Your favorite beans are back!!!!!!!!!

Hey everybody!!!

Oh how we’ve missed you so! I won’t get too depressing on ya But I do want to say sorry and explain why we haven’t been blogging. Poppa bean fell ill and has been in and out of the hospital, momma beans had some health issues and bean 1 also now has a diagnosis which I may share more about in the near future. So needless to say we’ve been to busy with Dr’s and appts to blog. But we are all okay, everyone is doing better. Praise God!

Coffee can get ya through anything!

This bean family is still as madly in love as ever with coffee. Bean 2 is also sneaking around stealing sips from our cups, even the baby bean loves it.

We are very excited to announce that we are in CA!!!!!!!!!!! We are also hitting up Vegas.

So we have some awesome coffee shops to share with you all. Today there is no coffee shop review but just an update that were back. We hope you all have stuck with us and will continue on this journey along with us. Spread the word, the beans are back!!!!!

Beans 1 and 2 took their very first plane ride to get here. They did so good. They loved it!

We visited the world’s largest dinosaurs, in Cabazon, CA. You can climb all the way up to the top of this trex and look out his teeth, very cool.

We met a very talented balloon man who made an Elmo for bean 2 and his first ever balloon dump truck for bean 1. Took him like a half an hour, it even really dumped!

We found the world’s largest frappachino, haha, okay, maybe not but it makes a pretty cool picture.

Coffee shops coming soon…

Bean brigade signing off

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Coffee people who care

Lets start with an exciting announcement! We have hit 1000 views!! We are so pleased and proud of that accomplishment. Thank you guys! !! Were so glad to have you along for the journey, glad your enjoying our blog! 
Today we are talking about coffee beanary in the Patrick Henry Mall, Newport News. “Coffee people who care” is what their businesses cards says and in our experience thats true. This location is owned by a sweet couple. You can tell they enjoy what they do and care about their customers. They have many regulars that work at the mall and we have noticed they know them by name, by drink, and even beyond that. The drink selection is great. The drinks are consistantly very good, you can count on that. Momma beans favorite is the iced fudge ripple which is incredible!! Poppa beans favorite is the Irish truffle, so good! The place is small, cozy. They sell a lot of unique cups and mugs. They also sell their own beans and even little samples to try before buying a whole pound which is great. This mall does have a nice, new, kids play area, sorry I dont have pictures. All in all, great coffee shop. Bean score…

Customer service 4/5

Uniqueness 2/5

Atmosphere 2/5

Taste 5/5

Price 3/5

Thanks for stopping by.

Bean brigade now has a facebook, check it out, give us a like. 🙂

You can even follow us on Twitter
@bean_brigade

See ya tomorrow bean lovers!!!

Bean by the fountain

Finally, were not sick anymore! Sorry, we haven’t posted, I know you have missed us. Here is a glimpse at what we looked like.

The closest we got to a coffee shop, you may ask, you may not want to know…

Anyway, today we went to a really cool place!! Aromas, Newport news location. For anyone interested we have already reviewed the Williamsburg location and its a place we frequent. This location is better though, in our opinion, much better. It is a lot bigger, way less crowded, a lot more seating. It is in such a nice spot with a view of the fountains. Its a great spot to grab a drink on the go as you shop around or sit in and enjoy. The food is really good, especially the breakfast. The drink selection is not all that impressive but you usually cant go wrong with the drink of the week. The atmosphere is top notch. The area is dog friendly which is fub, aromas even has a communal dog bowl out front. They also have free, live concerts by the fountain every friday which is also cool to check out while your there. Bean score…

Atmosphere 5/5

Uniqueness 3/5

Taste 2/5

Price 1/5

Customer service 4/5

Now for the best part, the pictures!!!

 

Cant get enough??? We can’t blame ya. 🙂

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WE TRULY APPRECIATE IT!!!

 

Much love beans! See ya tomorrow.

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Oldie but goodie

We have really been on a winning streak lately guys. Every coffee shop we touch turns to gold. Haha! No, but really, we are finding the best places. This is something we are truly passionate about and enjoy so thank you faithful followers and new followers! We are honored that you have choosen to take this journey with us! Momma bean still gets a rush everytime she enters a new coffee shop. Seeking out coffee shops in each and every new town we go to has always been our thing. Blogging about it now just makes it that much better. Anyway, our audience has spoken and we listened, we have been working on adding many more Hampton Roads area coffee shops. You guys are going to love this place!

This coffee shop is so unique in the way its set up. There are different rooms that are seperated by half walls so its still very open and spacious feeling. They thought of everyone when they designed this place. There’s a back screened in porch type of room that has a large variety of games and is perfect for families, kids, babies. The main room has comfy couches and a fireplace, relaxing, good for studying or dates. There’s a room to the side with tables good for larger groups, meetings, etc. The staff is very friendly. The drink selection is outrageously good!  To give you an idea poppa bean had the cinnamon roll latte which literally tasted just like a cinnamon roll. Momma bean couldnt resist the name and description of my drink, the butter crunch, which has almond roca. Ive never even seen this flavor and I was so excited. But honestly and unfortunately it wasnt good, bit of a let down. Should have got the cinnamon roll, once I tried that nothing could compare. This is the first coffee shop in Norfolk, and still going strong, and I can see why. Any place that gives you a whopping 3 shots in a large is worth going to! Check it out beans!

Bean score…

Customer service 4/5

Atmosphere 4/5

Taste 3/5

Uniqueness 4/5

Price 3/5

Fair grounds
806 Baldwin Ave #2
Norfolk, VA

This place is conveniently located right by Norfolks McArthur Mall, they have such a great kids play place there! Heres our wild beans having some fun.

See ya next time!

Remember Beanbrigade has facebook now so please like us.

Follow us on Twitter @bean_brigade

Beary good coffee

Today we went to the BEST coffee shop! Actually, it is our first ever PERFECT SCORE!!!

Sleepy bear coffee, as soon as we heard the name we knew we had come across a winner! This is truly a hidden gem that absolutely everyone needs to check out, especially every parent!!! It is a family owned business.  We had the pleasure of meeting the owners daughter today. The whole family works together at this business. Everyone is so sweet and welcoming. They went above and beyond to make our experience wonderful in every way, shape and form. They have over 50 scrumptious drink flavors. Feeling healthy? They have fresh smoothies and soothing herbals tea as well. Momma bean choose an iced latte with peanut butter and banana,  it is definitely my new favorite, the best drink I’ve ever had. Poppa bean had a hazelnut coffee and he said it was the best he ever had too! As you know he is very picky.  It is very reasonably priced.  Which I will go into more later about what they offer the kids! This place is simply perfect in every way. We couldn’t think of a complaint if we had to.

As we entered we were greeted by these friendly bears outside. Big hit with the kids!

T

Pick your treat, then pick your room. There is the main room with a nice big flat screen TV and comfy couches, nice big windows, and a beautiful fireplace. Even enjoy conversation with the very sweet and knowledgeable barista.

They have a great little selection of local,  jams, honey, etc. Your kids will enjoy finding these stuffed animals throughout the place.

This is the Forest Room. It’s a nice, quiet, private room open for meetings, groups, or any gathering you would like. There is a nice big flat screen TV in this room for your entertainment as well.

Sorry the picture below is blurry but this is another great find as you wander through, there is a few stuffed toys and even a little dollhouse inside the log.

Prepare to be amazed!!!! This is BEAR TOWN! This kids paradise is only $3 for your whole family to play all day!!!!!!!!

I told you this place was amazing.  This play place has THE best toy selection we’ve ever seen! Our kids had a total blast! They have one of everything! So sit back,  relax, read a book, or meet with friends while the kids have a great time playing with all the great stuff!

The first ever PERFECT SCORE as promised…

Customer service 5/5

Taste 5/5

Uniqueness 5/5

Atmosphere 5/5

Price 5/5

Talk about a sleepy bear! This little bear, or bean one we should say was totally wiped out after the best day of fun at Sleepy Bear coffee shop!

I’m telling you, even if you don’t live all that close.  It is worth your drive.  Kids play all day for only 3 bucks!!! You can not beat that, trust us, we’ve been everywhere! Even if you don’t have kids, everything is separate so there is quiet, peaceful places for adults to enjoy a delicious treat of any kind. This is the perfect place for meetings, dates, birthday parties, play groups, parents, kids, babies, everyone! Come check it out. You can thank us later. 🙂

Please tell them bean brigade sent you!!!

We are so proud to be featured on their website.

http://www.mysleepybearcoffee.com/

We will see ya there soon!!

9555  C Kings Charter Drive

Ashland, VA

23005

 

WE ARE GLAD YOUR HERE!

Bean Brigade now has a facebook, please, be so kind as to like us on facebook, we’ve got all kinds of cool stuff going on there…

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bean-Brigade/166726723504017

You can even follow us on Twitter…

@bean_brigade

See ya next time. 🙂

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Pretentious bean

Borjo coffeehouse

Along our journey we run into a lot of things. Some coffee shops exceed our expections and come up with such unique drinks and fun atmospheres, we are constantly on our toes. Then, of course some places are a huge disappoint and you honestly wonder how they even stay in business. Most places fall somewhere in between. As was the case with Borjo.

Pretentious is the best word, sums up this place perfectly. The decor, the crowd, the staff. The place was fancy, which I do appreciate and enjoy, it seemed a little over the top for a coffeehouse and sometimes places are so fancy that you dont even feel welcome, esp with kids. But it was a cool, pretty, different atmosphere. Momma bean loves blown glass so the special glass lights earned extra points from me. think it would be great to study or for a date.

The staff was rude. Even made a stupid joke at our expense, totally embarrassed us. Everyone in there had a dirty look on their face. The drink selection sucked. What we got tasted bad. You can count on honest reviews from us, not everyplace is good. They did have a nice little area with books and a fireplace which was cool. They also had beer. What we did get was some cute pictures, so enjoy, after your bean score…

Customer service 1/5

Taste 1/5

Atmosphere 4/5

Price 3/5

Uniqueness 3/5

Super bean

Crossroads is a wonderful coffee shop, with two locations in Richmond. They have great coffee and yummy food. They have a lot of vegan friendly options. Their vegan chocolate chip cookies are to die for! Its a cool place inside, colorful, lots of seating and lots of board games to play. They have a big outdoor seating patio area as well.

It was here that I was introduced to something truly life changing for coffee lovers. Drum roll please…

“Thai coffee” Have ya’ll heard of this??? Its black coffee AND espresso with sweetened condensed milk. It is just the right blend of everything. Such a good and different flavor. Not to sweet, not to bitter. Very, very powerful. It is definetly one of my new favorites!

Baby beans were asleep in the car, so momma bean just ran in for a drink and a few pictures.

It was clearly very popular because it was crowded and they have two locations in Richmond.

We went to the 26 N. Morris street location by the way.

Bean score…

Atmosphere 3/5

Taste 5/5

Customer service 4/5

Uniqueness 3/5

Price 3/5

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Home brew

Today we are doing things a little differently. An inside look if you will. For the days we dont get out to a coffee shop for whatever reason we have got an awesome little set up at our place.

At any given time we always have at least two types of coffee and two types of espresso. We always have variety of creamers, syrups, etc. We even have a few varieties of instant, mostly for guests or camping. We even have decaf for when grandma visits.

Not all are pictured but we have a 4 cup coffee pot, a 12 cup pot, a keruig, a frappichino machine, and our most priced posession, the espresso maker.

Meaning, at any given moment I can make you a frap, a latte, an americano, iced coffee, hot coffee, flavored, plain, decaf, whatever you need or like, we’ve got it. Ive even got a couple varieties of chai tea I add espresso shots too, which is a favorite of these beans.

We’ve even got momma beans prized starbucks cup collection to serve up your coffee in.

So, on your travels if you ever need to stop by for a caffeine fix we are right between Richmond and Williamsburg and we’ve got you covered.

Can we score our own house? Hey, we own this blog, why not?

Customer service 5/5
(and the bartistas are so good lookin)

Uniqueness 4/5

Taste 4/5

Price 5/5

Atmosphere 4/5
(Its always loud but at least we have a playroom)

These lazy, stay at home beans are signing off, see ya tomorrow.

Your gonna love it here…

“Welcome to Ethereal cupcakes and coffee, your gonna love it here”  were the first words spoken to us as we walked in and we left with an amazing latte! It was a wonderful experience overall. We were informed that all the cupcake and coffee ingredients are organic which is something so special and rare to find.

The cupcakes are truly amazing. They have 10 flavors that change daily which includess one vegan and one glutten free cupcake a day. They have a variety of yummy coffee drinks, they even carry illy products, one of momma beans favorites. The staff is super friendly and cheerful. They have some neat events during the week like open mic nights. Its a must have for us every time we visit the Pennsylvania Town Center. Check it out sometime. You really will love it!

Bean score…

Taste 4/5

Uniqueness 4/5

Customer service 5/5

Price 3/5

Atmosphere 3/5

Chilly Coffee

The only thing better then coffee, is coffee with dear friends. It’s Michigan that brings us to some of our closest friends, and some of our favorite coffee shops.

Originally we came to Mighigan to visit friends and family, but we decided to drop by downtown Ann Arbor to see what all the fuss was about.  In order to call your shop “Mighty Good Coffee” takes a lot of confidence, and you better be sure you live up to  your name. However, the experience was nothing less than Mighty Good! It was there that momma bean had one of the best, most unique drinks shes ever had. A iced, brown sugar sea salt latte. Talk about mighty good.

MIGHTY GOOD COFFEE

217 N Main St

Ann Arbor, MI

48104

Justin found this sign right outside that he wasn’t a fan of!

And off we went…

The bean score is as follows…

Taste 5/5

Uniqueness 3/5

Price 5/5

Atmosphere 3/5

Customer service 4/5

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