Overview
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, often called CBTL, is an international coffee and tea brand founded in Southern California in 1963. Known for specialty coffee, carefully selected teas, espresso drinks, Ice Blended beverages, pastries, and café-style dining, the brand has grown from a local coffee business into a global café chain with locations across many countries.
Today, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is part of Jollibee Group, the Philippine restaurant company behind Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Mang Inasal, Red Ribbon, and several international food brands. The acquisition in 2019 became one of Jollibee Group's most important global milestones, expanding its presence in the specialty coffee and tea category.
For many customers, CBTL is not only a place to get coffee. It is a café for meetings, study sessions, quiet breaks, catch-ups with friends, business conversations, and small daily rituals involving a cup, a table, and a few minutes of breathing room. Very civilized. Very necessary.
About the Café Brand
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was founded by Herbert Hyman as a coffee service for offices before opening its first retail store in Southern California. From the beginning, the brand focused on sourcing and roasting coffee while introducing customers to flavors from different parts of the world.
As the company grew, tea became an important part of the brand identity. The addition of specialty teas helped distinguish CBTL from cafés focused mainly on coffee, creating a menu that appealed to both coffee drinkers and tea lovers. That dual focus remains one of the easiest ways to understand the brand: it is not only Coffee Bean, and it is not only Tea Leaf. The name is doing actual work.
Over the decades, the brand expanded across the United States and international markets, bringing its café format to customers in Asia, the Middle East, and other regions. In many countries, CBTL became associated with comfortable seating, premium beverages, relaxed café interiors, and the familiar routine of ordering a favorite drink before settling into a table.
Company Background
The brand's story began in 1963, when Herbert Hyman founded The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf as a coffee service for offices. Three years later, the company opened its first store in Southern California, allowing customers to experience its coffee selections in a retail setting.
By the 1970s, CBTL had grown to several cafés in Southern California and began adding specialty teas to its menu. This expansion helped shape the brand's identity as a café that treated both coffee and tea as serious parts of the customer experience.
One of the brand's most famous innovations came through its Ice Blended drinks. These blended beverages became a signature product category and helped make CBTL especially recognizable among customers looking for cold, creamy café drinks beyond standard iced coffee or iced tea.
In 2019, Jollibee Group acquired The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. The acquisition gave Jollibee Group a major international café brand and strengthened its position in the global coffee and tea market. It also expanded the group's portfolio beyond fast food, bakery, pizza, grilled meals, and casual dining into a category strongly connected with everyday routines, lifestyle spaces, and repeat visits.
What The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Serves
The CBTL menu centers on coffee, tea, espresso beverages, Ice Blended drinks, cold brews, tea lattes, cocoa, pastries, snacks, and selected café meals depending on location. Menu offerings vary by country, which allows the brand to adjust to local preferences while maintaining familiar core categories.
Coffee remains one of the brand's strongest identities. Customers can find brewed coffee, espresso, cappuccino, latte, mocha, Americano, cold brew, and other coffee-based drinks. These beverages serve customers looking for morning energy, afternoon focus, or the deeply valid excuse of needing one more coffee before answering emails.
Tea is equally important to the brand. CBTL offers hot teas, iced teas, tea lattes, and specialty tea beverages. This gives tea drinkers a proper place in the café experience instead of treating them like people who wandered into the wrong establishment. Finally, justice for the tea people.
The Coffeehouse Experience
While beverages are at the center of the menu, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has also built its reputation around the café experience itself. Comfortable seating, warm interiors, reliable wireless internet at many locations, and an atmosphere designed for conversation or quiet work have helped make CBTL a regular destination for students, professionals, entrepreneurs, travelers, and friends meeting throughout the day.
Unlike restaurants built around quick meals, café visits often last much longer. Some customers stop in for a few minutes before work, while others spend hours reading, studying, writing, or holding informal business meetings. That flexibility has allowed CBTL to become part of many customers' daily routines rather than simply another place to buy coffee.
The company also continues to improve convenience through digital ordering, loyalty programs, mobile applications, and delivery services in many markets, allowing customers to enjoy their favorite beverages both inside and outside the café.
Growing Around the World
From its beginnings in Southern California, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has expanded into numerous countries across Asia, the Middle East, North America, and other international markets. The brand has established a particularly strong presence in several Asian countries, where café culture continues to grow alongside increasing interest in specialty coffee and premium tea.
Although each country may feature menu items tailored to local tastes, the brand maintains a recognizable identity built around quality coffee, specialty teas, welcoming cafés, and friendly service. This consistency allows customers to enjoy familiar drinks whether they are visiting a branch close to home or while traveling abroad.
Its international network also strengthens Jollibee Group's global footprint by providing a well-established café brand that complements the group's restaurant portfolio across multiple regions.
Innovation and Sustainability
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf continues investing in coffee sourcing, tea selection, beverage innovation, and customer experience. Seasonal drinks, limited-time beverages, and new food offerings are introduced throughout the year while preserving signature favorites that customers have come to expect.
The company also supports responsible sourcing initiatives and works with coffee-growing communities through programs focused on improving farming practices and long-term sustainability. These efforts reflect the importance of maintaining quality throughout the supply chain while supporting the people who help produce coffee and tea around the world.
As customer preferences evolve, CBTL continues balancing tradition with innovation by introducing new beverages while remaining rooted in the craftsmanship that has defined the brand since the 1960s.
Who May Enjoy The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf?
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf welcomes a wide variety of guests. Coffee enthusiasts, tea lovers, students, remote workers, entrepreneurs, travelers, families, and anyone looking for a comfortable place to relax can all find something to enjoy. The café's broad menu also makes it suitable for groups where some prefer espresso drinks while others choose tea, blended beverages, or light meals.
For visitors exploring café culture in different countries, CBTL offers an opportunity to experience an internationally recognized coffeehouse brand that combines specialty beverages with comfortable spaces designed for conversation, work, and everyday moments of pause.
Contact Information
Company: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Founded: 1963
Founder: Herbert Hyman
Origin: Los Angeles, California, United States
Parent Company: Jollibee Foods Corporation (Jollibee Group)
Industry: Coffeehouse and Café Chain
Specialties: Specialty coffee, premium tea, espresso beverages, Ice Blended® drinks, pastries, sandwiches, desserts, and café dining.
Official Website:
https://www.coffeebean.com
Interesting Facts
- The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was founded in 1963, making it one of the world's longest-established specialty coffee brands.
- The company introduced its signature Ice Blended® beverages, which became one of the brand's most recognizable menu categories.
- Unlike many coffeehouse chains, CBTL has always placed equal emphasis on both specialty coffee and premium tea.
- Jollibee Group acquired The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in 2019, expanding its international portfolio into the specialty café industry.
- The brand operates cafés across North America, Asia, the Middle East, and other international markets.
- Many branches offer comfortable café environments designed for studying, remote work, casual meetings, and social gatherings.
Final Thoughts
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has spent more than six decades building a reputation around carefully sourced coffee, premium tea, and welcoming cafés where people can slow down and enjoy everyday moments. Its combination of beverages, comfortable spaces, and consistent customer experience has helped the brand become part of daily routines for millions of people around the world.
Today, as a member of the Jollibee Group, CBTL continues expanding its international presence while remaining true to the qualities that made it successful from the beginning. Whether someone visits for a handcrafted latte, a signature Ice Blended® drink, a cup of tea, or simply a quiet place to work or meet friends, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf continues offering an inviting café experience built around quality and connection.
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