The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

The management team is great. Very friendly staff. The store is clean and nice parking area.

The best coffee shop near my work! Team A always brings it in the morning, friendly early morning, knows me on a first name basis, and the baristas have great suggestions on the menu. Coffee Bean Monsarrat, I can’t make it through a work week without you.

As I walked in to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf I was greeted by Alyssa! She had a beautiful smile & great personality! I’m so impressed with her professionalism & great customer service. I left this establishment very happy & will definitely be back!

I felt like an affogato and got it to go. Walked a crossed the street, the ice cream melted completely. Perhaps I didn’t get a full scoop of ice cream or no ice cream? #fail

Tried there penne pesto pasta today, very good ! Dark chocolate iced shake. Good!
small parking lot. good location !
We’ll be back.

Love this location ’cause it’s so convenient. I highly recommend following them on social media for great discounts. They always post Monday specials.
Food is good, too. Check them out!

I love their iced coffee here. They must have a special machine that spits out circular small cubes. It felt as if I stepped into an upgraded Starbucks. I grabbed a Caesar wrap from the fridge at the counter. There was a variety of sandwiches, drinks, and yogurts to choose from.

Once I had paid and received my cold beverage. I went to the side where the sugar and creams were stationed. I typically pick a couple packets of equal and call it a day. Then my eye caught something green. I picked it up and read that It was a zero calorie sweetener. A non gmo pure via all natural stevia. SWEET!
I then opened a pack of stevia and mixed it into my coffee. I took my first sip and it was cold, not overly sweet and thirst quenching on a hot day. :). I can’t say the same for my Caesar wrap. The dressing was nauseating. It tasted like old anchovies were thrown into a dollop of mayonnaise with a sprinkle of black pepper. It even left a bad after taste of old fish.
I would definitely return for their coffee. As for their wrap not so much. ;)

This is my weekday morning go-​to coffee shop!
I frequent here a few times a week on my way to work. The staff are always so pleasant and friendly, even in the wee hours of the morning, lol. They are great at recommending new things as well as remembering what your usuals are.
They are super efficient and whip up drinks in record time, great for people like me who are on the run and just want to dash in and out. The taste of the drinks are always consistent, no matter who makes them.
The only thing that is sometimes frustrating is the parking. Limited parking so during busy times they may not be a stall available.
PS: try the ice blended chocolate dipped strawberry ;) delicious!

I typically make my own coffee but when I’m extremely lazy, I’ll hop in my car and head over to Coffee Bean. It’s less crowded than Starbucks which is a few minute drive from Coffee Bean and the drinks are way better. Sorry, Stabucks. This location is my favorite simply because it’s right by Diamond Head Grill, where I usually pick up a scone to eat with my coffee. Seriously, best to-​go breakfast combo ever! However, if I’m not in the mood for a scone, I’ll pick up their oatmeal. The seating area is nice, indoors and outdoors so you get a choice on what you want. Parking is slightly limited but you can always find a spot around the neighborhood.

Really terrible undrinkable espresso drinks. We ordered two lattes and they both tasted like bitter coffee. No amount of sugar can fix this. There was way too much water and the espresso was burnt. Another addition to the list of disappointing cafes in Hawaii.

Not my kind of coffee place.
It’s commercialized like starbucks, but everything actually seems to be lower quality. The faux «indie coffee shop» décor is terrible and looks like a bizarro version of fast-​food chain interior decoration with wood (is even real wood?) instead of plastic.
It’s noisy as hell, people shouting, children running around, and music loud enough to disturb normal conversation.
The latte I got was pretty normal. More bland than I would like, but not much worse than most other lattes. My point is: anyone can make a latte (even me!), so as a coffee shop you gotta stand out, and provide customers with an experience of more than just good-​ol-​latte/​americano/​whatevs. This place just doesn’t. At all.
This is the McDonald’s of coffee shops.
Avoid.

This review is for this location only. First of all I love coffee bean and tea leaf. I actually like the coffee here way better than Starbucks. The only reason this location gets a 2 star is because the workers there do not take directions very well. I gave them 3 chances on three different occasion to get my order right. All I asked was to make my blended drink thick and it came out watery. After the third time I never went back to this location. Don’t get me wrong the workers there are really nice and have good customer service I was just disappointed in the produced product. Other than that I love coffee bean and tea tree.

I give this location a 4 ½ stars. I enjoy the location right on the side of Leahi (Diamond Head). The works here don’t rush your order unlike the Foodland location down the road. The parking lot is always a toss up ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ chance of you getting a parking stall. But so far I haven’t waited longer then 5 minutes to get a stall. Super close to all the amazing south shore beaches if you don’t like to wait in the long Starbucks line here is a nice place to change things up!

I always receive great service here and the line is usually manageable. Even when it is busy I get my drink fairly quickly. For some reason I alway have problems connecting to their free Wifi. I prefer this place than the Starbucks down the road

Totally converted from a Starbucks addict to a CBTL addict. Sorry Starbucks! Not only is this CBTL conveniently located near my house but they make my orders quick (especially important when I’m in a hurry) and they serve almond milk! My fav is the iced vanilla latte with almond or dark chocolate latte with almond milk. So yummy and a great way to start my morning! I also enjoy their food/​baked goods. I typically will get their breakfast burrito in the morning. But I have tried their lilikoi cornbread muffin (my fav) and their dark chocolate scone. The staff are also very friendly and welcoming! Esp the early morning staff :)

I run by this location a lot. It’s always busy, especially on the weekend days. It’s a smaller location, with only a few tables. They have a good amount of outlets too for studying as well. The parking can be full as there are only a few stalls and then you’ll have to resort to street parking. The staff is good, makes the drinks right and well. They also have a few other things such as bubbies ice cream here too.

Of all the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf locations, this is the only one in which the service is usually poor. I have been to several in Waikiki, both in Ala Moana Center, the busy one in Market City, the new one on Kapiolani, and even the one all the way in Pearl City… the service is usually very friendly and efficient so there is something terribly wrong with the training and Management at this location.
About 50% of the time, the cashier fails to give a beverage order to the person making the drinks. At every other location, items like iced tea or lemonade are no problem. At this one, they are ordered and paid for… then after 10 or 15 minutes, after watching numerous other customers who were way behind me in line being served, I will ask about my order and encounter pure confusion. Even if they do sincerely apologize, it just happens again the next time. Why is this store so different from all of the other locations???

Convienent location, small parking lot though. the taste of my ice blend is always consistent no matter which location I go, compared to other popular coffee shops. plus they have a punch card to get a free drink. when filled out.
Barista’s are always friendly and prices are comparable.

I’m trying to limit my caffeine intake, but there are days where I simply cannot survive without coffee! Plus I’m pretty sure I’m addicted to the ice blended matcha! This Coffee Bean location is really convenient and its close proximity to Diamond Head Grill doesn’t hurt either.
I wouldn’t suggest this as a place to study, as there isn’t a lot of tables and it’s usually crowded.

This is a nice little neighborhood coffee house with very good coffee, a pleasant staff and a clean and comfortable shop. It’s a great place to study, conduct a little business or just take a break. But sometimes it can be crowded and the parking is limited.
Details: Coffee Bean is an old company. It’s been around over 50 years (hard to believe!) and it’s known for its hand crafted coffees and specialty teas. They have 10 shops in Honolulu. The one I’m reviewing is on Monsarrat at the corner with Campbell.
Good coffee! Better than Starbucks hands down (in my opinion of course). On my visit I had the dark roasted house blend. I believe you can best judge a coffee shop by the quality of its regular coffee, and in this regard Coffee Bean is 5 star all the way. Rich, aromatic and without the slightest bitterness. Made my morning.
Pastries. Not bad. The croissant was really delish and buttery (sorry Vegans and Veganettes, this is not for you). They offered to warm mine in the microwave (yes! of course). I suppose all shops will do this but it was super nice of the barista to offer the service. Before the croissant I had a banana muffin (hey! I didn’t have any breakfast, ok?). This one was a few hours old, but not bad. I should have asked to have it warmed. Would have been much better. And the muffin could have used more butter in the recipe. (Yes, I like butter. You got a problem with that?)
Cleanliness? Very! Shortly after I sat down, the manager spent a few minutes cleaning the front display counter, which was already spotless. Not five minutes later, a worker came out and began cleaning the same area. This a good sign. And the floor of the sitting area seems to be swept by someone every 15 minutes of so.
Bathroom. Gotta have them of course. It’s clean! And it’s unisex (ok, no unicorn sex jokes here. This is neither the time nor place for that!). But what this means is guys please close the door! I know the wahines will, but you folks need a reminder. I say this because the door opens onto the seating area and the last thing I want to see is some bare ass dude doing his business while I’m munching on my morning muffin (please!). Anyway, you get the picture and it’s not a pretty one.
Moving on! Towels. The dispenser was empty on my visit (as on a previous visit also). And you can tell if the dispenser is empty by watching the customers as they leave the facility. When the guys come out they wipe their hands on their clothes. When the women exit, they hold their hands in the air and shake them just like the TV doctors do prior to brain surgery. So if you observe any of these signs, be forewarned. And this means I gotta deduct a star here (sorry Coffee Bean). Towels in the bathroom is a must. (Full disclosure: I’m a paper towel freak. I can go through a Costco 12 pack in a month, but I digress.)
Parking. Not a lot (yes, that’s a terrible pun, sorry). About 10 stalls, so you might not find a spot. But the lack of parking is Honolulu’s cruel and unusual punishment, so I won’t deduct anything here. If you want wide and ample parking go to Walmart at midnight, otherwise if you wait a few minutes a spot will often become available.
Seating and other. The store has seats for maybe 15 customers inside (less if the small tables are occupied by one person). There is also a couple of tables out on the lanai. And it can get crowded. KCC is up the road, and the store is located on the route tourists take on their walk to Diamond Head. But the fact that it is busy is a good thing, right? Good coffee, good food and a nice ambiance draw people here. The A/​C is a bit cold for my blood, but this is an individual matter.
And that sums it up. If you are in the area and you need a delicious cup of coffee or a spot of ono tea, then check them out. I’m sure a pleasant experience awaits you.