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Taste of the Month: My Cafe Buzz brings a flavorful tropical vibe to downtown Bellefonte

My Cafe Buzz

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Escaping to a sunny beach locale is a bit difficult this summer, but a new cafe in downtown Bellefonte gives visitors a little taste of the tropics.

My Cafe Buzz opened in May and has since been offering diners delicious, fresh, and healthful breakfast and lunch items, alongside an array of coffee-based drinks, all in a bright, beachy environment.

“I think the beachy, tropical vibe gives the cafe more of an upbeat feeling,” says owner and Bellefonte native Heather Lingle. “The lighter colors seem to be happier and give the space better vibes. And then the building is sitting over top of water and it’s older and has so much detail, and then the bright colors give it even more charm. It kind of all came together.”

My Cafe Buzz’s menu fits the theme well, with offerings ranging from fun mermaid-tail cookies to fresh and fruity acai bowls. The acai bowls, in fact, have become one of the cafe’s most popular and well-reviewed menu items.

“We have people coming in every single day for the same acai bowls, the same smoothies, the same sandwiches,” Lingle says. “You can’t even steer them in a different direction to try something else. … I’ve never heard so many positive comments. It’s been awesome.”

For those not in the know, an acai bowl blends superfood acai berries into a puree and then often tops the thick concoction with a range of other ingredients. At My Cafe Buzz, the team garnishes their acai bowls with granola, fresh fruit, and a honey and chocolate drizzle, for a creation they’ve dubbed a “bowl breakfast dreams are made of.” The acai base is all-natural and made with no added sugar.

The ocean theme even extends to some of the cafe’s ingredient choices, with the in-house baker adding a touch of sea salt to several of the fresh baked goods, for a unique, richer flavor profile. Baked items are churned out daily and include some gluten-free selections, such as cookies and muffins.

Upon opening, My Cafe Buzz began with a more simplistic coffee, smoothies, and baked goods menu, before moving on to offering a greater breakfast selection. The cafe added lunch items to the menu in late June.

“Everyone seems to be enjoying the sandwiches,” Lingle says. “It’s a small menu, but we try to offer as much flavor as we can.”

Lunch slider sandwiches include tasty and creatively-named options such as The County Seat, featuring a combination of jerk pork, Jamaican slaw, and jerk aioli; and the Curryous, with grilled chicken, grilled pineapple, and a curry aioli.

Of course, you can’t forget the “buzz” in My Cafe Buzz. Lingle says the name is a direct reference to that unbeatable caffeine buzz that coffee drinkers crave, and the cafe’s menu caters to those in need of one of the best buzzes of all – the caffeine high that comes from cold-brew and nitro-brew coffee.

“We’re the only people in town to have actual nitro brew. I make fresh cold-brew coffee every day and hook it up to a nitro system. Someone like a chain cafe would use a nitro concentrate. Ours is an actual nitro system. It’s a lot of work, but I’ve gotten it down and it’s pretty easy now,” says Lingle. “It’s a cold-brew coffee, but the nitro infused into the coffee creates a creamy texture, which in turn makes it look almost like a Guinness beer. It’s a little more creamy, versus just an iced coffee.”

Another unusual coffee offering from My Cafe Buzz? Coffee ice cubes, for cooling your iced coffee without watering it down. While typically the coffee ice cubes are an added cost, followers of the cafe on social media can catch select days when the coffee ice cubes are a free add-on to any cold drink.

Currently, My Cafe Buzz is allowing outdoor seating only (on the themed deck that appropriately matches the rest of the business) and Lingle says she and her small staff are taking other precautions as needed to protect their customers.

“We always have our masks on. We have a mandatory mask rule inside, with or without the governor’s decision. We don’t allow any seating inside and we ask people to stay off the furniture. We have all outdoor seating. We try to make sure everything is clean out there, in terms of the tables and chairs. We do what we can to keep everything sanitized at all times,” she says.

And while some might think opening a new business during a global pandemic could be a risky decision, especially in the food industry, Lingle affirms that doing so has worked out in her favor.

“It was a nice, slow start. We had the perfect soft opening,” she says.

Still, she’s looking forward to later days when the cafe can begin offering events and activities to bring more local residents together.

So far, residents are supportive of the addition to the Bellefonte dining scene and are spreading the word.

“People are coming in to check it out and see what I’ve done with the place. People get excited to have something new,” she says.

My Cafe Buzz is located at 325 West High Street and is open Tuesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. through 2 p.m.

 

Holly Riddle is a freelance writer in State College.