Open House: CBTL Espresso Cream Ice Blended Drink

Last Sunday was another special day for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL), as they relaunched a returning favorite: The Espresso Cream Ice Blended Drink and Iced Latte. Since it was an Open House event, everyone who visited their stores from 10:00AM to 11:30AM got to try it out for FREE!

As usual, my family and I went to CBTL Trinoma, since it's the branch nearest to our place. We arrived 11:00AM, just in time. While falling in line, these yummy breads and pastries tempted me endlessly.

There's no way I'm leaving CBTL without having a slice of my favorite cheesecake. (Guess what flavor it is!)

Upon ordering, you'd get a coaster that would light up and buzz when your order is ready for pickup on the counter.

One thing I noticed was the decline in good, speedy service CBTL Trinoma offered. I have no problem when it comes to the politeness or friendliness of the crew, but speed is important, too. Even if it meant them giving out drinks for free. I noticed the slow service when I dropped by for drinks one week ago at the same branch, and it happened again. My family and I arrived 11:00AM, was able to order and receive the coaster at 11:15AM, requested them to serve the food first, and picked up the cheesecakes we ordered at 11:25AM (even if the coaster didn't light up yet), and received our drinks at 11:35AM. I think waiting exactly 20 minutes for a drink is too much. The cafe wasn't even filled with people at that rate, as there were still a lot of empty tables and chairs.

Enough on the service, now let's move on to their good food!

Blueberry Cheesecake (P135.00)

Tangy blueberry topping over our creamy Chicago Cheesecake, on almond cookie crust

It's the Chicago Cheesecake, only better, since it has blueberry bits and syrup on top!

Triple Decker Cheesecake (P135.00)

Layer on layer of our Coffee, Oreo, and Chicago Cheesecakes, on an almond cookie crust

This is my all-time favorite cheesecake from CBTL! All the best cheesecake flavors (Oreo, Chicago, and Coffee) in one slice. ♥

Espresso Cream Ice Blended Drink

Now on to the main star of this post - the Espresso Cream Ice Blended Drink! My niece actually got to try my drink before I did!

Meet Daphne! She's the cutest kid I know. I know, I'm her stage Aunt! She took my drink and she kept on saying, "Yummy! Yummy!". I actually began to wonder if the Espresso Cream Ice Blended Drink tasted sweet, but when I tried it, I found tasted bittersweet, with a rich coffee flavor and sweet at the same time because of the milk and cream in it. (Oh no, my 3 year old niece loves coffee!) It's really good, and I liked it even more since it didn't trigger my hyperacidity - which means I can drink this variant often with no worries. Good job for returning this oldies but goodies drink, CBTL!

Overall, I am very satisfied with the food and drinks over at CBTL Trinoma, but fast service the only thing they should improve on.

Were you able to try the Espresso Cream drinks? :D

Love,

Helen