Here I am at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
Let's start with the cup. I opted for my old standby, an iced vanilla latte with whole milk and an add shot. A new barista made it and she did a great job. The espresso is prominent and the vanilla is just an added bonus. I watched the method they use to make the drinks and was interested to find that they seem to use powder for their flavoring which I found to be odd. It's fine, it works.
The music isn't really what I look for in a coffee shop, it's like this soft core indie rock. I prefer more mellow, singer songwriter in my coffee shops. Less half rock, more acoustic. Just my preference.
This place is clean, everything is perfectly swept and tidy. The people working are your average coffee shop people, nothing too amazing but they do their jobs well.
One thing I thought was really cool was I was asked if I wanted to buy a bag of coffee or tea for a soldier. If I wasn't buying my drink with quarters I definitely would have. I've never seen that in any other coffee shop I've ever been in. Kudos to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf for thinking of our troops this forth. :)
Overall I'm not blown away impressed but I didn't hate it.