The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Love that their coffee is inexpensive compared to Starbucks and I don’t have to wait so long for my drink. I also just had their Thai tea latte yesterday. So good!!!

Alex at the
counter made extra effort to get me dark coffee even the board said No dark or decaf after noon time.
He’s friendly even he’s no name badge on his shirt.
Friendly gestures said it all. I would stop by whenever I have I a chance.

Stopped by before a meeting since the office building was across the street from this café. The director I was meeting is a regular here and recommended the pomegranate blueberry tea latte. The cashier was friendly and even notified us that pastries were half off (it was around 4pm on a Monday). Overall, we got our 4 drinks in a decent timeframe and the taste of the tea latte was unique. A bit too sweet for me, but definitely a taste I probably can’t find elsewhere. $ 4 something for a medium sized drink? Not too bad.

Cute little corner coffee shop. Stopped in for a quick breakfast and coffee before a morning meeting. Coffee was good, breakfast sandwich was microwaved. Asked about breakfast burritos and the lady behind the counter pulled them out of a box. Frozen and nuked? I’ll pass for the food but come back for another cappuccino.

Horrible coffee. (They put some sort of over the top powdered sweetener in their drinks that you would expect from a gas station.) Slow service. 10% more expensive than the equivalent beverage at other chains! Stick to PEETS…

Just your standard, run-​of-​the-​mill coffee shop. I usually swing by on my way to work to pick up a bagel ($ 2 yay!). Turnaround is usually pretty fast for drinks, but the one thing that bothers me is that bagels almost always get overlooked, and I end up waiting around for 5 – 10 minutes while it’s sitting in the toaster.
Sigh.

So I asked about the number of shots in the large Americano ($ 3.19 on the board). Cashier said 3 shots. So I ordered a medium, with an extra shot (total of 3 shots, easy math folks) and he said it would cost $ 3.90 (smaller cup, same number of shots… makes no sense). He went on being condescending and explaining the difference between medium and large, so unnecessary and unprofessional. So I ordered a large Americano, in a medium cup with an extra shot for $ 3.19 which makes no sense but it worked. Service station dirty as usual, no one bothers to clean up apparently. CBTL should know we have many options in the area…

Awesome vanilla mocha. Stop buy this little coffeeand tea spot while photo-​adventuring through Downtown San Francisco. Great space for a downtown café. Plus there is lots of room to people watch, and plugs to keep your connection to the grid. Going strong lol. If you need a bike rental you can always pick up a City Bike located right outside. The interior could do with a little better décor and styling to better suit its natural style.

— Watery iced tea lemonade (hopefully the other drinks are better).
— No bathroom.
— Very few seats inside but more on the outside.
— Friendly staff

C’mon, Coffee Bean… you can do better. 9am on a work day and your café is trashed. Spills and wrappers on the floor. Spilled everything on all counter tops. The windows are dirty. There were three customers in at this time and five employees. I asked if someone could wipe up some surfaces and I got a big blank stare. This is when the district manager needs to pay a visit and re-​energize everyone, reminding them of the importance of cleanliness. Makes for a much better Clean Score. ‘Hope to see an improvement.

After a long hiatus, I dropped in here again to see if I can cash out my gc. Well today they were able to charge the coffee to my card. That’s a good sign. However, I didn’t know when I ordered an iced latte that ¾ of the cup would be ice! Where’s the coffee? So not worth it.
This place is never busy.

A great CBTL location in SF. Service was friendly by the cashier and the barista. Their blended drinks are super tasty– and much better than other coffee chains!
Quick tip– try the «no sugar added» option. Drinks are plenty sweet!

I’m giving this location five stars because of the awesome customer service I received from the young guy working there. I live in the area and happened to go in on a Saturday (Feb14) when the financial district is completely desolate.
He had a really great positive attitude and was engaging, talked to me about the lip balms they sell. Which I ended buying a few, (in addition to my coffee) and I love them! I really appreciate people who have positive attitudes and want to positively engage with others. It isn’t always possible to engage in conversation because places are really busy, but basic friendly and welcoming customer service equals sustainable business.

Service is inconsistent. I’ve been here twice and both times my order was made wrong. 2 stars for coffee bean itself, when made right I have no complaints. Their green tea you can’t get anywhere else. I used to go to the one on market but don’t because I found that this one is a lot close. so out of convenience I come here. Last time I was here the music was blasted, so loud I couldn’t read my reports and left. So I’m just going to have to walk the extra 2 blocks, down town that means a quarter mile, down to the other Coffee Bean.

This was my first time visiting a coffee bean. I constantly hear my friends rave about coffee bean and how amazing it is.
Service: The workers seemed chill. I think they forgot my friend’s drink despite us being the only 3 people who ordered drinks in the store at that time.
Drinks: I ordered a latte. Was that a mistake? I’ve been reading reviews on this place and it seems like everybody loves the drinks that aren’t a «latte». My latte was unimpressive. It was way too bitter for a latte. As a chain café, I know I shouldn’t expect much out of the beans, but from this first impression, I don’t think I’ll be trying a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for a while.
On the plus side, this café offers wireless charging stations if you have ‘qi’ on your smartphones.

LOVE Coffee Bean. They don’t have this everywhere (unless you’re in So Cal), so you have to make it a point to go to one if you’re anywhere nearby.
My regular drinks are the Vanilla Ice Blended with light ice (size large of course!) when it’s warm outside, and the Jasmine [Dragon Phoenix Pearl] Green Tea Latte or English Breakfast Tea Latte when it’s cold. Both are extremely highly recommended.
You can also have them make any tea into a latte. Yay!
Otherwise, the coffee beans are also really good, and make for a nice smooth drip coffee without the yucky bitter taste.
Why so highly recommended? This chain has hands down the best blended coffee drinks I’ve ever had. The whipped cream doesn’t leave a film inside your mouth like the Starbucks whipped cream does. And the level of milkiness/​wateriness is nowhere near the overpowering level the Peet’s freddos and even Javivas are at.
TIP: buy a $ 30 gift card and get a free drink (size large!).

Ok I’ll be honest. I started going to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf because the Kardashians go here for Iced Coffee. I know… laugh all you want.
Unexpectedly…they sell really good iced beverages!!! I love the Iced Vanilla Latte and their Peach Iced Tea!!! I have yet to try the others!!!
One of the baristas actually recommended the Iced Matcha Green Tea Latte w/​Caramel. Sounds decadent! I might try that later haha!
So overall I see why the celebs go here. Too bad we only have a few in SF. It’s a nice change from Starbucks.

I asked for non-​fat milk in my iced Chai latte.
Cashier: «Oh, that drink doesn’t have milk options, since it’s just water and powder.»

What’s up with the FiDi and coffee shops? Seems like everywhere you look, there ar are a couple of them. This Coffee Bean is right next to 4 other coffee shops.
I don’t drink coffee so I got some tea and was surprised to hear along with my friend when they asked him if he wanted his cappuccino wet or dry? Huh! If you are curious, go there and ask them the difference, something to do with the level of foam. Nice friendly employees and not as crowded as coffee bar next door which was nice.

5 stars for the AMAZING Tea Latte! Like see you later Starbucks Amazing! YUM!
5 Stars for Adam. He’s so personable and funny and engages everyone who comes up to the register, including kids. He’s a great guy!
So happy my new office building is close by. Whenever I’m in the office, I will definitely stop by to see Adam and get my jasmine tea latte!