit then.

4. Of course, if two people have suggested the same flavor combination, the winner will be the person who commented first.

5. Remember, people like their coffee. Suggestions using tea, chai or other non-coffee beverages will be considered, but it's been our experience that drinks that are specifically non-coffee don't sell as well.

6. We like the names of our Featured Flavors to invoke the month, or time of year. Please keep this in mind when coming up with a name (and May-Day Mocha is already taken...).

We will announce the winner in late April and send out the winner's free drink coupon by May 1.