I decided to head over to Westminster this morning. The main goal was to visit Furnace Hills Coffee, but I also wanted to check out a place that I hadn’t visited before – Jeannie Bird Baking Company. I also had plans on going to the Downtown Westminster Farmer’s Market. I was able to visit all three, so I had a fun packed morning and was able to be on my way before the rain hit.

I started my morning at Jeannie Bird Baking Company. I had walked by it several times, but never took the time to step in. I read up on it and there were quite a few things about it that intrigued me. One thing that caught my eye was that they make their own English Muffins. I do enjoy a good English Muffin breakfast sandwich from time to time, so that was my main goal. When I got to the store, it was already pretty busy. I was waiting in line and could hear people behind me who knew some of the people in front of me. This was something that happened time and again, so it really had a nice, hometown type of feel to it. The employees seemed to know almost everyone as well, which added a comforting feeling to being there. I looked at all the different pastries and there were a few options that I was thinking about, but I wanted to stick with the breakfast sandwich. The English Muffins are not the same as what I’m used to from the grocery stores. They were a little smaller in diameter, but much thicker. So when I ate the sandwich, I was able to enjoy more of the muffin. I would normally order a meat as part of the sandwich, but I wanted to make sure I was able to taste the English Muffin, since meats sometimes become the primary flavor and minimize the other flavors in the muffin sandwiches. I was able to taste the English Muffin, and I enjoyed it. The outside was crispy, but the inside had that nice softness that you usually get. Since it was thicker than I am used to, I was able to really taste the bread and the enjoy the texture. By the time I was finished eating, the line was out the door. It is definitely a happening place. I will be going back, since they have so many other options that I plan on trying on future visits.

After I finished my breakfast, I walked over to Furnace Hills Coffee. They won’t be starting on the pumpkin drinks until October, so I decided to go with a Peanut Brittle blended coffee drink. The drink has caramel and peanut butter flavors. The first sip had a strong peanut brittle flavor, which was pretty neat. The consistency was good and the staff is great. Here is a not so great picture I took of their specialty drink menu.

I walked over to the Downtown Westminster Farmer’s Market while drinking my coffee drink. It was a small Farmer’s Market, but there were some good options there, which I will look into more the next time I visit there.

I bought two bags of coffee at Furnace Hills Coffee for my sister. One is called “Buddy Walk” and for every pound of coffee they sell, they donate $5 to the National Down Syndrome Society’s Buddy Walk. That is reason enough for me to get it, but the flavor of it is also good. I also got Erin’s Blend, named for their Chief Roaster.

Although my sister won’t get to enjoy these for a while, I will get to enjoy the aromas that are emanating from these bags. Even though I don’t enjoy straight coffee, but instead prefer the ice blended Frappuccino type drinks, I still like the smell of fresh coffee. Go figure on that one. I like and appreciate what Furnace Hills Coffee does. They not only make good coffee drinks and good roasted beans, but they do things for what I think is a good and honorable cause. You can’t get much better than that on a Saturday morning…