Coffee became an essential morning attribute for a large number of citizens. The beverage helps to diminish the feeling of fatigue after awakening and stay alert and focused. While some people prefer to brew a cup of coffee themselves, other resort to coffee shops for their doze of this energizing beverage. Given the popularity and indispensability of the product, many coffee shop chains spread across the country. Starbucks and the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf seem to be one of the most common choices. Although the two commercial coffee shop chains offer comparable service, a customer pays for two dissimilar experiences in actuality.
The quality of coffee is not the most striking difference between Starbucks and the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, while the price possibly is. It is not surprising that Starbucks’s prices are lower, as the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf markets its products as handcrafted and of premium quality. Nonetheless, a regular coffee enthusiast and not a coffee connoisseur may not notice a considerable difference between beverages from the two chains. On the other hand, small divergences in flavor should be acknowledged. Thus, in many cases, the drinks offered in Coffee Bean seem to have a stronger and more saturated coffee flavor.
Moreover, the two brands align in the items offered in their menus. Since regular types of coffee do not surprise contemporary customers, brands experiment with blended drinks. Seasonality also plays a significant role for both Coffee Bean and Starbucks, as seasonal and holiday drinks featuring pumpkin pie spice or cookie butter serve as a primary attraction for curious buyers. Nevertheless, Starbucks seems to employ this strategy more effectively, as their pumpkin spice latte became an influential hit in recent years. In addition to teas and coffees, these chains’ menus include a small variety of food items – mainly pastries and sandwiches.
While taste, menus, and quality-price ratios do not have sizeable differences, the customer’s experience is incomparable. Even though both Starbucks and Coffee Bean target middle-class customers, the brand’s personalities are distinct. Starbucks accentuates personalization and sustainability while Coffee Bean neglects these elements. Personalized reusable Starbucks cups constitute a part of the brand’s appeal and make its logo globally recognizable. This commercial coffee shop chain tries to make each customer feel acknowledged, increasing their loyalty. On the contrary, Coffee Bean appears to be a more traditional brand in this aspect, focusing primarily on establishing that its product is of high quality.
In conclusion, despite the fact that Starbucks and Coffee Bean are comparable in quality, offered items, and, to an extent, prices, the customer experience that they offer are markedly different. In contrast to Coffee Bean, buyers at Starbucks do not pay only for coffee – they are provided with customized service. The two companies manage to sustain excitement by adding new innovative beverages, yet Starbucks personalized the approach to individual customers, which possibly made its logo more identifiable than that of Coffee Bean.