Coffee Shop Reviews: Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf – Ayala Terraces Branch

This is the first in a series of reviews I will be making to give OFWs living in the Philippines a glimpse of what to expect when they aim to work in a coffee shop with an internet connection in the Queen City of the South. I already reviewed two co-working zones located within the city, namely The Tide and Regus.

These reviews were created with the hope that it will serve as a guide for freelancers who prefer working outside the house just like me. I decided to divide the review into a number of parts, namely: internet connection, location, food, customer service, and miscellaneous things freelancers may want to know about these places. There may be some things added to this list, but for now, I will limit my review to these four components.

Image Credit: foursquare.com - Photo taken at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf by Catskie Q.

The first coffee shop I will look into is the Ayala Terraces branch of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. There are actually two branches of CBTL in Ayala, the Terraces branch is the first store established in this Class-A mall in Cebu. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was actually the coffee shop I used to go to whenever I work outside the house. But, this does not happen often anymore since I am currently working in one of the two co-working zones I reviewed in the past.

When I started working on my freelance jobs at CBTL way back in 2010, the internet connection was quite impressive. In fact, it was nearly as good as a cable-based internet connection in terms of speed. I could even watch YouTube videos with little to no buffering or loading. Images I uploaded would be posted in a matter of seconds. I could even open several browser windows without having to worry about getting a timeout notice, which is something that should be limited to sports events. However, Murphy’s Law got in the way. All good things would definitely never ever, ever last. I initially noticed the slowdown in the internet connection sometime in2012, when I decided to become a full-time OFW in the Philippines.  Right now, the internet connection at the Terraces branch of CBTL is good enough before 4 PM. Once the clock strikes four, you should expect your work to be interrupted every so often.

This is quite understandable since a number of office workers normally end their work day at this time, and start to walk through the doors of the coffee shop. They would open Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media accounts along with their personal email accounts while waiting for the five o’clock dismissal. The same thing happens to students whose teachers may have nothing else to give them in class, compelling them to dismiss their classes early. Some housewives tagging along their little ones whose classes end earlier than other schools. There are also some businessman-looking persons tagging along some client-looking persons to talk about something that may or may not be related to business. There are also some ordinary-looking persons who may actually be businessmen wanting to wind down their day with a cup of coffee or two or three. These factors may contribute to the slowdown in the internet connection at the Ayala Terraces branch of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. But, judging from the performance of the connection of another branch of the coffee shop, there may be something else contributing to the slowdown in the connection. I may have to delve into this in another review I will make for that branch of the franchise in Ayala, so we’ll just leave it at that.

Location-wise, the Ayala Terraces branch of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is actually the best place to work in. It is accessible to people from both the North as well as the South of Metro Cebu. For OFWs who do not own cars, a number of jeepneys pass through Ayala. In fact, nearly all places in Cebu have a jeepney going to and from Ayala. For people living outside Metro Cebu, the Vehicle Terminal of Ayala has either jeepneys or vans coming in or out of the place. Since the coffee shop is located inside one of the major malls of the city, OFWs can go around the mall before or after their work. While the place is subject to the hours of operation of the mall, it normally opens earlier at around 9 AM. But, the actual location itself also has its disadvantages. Whenever there is a big event at the atrium of the Terraces, there is a big possibility that you may find yourself in the wrong end of a spotlight or flashing lights. I experienced this several times when I was somewhat blinded after one of these events started, and it is not easy to work when you are blinded by flashing lights in front of you.

Image Credit – Chilled Spicy Chicken Pasta - www.foodspotting.com

In terms of food, I have always been impressed by the food offerings of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. They have a good mix of healthy and not-quite-healthy-but-delicious food items on their menu. Among the best-sellers for me are the Chilled Spicy Chicken Pasta Salad, the Roast Beef Sandwich and their own version of the Caesar’s Salad. I also have a weakness for the Choco Fudge Cake, which I think is a little bit better than the Chocolate Monster of Orange Brutus . . . just a little bit. They do have other items on the menu, but these are normally the food items I order if I feel the urge to feed the worms need to fill my stomach with food.  The only thing you need to take into consideration is your budget. Since this is a high-end coffee shop, it is quite understandable for their prices to be high-end as well. The Chilled Spicy Chicken Pasta Salad is priced at P175, which is equivalent to around three bottles of Light, and the Roast Beef Sandwich is priced at P275, which costs more than one set of Light at the Koa Tree House. The Coffee Bean Classic Caesar’s Salad costs P195 while the Choco Fudge Cake is priced at P115. Their drinks range from P110 for their hot teas up to P195 for some of their Ice-Blended drinks. 

Image Credit - Caesar’s Salad - www.coffeebean.com.ph

When I used to work at CBTL, I normally spend around P400 to P500 each and every day, which is nearly twice the minimum wage at the Queen City of the South. This really took a colossal bite on my daily budget. There is actually a way for you to go around this situation, which is something I would never do since I know the place is still a business and not a chartable institution offering free internet and air conditioning to its card members. If you want to work on your online projects after your day job and are not willing to shell out a huge amount for your dinner, you can leave an empty bag on one of the empty tables, nod at the crew greeting you “Good afternoon, welcome to Coffee Bean” and leave. You can opt to have a P99 dinner at Jollibee inside the mall or you can even walk around a kilometer and a half to the nearest carenderia and get a full-board meal for only P50 before going back to the table you reserved in advance (yes, I know I will get some flak from budget-conscious people who do this, but we should remember the owner is a businessman who wants to make ends meet just like us, so please give a little respect. If you want dole-outs, go to the nearest PCSO office).  Therefore, for OFWs who earn more, way much more than I do, the Ayala Terraces branch of CBTL is a good place you may want to work while having a bit of heaven to eat.

Customer service at the Ayala Terraces branch of CBTL actually depends on the people manning the place. When I initially worked at that place around six years ago, the people were so good I actually thought everyone would become managers some day (which actually happened to a good number of them). Since I was already a regular, nearly everyone knew me and what I usually ordered. In fact, it came to a point where the baristas and managers would even ask me if I would have my usual, which is a great thing for me since all I needed to do was to nod in agreement. There were even a number of instances when I would walk in and they would already start to prepare my order. But, time does change a lot of things as dictated by Mr. Murphy.  Recently, I walked into this branch and I noted that some of the people manning the counter appear to judge the book by its cover. Since I am a shirt-and-jeans kind of guy, people may assume that I am someone with more metal than paper in my pocket. While I am tempted to rant here, this is supposed to be an objective review of the place so I’ll try to tone it down a bit. The customer service right now is satisfactory, or in other words average. Although I may have contributed to this situation with my get-up coupled with my backpack, it is still essential for customer service to improve a little bit to accommodate OFWs who are probably earning as much as the owners of the place.

Image Credit: taraletseat.blogspot.com

When it comes to the nitty-gritty things, it would be advisable for you to get some sort of rapport with the people manning the place. When you get this you may get some extra service (not the illegal kind) from them, such as having your order brought to you or getting informed of anything that may interrupt your work in any way. While this may not be easy for an introvert like me, it should be a cinch for some OFWs who are more sociable and outgoing compared to me. Another thing you should take note of is the fact that you need to have the Swirl Card or the CBTL membership card to be able to take advantage of the internet connection of the place. Aside from the internet connection, Swirl card holder can accumulate points based on their purchases. You can use these points to purchase items at any branch of CBTL around the country. In fact, I was able to use these points in the past, which allowed me to work in one of their branches without having to shell out anything. They also have exclusive offerings for card members, such as free drinks on certain days of the year. When I got the card around six years ago, it was priced at P500. But, I think the price of the card has gone down to P150. This is a good investment for OFWs especially if you need to get some work done and you have nowhere to go to.

Overall, the Ayala Terraces branch of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is a good place for an online freelance worker to get his or her work done with its good internet connection, great location, and sumptuous food. But, keep in mind you should try to get most of you work done before the four-o’clock deadline comes.

Disclaimer: This review is based on my own personal experience. If you have any comments, suggestions and not-so-violent reactions, please sit down and gather your thoughts before writing them down and editing them on the comment box below. Rocks, rocks in the heavens, whoever gets angry will have Mr. Murphy to deal with.