While I'm very loyal to the people in my life, I've realized I'm very disloyal to coffee shop chains! Why am I obsessed with good coffee? I'm caffeine-free all week, so I take my weekend coffee very seriously and look for quality. That's where Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf scores high and is my newest find! I've never liked Cafe Coffee Day much, so there was no question of disloyalty to them, but I've cheated on every other chain. In the beginning, I was in love with Barista and their yummy frappes and smoothies. My wandering eye soon found Mocha (earlier Coffee and Conversations) and one look at their chocolate avalanche and vertigo, and Barista was history. Then came Cafe Brio with its delicious blueberry cheesecake and macadamia nut blended coffees.
Almost overnight, Cafe Brio closed down, but I soon found and fell for Gloria Jeans, their signature cold coffee and yummy muffins kept me loyal to them for a while. But again, I was bored and looking around for something different and that's when I stumbled upon Costa Coffee. Their minty Coffee Mojito and their bell pepper lasagna had me hooked... I was actually heart broken when they discontinued the lasagna and voiced my discontent to the hapless staff several times, but I have stayed loyal to their coffee, both cold and hot. It helps that a theater I frequent has a Costa Coffee, so I can enjoy their awesome coffee while enjoying my movie.
I thought Costa and I were meant to be... but once a cheater always a cheater :) Cream Center in Bandra (right next to Shoppers Stop, Linking Road) shut down and in its place opened Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. One fateful day, a friend and I met at Bandra and after a whirlwind shopping spree, we needed some sustenance and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf beckoned. My life has never been the same :) How do I love Coffee Bean? To quote Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "Let me count the ways" :)
The first thing that made me smile was that the staff yells "Welcome to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf" as you walk through the doors :) The staff is amusing at first, but when it takes them forever to take your order and then bring it to you, the amusement wears off. To be fair, the guys and girls who work there are really sweet, helpful, give good recommendations if you're confused about what to order, but they give the word laidback new meaning :) If I'm there browsing the net (they have Wi-Fi) and in no particular hurry, I don't mind that it takes on average 20 minutes for them to take my order and then another 20 to bring it, but when I'm in a hurry, that just doesn't fly. The staff really needs to try to speed up the order taking and fulfilling a little bit.
The decor is like other coffee shops, wood tables, some with chairs, others with sofa seats, and some really comfy booths on the first floor... there's also al fresco seating on the ground level, but given Bombay's humidity, give that a pass! The place is really clean, which is really important. Their crockery, cutlery, and glassware has always been spotless. They accept cash and credit cards, which is really convenient. Also, the prices on the menu are inclusive of taxes, so you won't be in for any rude surprises when the check comes. Now for the really important part, the drinks and food.
I've never ordered a coffee there yet that hasn't delighted me. My favorite is the Ice-blended Hazelnut Latte, the Ice-blended Double Chocolate follows a close second, and the Ultimate Mocha comes in third. The coffee is never not cold enough or way too cold, it's never not sweet enough or way too sweet, it's never watery and gross, it's just delicious perfection. This is easier to achieve with hot coffee, since you're left to add sugar to taste. With cold coffee, at some places it's either not sweetened enough or sweetened too much taking away from the flavor of the coffee. I like my cold coffee slightly bitter, very cold, and very milky, and that's just how Coffee Bean does it. All the drinks have regular and large sizes and a nominal price difference... an ice-blended drink would cost between 100 and 200, while a hot drink would cost between 50 and 150.
I've also tried some of the hot coffee there... the coffee blend they use is just delicious and the Double Chocolate Latte is the perfect blend of coffee and chocolate. If you prefer your coffee untainted, the Cappuccino is strong, frothy, and just right. I'm not big on hot tea, but their iced teas (I've tried peach and lemon) are disappointing and cost between 100 and 120 (depending on the size you opt for). The pomegranate iced tea and green iced tea at Barista and the kiwi iced tea at Cafe Mangi score way higher! But when it comes to food, Coffee Bean scores higher than any other coffee shop chain in Bombay. They have food for every mood and every moment.
I love breakfast and Coffee Bean is now one of my favorite breakfast spots... the egg white omelet (yes, I'm a vegetarian who cheats with eggs) is a healthy option and tastes perfect, specially when you add cheese and mushrooms. The omelets come with jam, butter, and toast (you can choose either brown or white). A side of chili cheese toast proved a bad idea, it was pretty tough and didn't have oodles of cheese... if you want amazing chili cheese toast go to Aromas in Powai. So far, I've only been to Coffee Bean for breakfast once so far, but next time I go I plan to try their pancakes... I hear good things! And if you're not a morning person, don't worry! They serve breakfast all day :) Eggs, pancakes, and coffee would cost you about 250-300 bucks.
Coffee Bean has a lot on offer besides coffee and breakfast... you could go there for just a quick coffee, coffee and dessert after a meal, or just have your entire meal there. Their vegetable lasagna has had me going back for more. It's cheesy, loaded with veggies, and the lasagna sheets are cooked to perfection. I know there's so much more to try, but when it comes to lasagna, I'm Garfield. The sandwiches are good too, particularly the roasted veggies on multigrain. The pastas and sandwiches for veggies cost between 100 and 200 bucks, and are really filling.
Now my favorite part of any meal... the desserts! Their chocolate pie with oodles of melted chocolate will send any chocolate lover to heaven. Their blueberry muffins are soft, yummy, and filled with tart blueberries. But the piece de resistance is their Philadelphia Cheesecake. It's so fabulous, I've never had better! It's just the right creamy consistency, it's sweet and slightly sour, and it has the perfect graham cracker base. The best thing about cheesecake is that it's never so sweet that it'll overwhelm your coffee, so the two go well together. Coffee Bean also has chocolate cheesecake. I haven't gotten around to trying it yet, but it sounds delicious! They have so many desserts that it makes my head spin :) The desserts range between 90 to 210 bucks and are totally worth it!
I don't know how many more visits it's going to take to make me feel like I've done justice to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's vast menu, but I'm more than willing to find out :) For now, I think I've finally found "the one" for me and plan to stay loyal :) I just wish they'd open in Andheri and other places so that I don't always have to go to Bandra (they're also at Nariman Point). If you're ever in the vicinity, walk in and experience it for yourself! Even if you're not in the vicinity, Coffee Bean is worth the detour :)
