Fusion Brew

Posted September 20th, 2007 by fusionbrew
in

Background

Fusion Brew is Bloomington/Normal's first and only Bubble Tea and Espresso cafe. We opened in December of 2005 and are a local family owned and operated business.

Bubble Tea is a specialty drink that originated in Taiwan during the mid 1980s. The first drinks were simply teas shaken with ice and fruit or juices to produce a cool refreshing drink. The resulting bubbles, produced from the mixing of the tea, are the drink’s namesake. Further refinement of the drink came with the addition of “textures” of which the most common is known as Boba. Boba are wonderfully chewy black orbs of sweet tapioca that are added to the drink and are now synonymous with the “Bubbles” in Bubble Tea.

Fusion Brew offers a broad selection of Bubble Tea drinks made from Chinese Black or Jasmine Green tea. A house favorite is a simple Milk Tea made from a flavorful golden tea sweetened to perfection and served either hot or cold. Our fruit juices and purees are not only used to make refreshing Bubble Teas but are also used to flavor finely blended ice to produce our Slushes or a creamy version of those known as Snows. Customers enjoy mixing flavors to produce their own tasty treat. The addition of Boba or one of our other “textures” make their drink complete.

If “Bubbles” are not your “cup of tea”, Fusion Brew offers a broad selection of loose leaf teas to brew while you wait. We also have several spiced tea drinks known as Chai that can be served hot, over ice, or blended into a smooth icy drink.

Our full Espresso drink menu is made complete with our wonderfully flavorful Espresso roast unique to the Bloomington/Normal area. Our skilled staff will be more than eager to pull you a shot of espresso and blend it with perfectly steamed milk and a flavor of your choice. We also have a large selection of Ice Blended Coffees that we can serve hot to warm you up on these chilly winter days.

If you are looking for a light snack then you will be pleased to find some great additions to your selected specialty drink including muffins, coffee cakes, cinnamon rolls, biscotti, bagels, and cookies. And on the savory side, we offer a chicken salad plate with a bagel or pita or a hummus and pita plate accompanied by a selection of fresh veggies.

Fusion Brew provides an inviting and comfortable place to study, do business, or just hang out with friends. Wireless internet is provided so you can stay “connected” while enjoying the best Bubble Tea or Espresso in the area!

Keys to Success

We strive to give our customers a consistent experience when they visit our cafe. We stress consistency with our staff while at the same time giving them the knowledge and flexibility to create drinks to satisfy our customers varying tastes. We provide a comfortable and relaxing environment with a carefully selected library of music. I'm not sure a cafe can be successful without being "wired" but we do require our wi-fi users to retrieve a logon from the register to try and preserve our bandwidth for our customers.

Special Events

We are currently offering a wide selection of seasonal drinks and snacks. These include a Spiced Pumpkin Milk Tea or Snow, Caramel Apple Slush/Snow, Baked Apple or Caramel Apple Latte and piping Hot Caramel or Cinnamon Apple Cider. We also have a Taffy Apple or Spiced Pumpkin bar to enjoy with your drink. This is just the beginning as we will be having monthly drink specials throughout the holiday and winter season.

Target Customers

We are conveniently located on the southern edge of the Illinois State University campus and within a few blocks of the Weslyan campus. We are also close to University High and a short distance from Normal West High. I would have to say our major customers would be students and young adults. We are very pleased to have many customers from the community at large who are looking for a great place to hang out and some of the areas premier Bubble Tea and Espresso drinks.

Challenges Faced

Our biggest challenge is to let people know where we are located and how easy it is to park (in our attached parking garage) and get into the cafe. Our enclosed parking garage provides and excellent location during the rainy or cold and windy days.

Where We're Headed

Up and to the right!!

Other Info

Fusion Brew was recently chosen as a 2007 Pantagraph Readers Choice winner for one of the top three coffee houses in the Bloomington/Normal area. This is a great honor and puts us in very good company with two other locally owned coffee houses, Coffee Hound and Bevende.