COFFEE BEAN VS. STARBUCKS

I had a wonderful, productive, very full day yesterday. I spent the whole day with my boyfriend. Normally on Mondays and Wednesdays, I'm at school the whole day -- from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. But since it's our Summer Break, I'm still resolving to study as much as I can, so I don't lose my speed... and hopefully increase my speed actually! :) So to kill two birds with one stone -- studying plus together-time with my man -- I tagged along with my guy to work. He worked the full day while I studied about a block away at the local Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Now, I've always been a coffee person. I started drinking the delicious stuff regularly when I started my first job at 17 years old. I worked part-time as a data entry clerk. From 17 till now, I've mostly always preferred Starbucks over Coffee Bean... but not anymore! Studying all day at Coffee Bean yesterday made me realize how much better Coffee Bean is over Starbucks... in my humble opinion anyway! Here are my reasons:

COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF

1. Has free Wi-Fi... ALL DAY LONG! Can't beat that! 2. Their iced coffee is espresso over ice! It really wakes you up! The overall quality of the drinks at Coffee Bean is way, way superior over Starbucks. To me, Coffee Bean = QUALITY whereas Starbucks = QUANTITY. But that's just how I personally see it... and taste it! 3. There's less of a noisy crowd at the Coffee Bean stores. It doesn't feel like an after-school program with too many kids talking way too loud and hanging around all over the place. You can actually study peacefully at a Coffee Bean since they seem to draw more mature crowds. 4. They also make it easier for the studying patron by providing power strips! They have outlets on almost every wall, and they totally don't mind if you stay the whole day... like I did yesterday! :) *CON: Not too many around. Gotta drive a bit to get to my closest Coffee Bean.

STARBUCKS

1. Has free Wi-Fi... but it comes with so many conditions! You have to register a Starbucks card online, put money into that card, actually use that card to buy Starbucks products at least once a month, AND THEN you can get free Wi-Fi at a Starbucks store... but only for two hours MAXIMUM every day! Oh, and if you lapse with using your registered card one month, you can't access your allotted two hours of free Wi-Fi time. You must make sure you use that specific card once a month to get your limited two hours of "free" Wi-Fi. How controlling is that?! No thanks! 2. Their iced coffee is diluted with too much water. It's just drip coffee over ice... and sometimes it tastes like mud! :P I've had to return my iced coffee to Starbucks a few times because it really, really tasted bad, and I just could not bring myself to stomach it. But I've never had to return a drink to Coffee Bean... ever! 3. Starbucks is such a hub for all sorts of age ranges, but I think especially for the younger crowd, i.e. HIGH SCHOOL! They can get pretty loud and boisterous, which is not helpful when you're trying to get work done. 4. It's difficult to find a quiet spot to study. They have very limited outlets for your laptop and steno machine. Not good. :( *PRO: They're everywhere! Starbucks is literally on every major intersection!

Anyway, like I said, these are just my observations. Do you have a preference? Or am I just being too picky over beans! LOL! :P