The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

I’ve regularly frequented a variety of CBTL locations around LA depending on the various parts of the city that I’ve lived and worked. I can say that consistently over the years, this coffee bean he some of the best baristas and cashiers out there. They have always made me feel like family.
The parking here is annoying as there limited spaces in front, half of which was to tight. No one wants to park in the structure below just to take a coffee. But I love the people in this location so much that I won’t detract a star for something they have no control over.

There’s a no smoking sign posted on the window but that doesn’t stop people from smoking like chimneys in front of this place.

This location makes the best Green Tea Ice blended drinks. I don’t hang out there. I don’t use wifi, I don’t get anything else. But the other locations that are around me or close to my work doesn’t make them as good. I swear its not in my head. My friends all say the same thing.

I love this place and I go their every day… the service is great they know me by my name try the black forest is great

This is the only bad review I will write, as I don’t want the bad kharma — but I must vocalize my total disappointment in this place!
I ordered a coffee with some soy milk in it (can’t do dairy). The manager wanted to charge me like $ 5 for the drink, then argued with me loudly.
Other Coffee Beans I’ve been to only charge an extra 50 cents or so and Starbucks doesn’t charge for this. Not sure why the manager determined this price and why she continued to argue with me for at least 5 minutes!
The employees seem nice, but a bit oppressed.
I promised myself I wouldn’t go back. I wish we had customer service ethics in our society today. #1 Customer service practice is to NOT argue with the customers.
Sad, really.

Wanted to get caffeine to jump start my brain and decided to check out the coffee venues in North Hollywood. Drove around and found this Coffee Bean in the NoHo Art District.
There is FREE parking in the garage under the apartments. Just be sure to look for signs when you’re driving around, and don’t bother paying for street meters.
The place itself is not very large, and I can imagine at peak hours or during the weekends there can be competition for tables. Luckily I went right after lunch and was able to find a table and use their free wi-​fi.
Since it’s located in the art district you’ll get a hodgepodge of customers. You’ll get a lot of young people visiting as it’s in a hip area. There was a couple sitting at the table across from mine that was discussing some type of movie production and internet mini-​series they were producing or starring in. It’s a shock to me since I’ve been away from LA so long and I don’t know if I should be startled bc I think everyone in LA calls themselves a «producer» or an «actor» lol. But it’s nice to see a plethora of personalities and get a glimpse of the movie industry in person– ahh this is what makes LA so special~
Ordered the ice coffee, and this place was exactly what I was looking for: a nice coffee shop where I can just lounge, read, or maybe get casted by a Hollywood director.

grate local place. friendly and comfortable atmosphere

Coffee Bean has the best flavored teas!

The barista was amazing! I was debating which region of coffee beans to buy, and she gave me a nice brewed sample of everything they had on brew, noting what I should look for and what is specific to that region. She knew her stuff! I love when baristas actually know about coffee!!!
Then, of course, I got my free coffee with the purchase of the beans :)
Parking is kinda weird here and you only have one hour of free parking, but the attendant is so lenient that you’re pretty much off the hook no matter how long you stay.

Looking for something fruity, not tea or coffee, not too sweet and less than 250 calories?
Well then I’d recommend the ice blended Malibu Dream with NSA (no sugar added) powder. This drink is full of flavor (banana, strawberry and vanilla) and is less than 250 calories (regular size). Tasty, blended, cold, and easy to drink!
On a side note, one of the ladies was nice enough to remake my drink if I thought the half NSA powder Malibu Drink was not up to my standards for free. Personally I thought the half powder drink was too sweet for my teeth — the full powder is just right!
Drink it up and enjoy the wi-​fi if you have you have your handy dandy device!

I like the fact that they use nonfat milk for most their drinks. I LOVE the hazelnut latte, something Starbucks doesn’t make. They also have a nicer selection of pastries and sweet treats than Starbucks. And of course, don’t forget the free WiFi! Anywhere that has free WiFi gets a big win in my book :)
I visited today and got my hazelnut latte and a mini blueberry danish which is delish. However, I was DISAPPOINTED that my cup was NOT full when I got it. Seriously, like ¾ cup was filled, the rest was all this foam on top. What the heck, yo? I feel gypped.
I HATE the fact that they make you put in a quarter to open the bathroom door. Granted, they give you your ‘quarterback’ (ha!) but that is still one inconvenience I can do without. Not all Coffee Bean locations do this so why not be consistent? You either put in a quarter and ask for it back when you buy a drink at the counter, or you buy a drink at the counter and then ask for the token. Either way, INCONVENIENT.
Do away with the bathroom dealie and FILL MY CUP ALL THE WAY!

Have Sheldon make you a double cappuccino in a ceramic cup and tell me what you think. Caring staff and excellent beans. Thank you.

So I tried this place out for the first time today. I’m used to my Starbucks on Tujunga/​Camarillo because there’s ample room, free wi-​fi, and plenty of plugs for my computer. I’m normally not a coffee/​computer/​business person, but that’s the way the world is working for me right now so I’ve succumbed to the lifestyle.
Anyhow, I noticed there were a lot of people outside Coffee Bean, so I wasn’t sure if making my way in to the cool indoors would be beneficial; I figured all seats were taken. To my surprise, however, there were only two people inside and no line. FANTASTIC! Or so I thought…
I go to sit down next to a plug, the only one in the place it seemed like, and then went to order. I got a cinnamon-​style glazed old-​fashioned doughnut and an iced hazelnut latte. I tasted the doughnut, dry. The coffee, so-​so. I heard their waffles are good thought, but they didn’t have any at the time.
So I take my little meal over to my laptop, then try to connect to the free wi-​fi. A page pops up with internet/​table etiquette for their establishment, then it says I must punch in an access code, which is to the right of the television screen on the TV. So I go to look on the TV and there’s no access code jumping out at me. I go to ask, and he tells me exactly what’s on the computer — thanks for making your customer feel stupid. I go back to the TV, and in size 10 font, if I squint, I can see the code! Alright, I’M SET! Or so I thought…
I start working on my computer and my battery says it’s now on reserve power. I look at my plug, it’s in. I check the back of my computer, it’s plugged in correctly. Why no charge. I go back up to the counter guy and ask if there are any working plugs and he confidently says, «Nope.» I notice there’s another one across the way, but it’s taped over. So… what you’re saying is that you don’t want campers. I get it. But don’t tease me then with an outlet that appears to work. I would have left before I ordered!!! This begs the question though… if Starbucks can handle the people who need plugs, why can’t you?
Oh Coffee Bean… now I know why Starbucks kicks your ass; they do better business than you. Along with my expensive Starbucks drink, I also get hassle-​free wi-​fi (no code needed) and ample plugs for my computer. Starbucks caters to the customer in exchange for so-​so coffee, what do you offer with yours?

This particular CBTL is great because of the great parking, great AC to sneak away from the heat, and good drinks.
If you’re planning to come with a laptop and need a table, you might be out of luck since most of the tables are claimed when you get there. Still, they have some comfy arm chairs that work great while you scope out a free table. ;)
Park in the garage!
Wi-​Fi is free. Check the screen for the code — memorize it or type it in immediately since it’s a small, numeric code near the bottom right-​hand side of the LCD screen near the drink pick-​up counter.
Great place to work, study, or wait for someone coming in on the Metro across the street. Try their lattes iced *yum*.

Love this coffee bean! With free wi-​fi and lots of seating both indoor and outdoors, its a great place to get work done/​study. Friendly staff and amazing drinks, especially their peach tea lattes and iced blended drinks!

My first time to the coffee bean was yesterday. I think this place is way better than Starbucks and they have been around for much longer. I perfer Coffee Bean to Starbucks anyday!!!

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has delicious snacks and their drinks are good too. The music selection is low-​key, the air conditioning is always going at full blast and the employees are always friendly and are good at remembering faces.
But I just don’t see myself staying there for more than a couple minutes. And it’s still a bit pricey for my liking. But, hey, I don’t really do the whole coffee shop thing so what do I know?

The barista was so friendly. «Welcome to Los Angeles!»

BUSINESS: Beveage
FARE: Coffee n Pastries
This Coffee Bean is a welcome excursion from Starbucks. Firts and foremost, Starbucks is affiliated with T-​Mobile so they make you pay for Wifi. That’s an absurdity, that cost should be absorbed by the $ 5 you pay for a specialty beverage.
I cam here because i needed to kill time waiting for a client. The beverage i got was the Malibu Dream, a strawberry-​banana concotion of milk, cream, coffee, and refreshingly cool shots of strawberry and banana. The seating arrangement was good, I was able to take advantage of a Z-​gallery type chair nestled in the shade. This establishment has a RippleTV monitor, so you simply log your computer on to the web, enter an access costed posted from the screen, and your set. A LARGE amount of business takes place here, it seemed that every table had been turned into a corner office where an interview was taking place. Fine by me, the locale didn’t get overly packed, and the staff is very friendly and efficient. When the line grew, one worker cut her break short to assist the patrons.
Overall, this is a cool place, there is lower level parking in addition to the spots located adjacent to the shop. Great place for Coffee Chilling.

This Coffee Bean building is a bit unusual in its architectural style.
Built to fit into a small space in the corner of a parking lot the designer came up with a small octagonal building, one side constructed of brick (façade most likely) and one side (the NW side) made up of large framed windows that bring in lots of cheery light. The building is topped off by a tall metal green fluted steeply pitched roof.
Luckily for me I wound up there on the opening day. The place was decked out in orange and black balloons (left over from their last employee Halloween party?) and all the employees were grinning and friendly and handing out free samples of ice blended coffees. I tried the espresso/​mint-​chip which tasted something like coffee spiked mint and chip ice-​cream and was quite good albeit a little sweet AND because I was allowed to take two I also tried a coffee/​chocolate blend with a swirl of chocolate syrup on the top which was also pretty good. Both were very thick and filling, basically about what you’d expect from the Bean and Tea. Nothing monumental, totally acceptable and a bit addicting.
They have some nice treats behind the glass including a very tempting NY cheesecake as well as an equally alluring walnut cheesecake. I didn’t want to sample and dash so I bought a bran muffin which I ate later. It was light, sweet, and, well, … branny.
Even though the building looks small on the outside, the inside space was designed surprisingly well and feels quite roomy. There are at least three tables inside and more tables outside along the curve of the building and cordoned off from the surrounding parking lot by a steel guardrail.
I saw three people with laptops thus prompting me to question an employee if the place had WiFi. I was told that they did have it but it wasn’t running yet. So I’m now excited at the prospect of lunchtime internet access.
The place has a lot with underground parking options but it shares the lot with several other businesses so prepare to do some hunting and pecking in the parking lot as well as on your laptop.