New Celeb Hangout: Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Driving down South Lamar the other day, I spotted a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf sign just after the bridge and thought to myself, “Wow, I saw lots of those in L.A. And you always hear about celebrities popping into them. We’re growing up …”

And not two days later, I get a press release on the joint! Here’s the good news: it’s cooler, and Austin-ier, than my initial thoughts would have led you (or me, for that matter) to believe. It’s all local owners, all local bakers, and all Austin-tastic. Here’s what I wrote on it for Glossy’s May issue, and here are some more details:

When the world’s oldest privately held coffee retailer opens for business in mid-June, it’ll offer over 20 varieties of the finest Arabica coffee from specially selected estates around the world. The company also produces over 20 unique, hand-picked, premium whole leaf teas harvested globally from exclusive tea growing estates, including black, oolong and green teas teas. The place is credited with creating the Original Ice-Blended drinks and for popularizing the Chai Latte and Tea Latte drinks in the mid-90s. Austinite Bill Duffy of Lone Star Bean is actually leading the CB&TL charge, saying “As longtime customers of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf during our travels, we are excited to have the opportunity to bring this caliber of coffee and whole leaf tea selections back home to Austin.”

After working with numerous local bakers, the following five top-notch local companies were selected to provide a variety of daily, fresh-baked breads, pastries and assorted dessert items:

• Mary Louise Butters Brownies – OMG these ridiculously decadent brownies–with awesome variations, like Kona Buzz, Stout beer-infused, and Grand Marnier-splashed–have garnered national attention on The Today Show and the Food Network since they were created in 2002.
• Austinuts – Austinuts has been our city’s ubiquitous nut producers since 1993. They specialize in dry roasting the highest quality nuts and seeds from around the world, which are free of added oils, food additives, preservatives or artificial ingredients.
• Bakerman’s Bakery – Owned and operated by award-winning pastry chefs Jeffrey Ontiveros and Hope Arabie, Bakerman’s is one of Austin’s premier bakeries and chocolatiers, offering an inspired selection of cakes, chocolates and pastries, including muffins, scones, cupcakes and cheesecakes.
• Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams – Blogged about here, this amazing cookie company was founded in 2008 by Alexandera Bruskoff, and has the finest quality ingredients. They hand-cut their nuts and chocolate, creating gourmet cookies in an assortment of traditional and unique flavors (hello All-Nighter with espresso and cayenne, I love you) that have been featured nationally on the Rachel Ray show.
• Round Rock Donuts – The iconic Round Rock baker has been making its unmistakable yellow doughnuts since 1926. Made daily from the original founder’s recipe, these yeast, hand-rolled, cut, fried and iced donuts have garnered local and national accolades… I don’t even like donuts and I nibbled this one and couldn’t stop.