Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Post-Thanksgiving Break Rush!

Hi Team!
Final countdown to Finals Week now that Thanksgiving Break is over! And there are a lot of fun things coming up to participate in to get your mind off of stressful finals.
B.O.D. Feed America Food Drive - Through December 2nd
Donate non-perishable food items in AMU 245 for BOD points. Mark all items with BREW to get points for our department!

Brew Ugly Sweater Holiday Party! Sunday, December 4th
From 4p-7p in Brook's Lounge the Brew Team will be making holiday cards, decorating cookies, and eating treats for our annual Brew Holiday Party. Make sure to wear your best ugly holiday sweater!

Holiday for Heroes - All Day Tuesday December 6th and Wednesday December 7th
The Brew Cafes will be offering an opportunity to thank our military men and women serving overseas. Stop by the Brew Bayou in the Alumni Memorial Union on Tuesday, December 6 and Wednesday, December 7 from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and create a holiday card to brighten the holiday season for someone that may not be able to be with loved ones. This is a great way to say ‘thank-you’, send holiday greetings and let our service men and women know they are not forgotten.
Holiday For Heroes is sponsored by the American Red Cross. Card-making supplies will be provided and cards will be sent for distribution later in the week. Please join us in supporting those who may need a little extra joy this holiday season.

B.O.D. Cookie Decorating Event in the Lunda Room - Tuesday, December 6th
Come decorate cookies from 7p-9p in the Lunda Room to gain the Brew some much-needed BOD points!
 
Last, but not least, SIGN UP FOR FINALS WEEK HOURS! All Brew employees are required to work AT LEAST 8 hours during finals week. If you do not sign up for hours, shifts will be assigned to you. Any employee missing their shifts will be subject to disciplinary action.
 
Come get together with your Brew co-workers and participate in these great events!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Helping Hands Across America

Hi Team,

This year we will be selling Helping Hands to help combat hunger in the Milwaukee area. Portions of the donations will be going to Feeding America and Campus Kitchens. Below are the instructions. You are expected to ask each customer if they would like to donate and purchase a hand. You can then ring up their donation using the HELPING HANDS button on your register. This is a cash only donation and will not be taxed. You will need to print a receipt to track the sales. More detailed instructions are below.
There is also a prize to the retail account with the most sales - free wings and bowling at the Annex!

Helping Hands Across America
Sales of Hands:
Helping Hands will only be sold at our Brew Bayou location. They are also being sold at the Res Dining facilities and other Retail accounts.

Hands can be purchased for any denomination (although $1, $5, or $10 is traditional) and can only be purchased in cash.

Hands are tracked, so please do not lose count of sales.

To ring up a helping hand: press the HELPING HANDS register button. Enter the total donation (this will not be taxed). Take the cash donation and ring through like a normal sale. Print out a receipt and place in your Helping Hands envelope to be turned in when closing the bank.

Please write the amount donated and have the customer donating to Helping Hands fill out their name on the actual Hand. They will be posted in the Brew for the duration of the fundraiser around the menu boards.

Sales will start Monday, November 7th and end Saturday, December 10

Remember to thank the customer for the donation!

Info About Helping Hands:
Monetary and food donations will be going to Feeding America and Campus Kitchens.

Competition Between Retail Units and Resident Dining Halls:
The Retail Unit or Resident Dining Hall that collects the greatest amount of cash donations wins!

Must have a minimum of $50.00 in donations to be eligible for the prize.

The prize is a bowling and wings party at the Annex.

The party will be scheduled for the first or second week of the new semester.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Welcome to November!

Hello Everyone!
I hope you had a smashing Halloween and area ready for all the great happenings in November! First things first:
New Specials and Features:
Twisted Vanilla Nut Latte - A 2 shot 160z latte with 2 pumps vanilla, 1 pump hazelnut, 1 pump cinnamon
White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha - A 2 shot 16oz mocha with 1 pump chocolate and 2 pumps frosted mint
Cranberry Walnut Loaf
Caramel Apple Cider
Iced Tea and Iced Coffee are finished for the season - remember... you can always offer to make and iced americano if someone is REALLY disappointed!

Upcoming Events:
November 3rd - SM John Haldy's Birthday (say happy birthday to him!)
November 4th - Aloha Friday!
November 5th - Make A Difference Day, volunteers with a name tag can get 10% off bakery and drip coffee at the Bayou until 8:30am
November 9th - Stone Creek Sampling from 8a-12p outside of the Bayou
November 14th-18th - International Education week with a Rishi Tea Sampling on November 15th from 7a-11am outside of the Bayou

Have a great week and enjoy this crisp fall weather. Chillier temps are right around the corner...

Friday, October 14, 2011

B.O.D EVENTS! And other goings-on...

Hi Brew Team!
The next few weeks have a slew of Battle of Departments events for everyone to participate in. They are as follows:
Wednesday, 10/26: Fall All-University Blood Drive 11am-7pm, Ballroom AB

Donors can indicate their department via online registration or on-site registration

Thursday, 10/27: Pumpkin Decorating 7pm-9pm , Lunda Room

Thursday, 11/17: Wear your Department/AMU T-shirt day! This one EVERYONE should participate in since if you're headed to or coming from work, you are most-definitely wearing your Brew shirt!

November 28th - December 2nd:  Food Drive

Please participate in these upcoming events to gain the Brew point in the Battle but also to get to know fellow Brewistas you may not know yet.

Lastly, next week is Fall Break! Good luck on Mid-Terms and thank you to those who will be working with us at the Brew Bayou during Fall Break!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Can You Believe It?! October!

Hi Brew Crew!
A full 6 weeks into the semester - can you believe it?! So far, so good with the Brew.
I hope you all enjoyed All Staff and THANK YOU for those who came and participated. We definitely learned a lot from Steve from Stone Creek Coffee too!

This month we're featuring some great specials, which I'm sure you've seen -
Pumpkin Spice Latte - 16oz latte with Pumpkin Spice Syrup, 2 shots of espresso, and steamed milk
Maple Spice Latte - 16oz latte with Maple Spice Syrup, 2 shots of espresso, and steamed milk
Caramel Apple Cider - 12oz, 16oz, or 20oz Apple cider with caramel

We're starting to phase out Iced Coffee and Iced Tea and featuring these delicious specials instead. Get ready for the cooler weather!

Additionally, October is both FAIR TRADE MONTH and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We will be featuring:
Mild - Tanzanian Peaberry
Medium - Harvest Blend
Dark - Fair Trade Blend
And offering at the Brew Bayou: Otis Spunkmeyer Pink Chip Cookies and Bloomsberry Emergency Chocolate Bars both going to support Breast Cancer Research.
You'll also see Yoplait Yogurt lid collection boxes at all cafes. Please urge your customers to drop their yogurt lids in these boxes. Every lid collected will be sent back to raise money for Breast Cancer Research.

Monday, May 2, 2011

...May Flowers!

Hi Brew Team!
Its finally May - which means graduation and Summer are just around the corner. We'll be celebrating this month at the Brew with a new special and a few upcoming events.
Brew Special - Mexican Hot Chocolate Breve (2 shots espresso, cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate with steamed half and half)
SCC Special - Boston Latte (2 shots espresso, honey, steamed milk)
Cinco de Mayo - May 5th we'll be serving churros at all locations. Each churro is only $1.

Remember... Finals week hours start this Friday (5/6) at Raynor and this coming Saturday (5/7) at all other cafes. If you are interested in more hours that you already have, let us know. You are required to work at least 8 hours. If you have not signed up for hours, hours will be assigned to you. Let us know if you have any questions and have a great week!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Changes to Fair Trade - Good News About the Coffee Industry!

Hi Everyone,
I found this interesting post on the Stone Creek Coffee Blog and for those of you interested in Fair Trade Coffee (which should be all of you since you're all a part of the Specialty Coffee Industry now!) I thought I'd post a little GOOD news about the coffee industry:

About a month ago an email popped into my inbox announcing some changes to the Fair Trade Certification for coffee. These changes went into effect on April 1 and have addressed several important factors of this certification.
Fair Trade standards are set by Fair Trade International (FLO), a sustainability organization based in Germany. Fair Trade USA is FLO’s certification partner here in the United States. After careful review of the old standards, the following changes have been made:

Pricing and Premiums
For many years, the minimum price paid to a producers for their coffee has been $1.26 per pound for a conventional (non organic) coffee and $1.41 for a certified organic coffee. Since these prices were set, cost of production has increased significantly. To address this, the new price floors will be $1.40 for conventional coffees and $1.70 for organic coffees.



These price floors are meant to provide a safety net for coffee producers when the market price of coffee drops below what is considered to be a sustainable minimum price. Currently, the market price for coffee is more than $2.87 per pound.


In addition to increasing the price floor, FLO has also increased the community development premium for Fair Trade Certified coffees from $0.10 per pound to $0.20 per pound. The community development premium is an allocation that must be set aside for projects that improve the social standards of the community where the coffee comes from. Under the new requirements, $0.20 from the negotiated price must be reserved for these types of investments.


Cooperative Capacity Building
In discussions with producer groups, the staffs of FLO and Fair Trade USA have learned of the continued need for technical assistance and capacity building. Over the past 5 years, more than $2 million has been invested in business capacity initiatives in Africa and Latin America. Based on the success of these programs, Fair Trade USA is in the process of creating a Cooperative Capacity Building Initiative that will enable more of these types of projects to happen. These projects will ultimately improve the quality and yields of coffee worldwide, effectively easing the pressure from the current low global supply.


In a difficult time of low supply and high prices, it is important to take note of the great work happening in the coffee industry.

Have a pleasant Easter Break everyone!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

April Showers... Bring New Specials?!

Hey Brew Crew! (It IS Opening Day after all!)
Starting tomorrow, we are going to be offering quite a few new menu options to celebrate the sun coming back and the start of warmer weather!
Brew Latte - Cinnamon Bun Latte (white choc, caramel, cinnamon)
SCC Latte - Boston Latte (honey)
Bakery Special - Cinnamon Rolls

Dark - Red Sky Blend
Medium - Garden Blend
Mild - currently FTO Peru but will be switching to FTO Mexican

Iced Tea - offered in 12oz, 16oz, 20oz sizes and in Peach Rooibos or Summer Lemon
To brew: Place 2 tea bags in empty, clean pitcher. Fill with 32oz HOT water and steep for 5 minutes. REMOVE TEA BAG. Fill with 32oz cold water and place in cooler. NEVER LEAVE THE TEA BAGS IN THE PITCHERS.

Iced Coffee - Iced Dark Sumatra coffee offered in 12oz, 16oz, 20oz sizes
To brew: Measure .32lbs of Dark Sumatra beans and brew into LARGE clear pitcher. Distribute into smaller pitchers. Place in cooler.
MARK ALL PITCHERS WITH DAY DOTS TO ENSURE FRESH PRODUCT. DAY DOTS ARE AT ALL LOCATIONS.
You should always have 2 pitchers of each type of tea and of iced coffee (total 6 pitchers). Instructions on how to brew are also posted at all locations.

Enjoy!

Friday, March 4, 2011

New Month and New Stuff!

Hey Brew Crew!
This first week of March just zipped by! I hope you were able to attend the first mandatory Safety Meeting, but if not, there are 2 more opportunities - Tues, March 8th 3:30-4:00p and Thurs, March 10 9:00-9:30a. If you haven't noticed, we also started a few new specials. They are listed below:
Brew Latte - Nutty Irishman (White Chocolate, Irish Cream, Hazelnut)

Brew Latte 2 - Snickers (Milk Chocolate, Caramel, Hazelnut)

Mild - Organic Peru
Medium - BREW N' GOLD (Same blend as Jesuit Joe - with a NEW Marquette Commemorative Label)
Dark - Winter Blend
Decaf - Decaf Guatemala

At all the Brews we will also be celebrating Mardi Gras with Lemon-Filled Paczkis. They are similar to lemon-fill donuts but are often found at New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations!

Lastly, we are going to be trying out a few new products in the next weeks. Keep an eye out for Funky Monkey Dried Fruit and Oskri Sesame Bars. The sesame bars will be offered near the other Luna, Clif, and Gnu bars and will be a meal exchange option.
Have a great weekend and thanks for all of your hard work!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Valentine's Week

Hey Brewistas,
It's Valentine's Week and I hope you're spending it with someone you like, even just a little bit! Our V-Day specials are going on through the 19th. This means we are still offering the Kiss of Bliss Latte! In addition, we will be selling our PINK heart sugar cookies in fancy heart-printed cello bags at all locations for their regular price on Monday, February 14th. Just a little something special for Valentine's Day!

Also, congrats to everyone who received Sodexo Exceptional Experience cards these past two weeks. Everyone should strive to get these. Even if we don't catch you going above and beyond your job - it doesn't mean we don't notice the great impact you all have had on the Brew. Thank you!

Lastly, CONGRATS TO MELISSA STROBEL! She is our second Brew barista to earn the coveted Employee of the Month award. Melissa's great work ethic, ability and willingness to go above and beyond whatever is asked of her, and her dedication to her co-workers made her a no-brainer for EoM. Way to go Melissa and thanks for being a great role model to all of us here at the Brew Cafes.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Did you survive Snowmageddon 2011?!

Hi Brew Crew!
Welcome to the first FULL month of 2011, crazy how time flies! Here are some updates on specials, info on rotating, and information about the upcoming All Staff to read while not playing in the snow.
February Specials:
Brew - Raspberry Truffle Latte
SCC - Swiss Mocha
Bakery - Glazed Lemon Loaf and 16oz Coffee
Valentine's Special - Kiss of Bliss Latte

Rotating:
Please remember to rotate your products when stocking. Always check the dates on products and place the oldest in front to ensure we are not wasting anything we order. This we way are cutting down on waste (always a good thing!) and keeping our customers happy by having what they want, when they want it. First In, First Out everybody!

All Staff:
This semester's All Staff is Sunday, February 20. This is a mandatory event and will count against you as a no call/no show if you do not attend without an approved excuse. Excuses can only be approved by Ali M. Excuse forms are across from the time clocks in the AMU and are due no later than Friday, Feb 11. Any excuse forms submitted after this date will be counted as unexcused. If you submit an excuse form and it is not accepted, you are NOT EXCUSED and expected to attend All Staff. Please remember that 2 no call/no shows result in termination.

Enjoy the SNOW!