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The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

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The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Company typePrivate
IndustryRestaurants
Retail coffee and tea
FoundedLos Angeles (1963)
FounderHerbert B. Hyman
Mona Hyman
Headquarters
Los Angeles
,
USA
Number of locations
1,000+
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Sunny Sassoon
(executive chairman)
Victor Sassoon
(CEO Asia Pacific)
John Fuller
(President & CEO)
ProductsCoffee, tea, food
RevenueIncrease $500 million+ USD
(January 2013)[1]
Number of employees
12,000
(May 2013)[2]
ParentInternational Coffee & Tea, LLC
Websitewww.coffeebean.com

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (sometimes shortened to simply "Coffee Bean" or "The Coffee Bean") is an American coffee chain founded in 1963. It is owned and operated by International Coffee & Tea, LLC, which has its corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, California. As of 2017, the chain has over 1,000 self-owned and franchised stores in the United States and 31 other countries.[3][4]

History

Former Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf headquarters on La Cienega Blvd in Los Angeles, USA

The company was founded by Herbert Hyman in September 1963, as a coffee service for offices. He and his wife Mona, whom he married in 1966, honeymooned in Sweden, where they discovered quality coffee. This sparked the decision to import, roast and sell gourmet coffee in Los Angeles, opening the first Coffee Bean store in 1968 in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood. Innovations included selling whole beans and touting their country of origin, and allowing customers to observe the beans being roasted and sample varieties before making a purchase. Hyman is considered to be instrumental in the creation of the gourmet coffee industry in the US. He died on April 28, 2014, at the age of 82.[5]

By the 1970s, Coffee Bean had expanded to 10 stores in Southern California, and added exotic teas to the menu. In the summer of 1987, an employee brought a blender to a Westwood store, mixing together ice, coffee extract and chocolate powder, paving the way for the company's signature Ice Blended drinks.[5][6] With the invention of the Ice Blended, the Coffee Bean saw a surge in popularity.[7] The drink was a predecessor to the Starbucks Frappuccino.[8] In 1991, when it was first planning to expand into Los Angeles, Starbucks tried to purchase Coffee Bean, but Hyman turned them down. The opening of Starbucks stores in Los Angeles unexpectedly helped Coffee Bean's business, by driving curious customers to the area.[9]

In 1996, the Hymans sold the Asian franchise rights to Singaporean brothers Victor Sassoon and Sunny Sassoon.[6] The Sassoons quickly expanded the company in the US and internationally, opening the first outlet in Singapore in 1996, and in Malaysia the following year.[6] Within two years, they had opened 29 stores in Singapore and Malaysia, almost as many stores as the Hymans had opened in their 35 years of ownership.[10] In 1998, the Sassoons, along with longtime friend Severin Wunderman, purchased the parent company, International Coffee & Tea LLC, from the Hymans, and took it global.[6][10][11] Victor Sassoon works out of Singapore, Sunny Sassoon works in Los Angeles, and Wunderman is a silent partner with no role in management.[10] International Coffee & Tea, LLC remains the name of the holding company.[10]

Sunny Sassoon served as president and CEO from 1998 until 2008, when he moved to the executive chairman position.[12] In 2008, Mel Elias (Sassoon's brother-in-law) assumed the role of president and CEO of the company, after spending seven years as chief operating officer.[10][13] In September 2013, a significant equity position in Coffee Bean was acquired from International Coffee & Tea by US-based Advent International, in partnership with South Korea-based Mirae Asset Private Equity and Taiwan-based CDIB Capital. The Sassoon family remains a large shareholder.[14][15] On September 3, 2015, John Fuller assumed the position of president and CEO.[16][17][18]

On October 1, 2016, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf shut down all 12 of its New York City locations.[19]

Products

The company is known for its Original Ice Blended coffee and tea drinks, hot coffee drinks, and hot and iced tea drinks. It also sells a variety of whole bean coffees, whole leaf teas, flavored powders, and baked goods.[8]

Coffee

The company's coffees fall into seven categories: Light & Subtle, Light & Distinctive, Medium & Smooth, Dark & Distinctive, Decaffeinated, Flavored and Reserve.[20] It roasts approximately seven million pounds of coffee annually. All of the beans are hand-roasted at its roasting facility in Camarillo, California.[21] The beans come from farms in various countries, including Costa Rica, Colombia, Kenya, Indonesia, Jamaica, Thailand and Sri Lanka.[21][22] Coffee Bean offers several seasonal holiday drinks, in flavors including candy cane, gingerbread, red velvet cake, eggnog and peppermint.[21][23][24][25] For the company's 50th anniversary in 2013, it introduced a Birthday Cake Ice Blended.[26]

Jay Isais, Coffee Bean's senior director of coffee, oversees the quality of the blending and roasting of all the company's beans. A founding member of the Roasters' Guild, he joined Coffee Bean in 2000.[22] He is one of approximately 400 licensed Q graders worldwide, passing an exam of sensory tests administered by the Specialty Coffee Association of America's CQI division.[27]

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Los Feliz, Los Angeles

Teas

The company's teas fall into seven categories: Green, Black, Oolong, Herbal Infusion, Decaffeinated, Flavored and Tea Master’s.[28] All of the teas are hand-blended at its facility in Camarillo, California.[21] The Chai Tea Latte, one of the chain's most popular drinks, was first served in 1998.[11] In March 2014, the company introduced its Tea Granita beverage in two flavors, Pear Berry and Passion Fruit.[29][30]

David DeCandia, the company's master tea blender, is responsible for sourcing, development and internal education on tea.[31][32]

CBTL single-serve system

CBTL, a single-serve system for home use, was launched in the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines in 2010.[33][34] Several types of single-serve capsules are available for the machines: espresso, coffee, tea and hot chocolate.[33]

Kosher and halal

All CBTL coffees, teas, and the powders used to make other beverages, are certified kosher. All company-owned CBTL locations in Southern California are certified kosher.[35] Most in California and Nevada have signed and dated certificates indicating that the entirety of their items are kosher in conformance to the standards of the certifying agency.[36] However, privately-owned franchise stores can opt out of kosher certification.[37]

A location in Los Angeles's Fairfax district, where many Orthodox Jews reside, meets the stricter standard of Cholov Yisrael in their dairy products and pastries, and is also closed on Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, which is from Friday shortly before sundown to Saturday after sundown.[7]

All the company's locations in Singapore[38] and Malaysia[39] are halal.

Locations

A Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlet at Mumbai Airport in India
A Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlet in the Aeon LakeTown shopping mall in Saitama Prefecture, Japan

As of 2017, Coffee Bean is present in 32 countries,[40] with new stores opened in Japan on May 26, 2015,[41] and in Panama on June 17, 2015.

North America Asia Europe Africa South America
Germany Egypt Uruguay

Partnerships

On 5 September 2012, Nokia announced a deal with Coffee Bean to offer wireless charging facilities in its cafés for customers who want to recharge their phones whilst on the go.[42]

On May 28, 2013, Hilton Worldwide announced they had signed an exclusive agreement for Coffee Bean to provide in-room coffee and tea for all Hilton hotels in North America, South America, and Central America.[43]

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters announced on May 29, 2013, that they had partnered with Coffee Bean to create a K-Cup for Keurig single-cup brewing systems, available in the US as of 2014.[44]

On August 24, 2015, Coffee Bean announced they had signed an exclusive area development agreement with South Korean retail conglomerate E-LAND to enter into the Chinese market.[45]

In Q3 of 2016, CBTL made the choice to upgrade their digital marketing and CRM platform[46] by partnering with Punchh. CBTL's new app and rewards program aim to increase the visit frequency of its most loyal customers.

Coffee Bean was regularly seen on the HBO television series Entourage. Most notably, in season 2, after being forced out of Terrance McQuewick's agency, Ari Gold sets up an interim agency at a West Hollywood Coffee Bean.[47][48] The franchise has also been seen on the MTV reality series The Hills.[49]

The first Coffee Bean location in Brentwood was frequented by celebrities, including Johnny Carson, Ronald Reagan, Jacques Cousteau and Lee Marvin.[5][9] The franchise's Los Angeles outlets continue to be known for being patronized by celebrities.[6][10][50]

On January 18, 2017, John Fuller, CBTL's new president and CEO goes undercover for CBS' Undercover Boss.[51]

See also

References

  1. ^ Tiffany Hsu, “Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf marks 50th anniversary with free drinks,” Los Angeles Times, January 30, 2013.
  2. ^ “Coffee Bean Looking To Hire More Than 250 Across California,” CBS Los Angeles, May 17, 2013.
  3. ^ Andrew Edwards, "Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Expanding to Japan," Los Angeles Business Journal, August 4, 2014.
  4. ^ "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf inks exclusive area development agreement for Japan," FastCasual.com, August 5, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Elaine Woo, “Herbert Hyman dies at 82; founder of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf chain,” Los Angeles Times, May 3, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d e Wayne Arnold, “Wake Up and Smell the Profits; A Singaporean Sees the World as His Coffee Cup,” New York Times, April 14, 2000.
  7. ^ a b Gaby Wenig, “Where the End Justifies the Beans,” The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, October 30, 2013.
  8. ^ a b Marshall Heyman, “Learning New Skills At the Coffee Bean,” Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Taylor Clark, “Don’t Fear Starbucks,” Slate, December 28, 2007.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Justin Doebele, “The Brew to Be No. 2,” Forbes, May 12, 2003.
  11. ^ a b Emily Dwass, “Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s 50-Cent Drinks + New Tea Service,” LA Weekly, January 9, 2013.
  12. ^ Justin Yang, “Three Companies Buy Into Coffee Bean,” Los Angeles Business Journal, September 12, 2013.
  13. ^ “How Mel Elias has built The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to be a difference maker,” Smart Business, July 1, 2013.
  14. ^ Isabella Steger, "Private Equity Gets a Cup of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf," Wall Street Journal, September 13, 2013.
  15. ^ Neerja Jetley, “Singapore’s Coffee King Sassoon Gets Ready With A War Chest To Up The Ante On Starbucks,” Forbes, September 16, 2013.
  16. ^ Lisa Jennings, -tea-leaf-names-new-pres-ceo “Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf names new president, CEO,” Nation's Restaurant News, December 4, 2013.
  17. ^ "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf names John Fuller CEO". Restaurant Business. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  18. ^ "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf names John Fuller CEO". Nation's Restaurant News. 2015-09-03. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  19. ^ Serena Dai, "Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Suddenly Closes All 12 Manhattan Locations," Eater New York, October 4, 2016.
  20. ^ Gourmet Whole Bean & Ground Coffee | The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Coffee
  21. ^ a b c d Jeff Miller, “14 Things You Didn’t Know About the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf,” Thrillist, July 7, 2014.
  22. ^ a b “A Week In The Life Of Jay Isais, Senior Director Of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf,” Huffington Post, June 5, 2013.
  23. ^ “The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: $1 Holiday Beverages,” Hip 2 Save, November 7, 2012.
  24. ^ Best Drink at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: Winter Dream Latte | TheDailyMeal: Best and Worst Holiday Coffee Drinks | Comcast.net Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ Holiday drinks are on tap at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf | SmartBrief
  26. ^ Chloe Searcy, “We Tasted It: Coffee Bean’s Birthday Cake Ice Blended,” Huffington Post, May 24, 2013.
  27. ^ Joshua Lurie, “Coffee’s trained tasters know their beans and brews,” Los Angeles Times, August 20, 2008.
  28. ^ Specialty Whole Leaf Tea | The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Tea
  29. ^ "News: The Coffee Bean - New Tea Granitas for $2 Next Week," Brand Eating, March 6, 2014.
  30. ^ "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Redefines Refreshment With Its New Beverage: The Tea Granita," March 3, 2014.
  31. ^ David DeCandia, “A Time for Sleep, or Friendly Tea Talk,” New York Times, May 21, 2012.
  32. ^ “Seven Questions with David DeCandia, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’s Master Tea Blender,” Archived 2013-12-19 at the Wayback Machine LAist, March 5, 2009.
  33. ^ a b The supplier is an Italian company in Bologna called Caffitaly. “Coffee Bean launches single-serve beverage system, set to expand in Asia,” Archived 2013-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Retail Asia, May 2011.
  34. ^ Mary MacVean, “Single coffee-cup makers raise environmental concerns,” Seattle Times, January 21, 2012.
  35. ^ coffeebean.com Accessed July 24, 2015
  36. ^ "NEWS AND UPDATES". KosherLA. 1-310-246-3417. Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  37. ^ "NEWS AND UPDATES". KosherLA. 310-246-3417. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  38. ^ coffeebean.com.sg. Accessed July 24, 2015.
  39. ^ Coffee Bean Malaysia FAQs. Accessed 21 September 2018.
  40. ^ Store Locator, coffeebean.com. Accessed August 14, 2014.
  41. ^ Shan Li, "The U.S. coffee shop comes to Japan," Metropolis Magazine, May 27, 2015.
  42. ^ "Nokia and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® form partnership to introduce wireless charging to cafés across the United States". Nokia. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  43. ^ Now Brewing: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® Introduces Exclusive In-Room Collection | Hilton Worldwide Global Media Center
  44. ^ Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Welcomes The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to the Keurig Family (NASDAQ:GMCR)
  45. ^ "Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf partners Korea's E-LAND to enter China". Channel NewsAsia. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  46. ^ "Punchh Launches Customer Loyalty Programs For Nine New Restaurant Chains in Q4 2017". BusinessWire.com. February 23, 2018.
  47. ^ Hilary de Vries, “’Entourage’ Chillingly Realistic, Insiders Say,” New York Times, September 5, 2005.
  48. ^ David G. Allan, “The ‘Entourage’ guide to L.A.,” NBC News, April 19, 2007.
  49. ^ “The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf,” Inc. Accessed July 30, 2014.
  50. ^ Michael Kaminer, “Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Makes New York Debut,” The Forward, September 15, 2011.
  51. ^ "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf CEO's hilarious transformation on Undercover Boss". Monster and Critics. 18 January 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
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