The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

I had to go the bathroom really bad before I walked to the counter. However the door was locked and a code was needed and there were no employees at the counter. I had too pee on the floor and I had to do it discreetly so no one would notice. Sorry if you had to clean that up. Anyhow, the Hancock Center location is great. No locks on the bathroom doors, plenty of parking, a patio, and there are people behind the counter doing their jobs.

Meh. Had the cookie butter latte and asked for half the sweetener. Turns out they don’t even use syrup; they use powder flavoring! Idk there’s something about powder that bothers me. Anyway I asked for an extra shot of espresso and I think that’s what made it not so good. But since I only had one drink I guess I can’t give the entire place one star lol

Cute and convenient coffee shop located on the drag. Service was delightful and friendly and my iced mocha was satisfying on a hot day. I would come back!

My friend and I needed to use the restroom before we ordered but we couldn’t find it, so the person behind the counter rolled their eyes and mumbled a few things that we needed to know to find it (including a code to unlock the door). We couldn’t understand him at first and when we asked him to repeat it he seemed quite upset with us.
The attitude of the staff already made us not want to order, but since we used the restroom we decided to go ahead and get something anyways.
I asked the lady behind the counter how much extra it cost to add syrup to your drinks… she said she didn’t know how to find out. Then I asked her what sizes the cups were…“Just your normal regular and large” were her exact worlds.
I ended up ordering an iced vanilla latte and it was very good, but the staff was so terrible that I would not recommend this location to anyone.

I don’t get drinks that often, but there are times you get that «itch». Walking through campus, I sometimes go for Starbucks and sometimes I hit up CBTL; can’t get enough of both. But from experience, the Ice Blended at this location is more consistent than the frapps at the Starbucks nearby. Also CBTL is less omnipresent than Starbucks, so I tend to lean towards the former whenever both are available options.
My go-​to drink is the Hazelnut Ice Blended, and the sweetness and flavor is excellent from beginning to end, no whipped cream necessary. This is also the place where I discovered the eighth wonder that is the chocolate scone. They’ll even microwave it for you, which I highly recommend!

This ones okay. The drinks are so-​so but it’s close by and good for on the run before class.

Great little place. Super friendly. Speaks starbucks so you can still get your fave drink. Baristas are super personable and helpful.

Great place!
Very friendly staff right across the street from the U of T campus in Austin. Ordered a cold drink I believe it was called a mudslide which was wonderful. Picture a iced coffee but blended with cookie pieces, extra chocolate and whipped cream. So good I went back the next day to order the same thing.
Seating is very limited maybe 6 stools inside and 6 outside with a shared countertop from inside to the outside.

EVERY single time I go here the people are rude!!! Rude rude rude! The blonde woman on register has perpetual rolling eyes. I am ignored so they can talk to each other or different customers when it’s my turn, so as a result they get my order wrong. Then after I correct them, they get bitchy with me. I’ve been going to UT for four years and I’ve tried just about every coffee shop on campus and surrounding areas and this by far the worst. I don’t know why i even give it more chances. Nothing is worse than being in a crowded, tiny coffee house at 9am with people that treat you unkindly BEFORE you get your coffee! ! It should be illegal.

Having had lived in Santa Monica, CA, I’d really missed the CBT when I moved to Chicago for the last 3 years. Now that I’m living in Austin, they are a welcome sight! I’m not a coffee drinker, but they have a wide variety of great teas and other drinks, many of which are sugar free. Awesome! I would give this place 5 stars for service, however, it is so tiny there is no where to sit but at the window, which seems like it would always be full. In any case, it is not good for a conversational coffee. In fact, my bro and I got our drinks to go and decided to take a drive. It was chilly outside, so sitting outdoors was not an option. Also, I’m not sure they even offer a place to sit outside. This is by far, the absolute smallest CBT I’ve ever been to! I must say, however, that the sugar free hot chocolate was delightful and really hit the spot on a chilly day.

Not a crazy coffee person but this place is conveniently next to UT campus and is very comforting during the crazy winter cold.
The coffee is pretty good and reasonably priced. They also sell a variety of black and green tea which is pretty interesting. However, the only downside is that this place is pretty small so don’t plan on staying here for long hours.
Good quality and good service, just wish it was a bit bigger.

I wish that I could comment on the quality of the coffee — which has just been average IMO — but my review is about service today. The server was very nice and cordial with the guy who came before me and talked kindly to regulars as if they were long lost relatives (all guys, so maybe this is a gender issue), but I got ATTITUDE! She barely looked at me when asking what I wanted, so when I did my usual, «How are you?», hoping that at least she could take a hint, she said fine and just kept it moving. I will NEVER step in that place again. This was not the first time the SAME server had been curt and unhospitable, so that’s that. It’s a shame that even the appreciation for me spending my money wasn’t enough to gain some basic customer service; afterall, I am not the one who chose to work at a coffee shop so don’t be mad at me! Sigh…

Ehh. This place is always hit or miss. Price wise they are okay considering they are on campus and most coffee prices are shot up on campus. But they have very rude people that work here. Everytime I go in I am treated like I am bothering the cashiers and baristas. Today I went in for some coffee and tacos (which they were out of, no surprise) and there is no other way to say this, but the cashier looked high. She had to ask me multiple times what I wanted and when I asked if they accepted AMEX she just looked at me for a couple of seconds until I repeated myself again. It is not a good place to stay and enjoy your coffee since there is little to no room to even stand, but if you like being crowded and people watching there is an open window to the sidewalk. They do have good seasonal drinks though!

First, I highly prefer CBTL since I’m a tea person — Starbucks is lacking in decent tea. This location, for some reason, has the best iced chai latte, far superior to the other Austin locations.
Also, since I moved from Austin a while ago, I’m not sure if he still works there, but Randall is awesome. He would always craft new variations of tea and iced chais for my friend and I. Friendly, great employees!

Location:
It’s super convenient for fellow UT students, and they’re open pretty late for those late night runs when you’re studying for an exam.
Customer Service:
The people working there are super polite, at least when I’ve gone in. There have been times where they’ve given me a larger size than what I paid for so I think that’s nice. Kudos to them.
Price:
It’s the Drag and a coffee chain. It’s overpriced coffee or hot chocolate. The pricing is similiar to Starbucks from what I can recall. I usually get the small hot chocolate, and that’s around $ 3.
Atmosphere:
Yikes, it’s tiny! There’s only a few available seats, so don’t come here expecting to get any studying done or meet up casually with a friend. This is not the place for that. Depending on what time you can go, it’s pretty loud, especially during the afternoons.
Bottom line:
I’ll be back when I need that coffee fix or if I get a craving for hot chocolate.

I know it’s horrible to frequent a chain café when we have so many great, local coffee shops in Austin (such as Caffe Medici right down the street). But, the Drag has a captive audience that seeks occasional variety.
The kids that work here are super polite. I like their Taco Deli breakfast tacos, the pastries, the oatmeal, and the silly, basically-​not-​coffee seasonal lattes. A good place to stop for a quick, to-​go breakfast on the Drag.
Unfortunately, it’s pricey and it’s not really a place you can hang out.

It’s a nice little place, and I do mean little. Only a couple of high seats inside, and a couple low seats outside. But those probably won’t be useable during the extreme heat/​cold seasons.
So if you are going for a drink don’t plan to stay around and loiter. The Starbucks right down the street across the subway has an outside patio so if you want to chill without feeling bad that you brought a different drink to Starbucks you can chill there :)
Drinks are nice and price was fair. I got the dark chocolate frappucino. Can’t go wrong with dark chocolate :)
Its clean and has a nice atmosphere.
Restroom is shared with the other restaurants connected to the building. Code is 13 579# ;P
Anyways nice place. I’m lazy with this review haha

Ordered a slightly pricey small Iced Coffee here and and was shocked at how tiny it was! The four ice cubes in the iced coffee were barely sufficient to stand up to the Austin heat blazing outside (the reason for my craving an iced coffee in the first place).
Wowzers, I had to bring two of the milk /​half and half carafes to the cashier to ask for her to refill them before I could make my drink. I was with a fairly large group so they all had to wait for the coffee house to get back up to operational speed. It took them over 10 minutes to make my girlfriend from LA’s soy mocha frappuccino thing. I am certain it was not THAT complicated, the staff was just working in low gear on a Friday at 4 pm. Advice, take an espresso shot and get back to high gear please!
Our large group was forced to collect at the waiting area /​front door of the store completely blocking people from coming in or getting out in the narrow store while our order was being completed.
Coffee Bean’s in general are a good chain store, and I look forward to going to them over Starbucks, this one was just a little underwhelming.

More caffiene options is just what college students need! If you’re familiar with the other Austin locations then you know whats percolating here. Good coffee with above par pastry (better than their main coffee rival /​neighbor, Starbucks) and fantastic tacodeli tacos.
The interior is pretty sleek with lots of wood and hip looking wall decorations. They also have a var with sliding windows that will be refreshing once its not hot enough to cook an egg on the sidewalks.
Also, don’t expect to to be seated here too long as there are a handful of tables and chairs. Looking forward to starting my day with a few cups here in the future!

I was very excited to have another coffee shop on campus to vary my routine and try some new things. Unfortunately, I’ve discovered the hard way that The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is expensive. $ 4.28 for a small (12 oz) mocha ice blended drink? Ouch…
I stopped in earlier this week for a UT employee open house and tried a pomegranate/​blueberry tea latte (tea instead of coffee), the black forest ice blended beverage (ground up cherries and chocolate covered espresso beans mixed in with their mocha drink), yogurt with fruit and granola, and a blueberry loaf-​type thing. The tea latte was interesting and new for me. It had the flavor of the tea but the creaminess of the milk. The black forest drink was also very different and not as chunky as I was expecting. The cherry flavor was also more subtle than I was expecting. The yogurt was very good with the cherries and granola, and the blueberry loaf was very moist and flavorful.
When I went in today, I saw they had tons of pastries. I have my eye on a chocolate-​filled and/​or strawberry cream croissant.
They don’t have any loyalty cards or programs, and no discounts for those of us who may frequent the establishment daily. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by my frequent buyer discount at Starbucks and don’t realize how much a Mocha Frappuccino costs these days, but I can’t shell out almost $ 5/​day on coffee. This place might have to be my twice-​a-​month or I’ve-had-a-bad-day coffee shop.
I’ll go ahead and give four stars because their drinks are unique and tasty, the pastries look amazing, and having a place nearby that serves breakfast tacos (other than the Union) is awesome. The staff is also super friendly — hopefully that won’t change once the students return in the fall.
BIG downside — it’s a very small space. I can’t imagine how they are going to coordinate having a line to order, a line to pick up, people standing by the front door to put sugar and cream in their coffees, and people sitting along the bar at the window. I guess that will come with time and experience.