Starting Monday, March 11, the Blue Bean Café is selling milkshakes and the Bean Blaster again after they were removed from the menu because of the switch to Starbucks products.

The switch to Starbucks products at the Blue Bean joined the many other changes that occurred over the summer of 2018: Myer Residence Hall was redone, progress was made on the Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being, Vice President of Student Life Dr. Celestino Limas began his time at the College and the coffee bar at the Jay’s Nest was enhanced.

When it seemed as though everything was looking up for Etown students, they discovered that the tradeoff for the Blue Bean serving Starbucks was that it would be getting rid of ice cream products, such as milkshakes and the Bean Blaster.

As The Etownian reported in September 2018, sales on the first day that the Blue Bean was serving Starbucks tripled in comparison to the first day that the Blue Bean had been open for the school year in past years.

Students noticed that the Blue Bean was noticeably more crowded since the Starbucks arrived, even now in the second semester.

“The Blue Bean seems much more popular now that they’re serving familiar drinks but I was sad to have missed out on trying a Bean Blaster while I had the chance,” sophomore Sofia Jurado said.

It started with confusion. Students were unsure if the Bean Blasters were completely gone or if they would be back later in the semester after any kinks with the Starbucks were sorted out, only to find out that they were truly gone.

Many students, like Jurado, were disappointed to no longer have the opportunity to order Bean Blasters.

Therefore, right before Spring Break, Dining Services announced that the ice cream products would be returning to the Blue Bean starting March 11.

Senior Kyna Gibson, who is a Dining Services Manager, said that she believes that students have been asking for Bean Blasters to come back since Starbucks opened, so she believes that students will be very excited to hear that they are making a return.

“We’re really excited for the ice cream to come back because everyone loves a good frozen treat when spring comes around! They’re a really popular item!” senior Blue Bean employee Quinten Yonkers said.

Yonkers then explained that the ice cream items have various toppings that students can order such as peanut butter cups, M&Ms, Skor and Oreos. There are also three flavors of ice cream: vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.

Junior Mika Thomas had her first shift since the Bean Blasters returned the night of Tuesday, March 12. She said that while she did not notice a higher volume of students, she did notice that some students who would often come to order hot drinks were now ordering Bean Blasters instead.

Milkshakes are available for $4.00 and Bean Blasters are $4.50 at the Blue Bean, which is open Monday through Friday.