The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Tasty coffee and tea. I’ll give them that. But they have the slowest baristas ever! Hence the three stars. There is usually only one person making drinks — two people working the cash register. Makes no sense. Usually when the barista makes the drinks, they literally make one drink at a time. Ever heard of multi-​tasking?
I wouldn’t be coming back as often as I do, but the drinks are tasty and they use a powder to sweeten up the drinks, unlike Starbucks which uses all syrups. If I plan to go in the morning, I usually dedicate a good 10 – 15 minutes for my coffee run. Beware, or else you’ll be running late to work.

Absolutely love The Coffee Bean. Prices are right and the coffee is always strong, which is what I prefer. They do use powder as a sweetener slash flavor enhancer though so be forewarned. The difference between powder and the syrup that lets say a Starbucks or any other chain uses is that the powders tend to be a stronger flavor and the specialty coffees tend to be a lot sweeter. If you don’t like your coffee tasting like pure sugar, simply tell the barista to only use half the powder, like I do, in whatever type of coffee you ordered and problem solved.
Staff and service is always on point. It can get somewhat crowded at this location, but what great coffee shop doesn’t have a crowd?

The parking can be a hit or miss depending what time of day you go. I like this coffee shop due to its central location, and ease of access for meetings.
Their drinks are comparable, except one time I tried their pumpkin latte and it had a spicy kick. It wasn’t very good. Other times, I’ve ordered their vanilla bean, and that seems to be the best so far.
Clean inside, and good lighting inside for your studying and working needs!

Love this place! It’s less than a mile from my office and I’m here virtually every day. It’s a nice layout with plenty of indoor and outdoor space to get work done on my laptop. Great ambience and vibe from the people who come in. Fantastic coffee and service with a smile, always. I think the espresso is better here because the baristas still grind and pack the beans manually. Gives the espresso robust taste and a velvety consistency. Only negative: this location is so popular that it’s sometimes hard to get a table.

Coffee bean is so much better than Starbucks! Why? Because first off their variety and quality for food and beverage is better. They have a yogurt and oatmeal bar, they have better pastries, they have a chocolate dispenser that actually has big enough holes to dispense, almond and coconut milk options and they use snow cone ice in their iced beverages! Starbucks has none of these! The look and feel is more of a bright and fun environment and when I say room for cream in my coffee they actually leave room. Amen.

They have a really nice outdoor patio here and it’s really inviting. I’ve had trouble a few times due to the crowds and business but that’s okay. Coffee is good and service is friendly. Better than Starbucks for sure

Love love love their iced blended hazelnut drink. Yum! Service was pretty fast. I can’t wait to go back to try their other flavors. I like this chain more than Starbucks. Definitely worth the drive. They need to have more locations around.

I have been wanting to come
in here for awhile. I did and…
I LOVED IT!
The inside is really nice
and the employees that work
here are very friendly.
The girl that waited on us was knowledgeable and
I ended up with good results.
I ordered a Chai Latte with
Vanilla and added Caramel
syrup. I also got a Mini-​Maple
Pecan Scone.
When we were waiting in line
the girl behind the back making
the drinks asked me if I wanted
caramel syrup blended into my
drink and I couldn’t decline that
so I said with a smile…
YES PLEASE!
She also drizzled some on top
and it drizzled down the sides.
The Mini-​Maple Pecan Scone
was an excellent combination
with my drink.
For it being mini it packed a lot
of flavor. I don’t usually eat
many scones. I always get them
with my drinks and it helps even
out the caffeine that’s inside.
The scone had a nice dense
texture to it but still a little
crumbly but it wasn’t dry. It
had a rich flavor and I had
to eat it slowly.
I liked the frosting on top. It was
not too thick. It had a hard shell on top
and there was a perfect bite to it.
It brought back memories of a cookie
that I used to get that I got as a
treat when I used to go downtown to
Indianapolis.
The had a huge assortment of good
eats. This one stood out to me from
the rest. I would like to try others too.
Every seat was taken so I ended up
taking it to go. I was surprised every
seat was taken for the time it was.
There was also a couple of people
in front of us and a line starting
behind us but it was moving pretty
quickly and drinks were coming
out fast.
They have Wi-​Fi.
I’m not sure if it’s free but a lot of
people were using it. It was quiet
in there so it would be perfect for
study time.
See you soon!

I love coming here to study simply because it’s always SO CLEAN! The only problem is that it’s a bit small, so if you see a table open, RUN FORREST RUN! &snatch that table up :)
The employees are always friendly, the drinks are great, and they have hummus. I used to drink the blended mocha, and the iced vanilla latte. However, I’ve recently discovered the JASMINE DRAGON TEA LATTE! It’s better hot, but the cold version is not bad either. Check that out. It’s pretty tasty!
Cheers :)

I’m not a regular by any chance at CBTL, but I do occasionally crave their pomegranate blended drink.
When I dropped by the location everyone was great, friendly and fast, but the store lacked cleanliness behind the counter.
It was unfortunate to see fruit flys hanging out by the backs of the grinders, espresso machines, counter tops, and cabinets.
Enough said.

Not very polite staff. Very off putting. My girlfriend bought a bagel, toasted, sadly, no cream cheese left. I asked for napkins as they aren’t very visible and was told very shortly, «Over there with the sweetners.»
Politeness costs nothing but goes a long way. Won’t be going back.

An okay place to hang out and get your study on. I’ve been here a couple times, but I don’t consider this to be my favorite location. It is in Mission Valley, so at times it can be crowded (despite this location to being very wide). Their serving table where they put drinks is small and because it’s next to the restroom, it can be crowded there as multiple people are either waiting for their drink or standing in line to use the bathroom (although as a plus, this place does have 2 restrooms). Food is served on another area.
My favorite drink? Pomegranate Blueberry Tea Latte. :D

They have an oatmeal bar. I had never seen that before and I thought it was so cool! Their tea lattes are bomb!

I’m not usually a patron of CBTL. I work in a local café and prefer to spend my money at smaller establishments that serve locally roasted beans and use real dishes instead of disposable paper and plastic ones. But, today I really needed coffee and I was already in the complex.
I didn’t catch the name of the girl working the counter today at about 12 or 12:30 today, but she deserves some recognition for being incredibly helpful and friendly. The five star review I’m giving is purely a reflection of her awesome customer service and positive attitude. Give that girl a raise or I just might recruit her to come work with me.

It’s my first time here and my first impression is good. Employees are nice. Fast service. Big parking lot, yet it took 10 minutes to find a spot. I ordered mint tea, it was good. Nice patio area.

Been to this place a few times to study or just to grab a quick caffeine burst.
It gets pretty busy at this location with college students or shoppers in the Mission Valley area. However they are usually quick with their service and always willing to accommodate any specific requests. Their signature blended drinks are a good balance of thickness but not too runny, which is great if you still want that great espresso flavor.
CFBTL has mastered this considering all their blended drinks are made with tiny iced nuggets and non fat milk (unless otherwise requested). I’ve tried their iced half mocha half vanilla latte which was okay but not the best «sugar free» latte I’ve had compared to something at Einstein Bros. or Better Buzz Coffee. In the regular iced/​blended drinks the Dark Chocolate is a definite winner the perfect ratio of sweet to richness. Its a very rich dark chocolate but nothing overwhelming. Again, I really think their iced «nuggets» make a difference which doesn’t make it completely watered down if you don’t drink it right away. Some of the staff have been much more approaching than others but that’s a given when this location is as busy as it is. Check this place out instead of going down to the two Starbucks location down the street you won’t be disappointed!

Absolutely nothing but good things about this place. Clean, temperature-​controlled, lively, vibrant, busy, constantly moving. Filled with nice, courteous, witty employees.
Drinks are affordable and delicious. I prefer this franchise over the competition whose name is already well-​known.
Love the free WiFi. It can get a bit loud for those of you who need silence to concentrate or read.
If you are a regular and want to save some money for long term, Costco sells gift cards that cost less than the value you get for Coffee Bean.
Random note: I love how they have Friday-​night ASL (American Sign Language) at the outside patio. I went there on multiple occasions when I was taking an ASL class and needed/​wanted practice. Sparing details, it was significantly critical in my learning, and I am glad I came here for it.

The CBTL has the best dark roast coffee. They have other great things too, but I like to keep it simple.
The place is clean and there’s a really nice big patio area which is perfect for being outside during the warmer months.
The staff is friendly and thoughtful. They know their regulars. The Coffee Bean is a great stop while in Mission Valley.

We stopped in for a little coffee — specifically, a vanilla latte. I’m no coffee snob, so I asked my wife what she thought. According to her, it tasted better than Starbucks. I guess Starbucks is the yard stick these days, so we’ll give it 4 stars. As for me, I thought it tasted pleasant, but I guess I’m not refined enough to grasp the subtleties of coffee taste comparison.
Perhaps I also lack the refinement to understand how all of these places can get away with charging $ 4 for a drink, too. We only stopped in because we’re not at home. Anyway, the place is clean and the coffee is pretty good, according to someone with more class than I have.

I had the oatmeal while I was here. To my surprise, it wasn’t a microwaved or instant packet. They cook it on the stove for you and you can add a variety of toppings to it. Wow! You should, however, look at the selections before you go up to order– I was taken by surprise at the sheer number of options and sputtered out a couple of items.
I also had a soy latte, which was good and not too sweet.
It was crowded on the patio but very nice out. Tables are really close together, it seems, so if you’re doing work you might have trouble concentrating over the noise of the conversations.