With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
A Photo Tour of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's RAD Roasting Facilities
If you grew up in SoCal, you might have fond memories of hanging out after school at the The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, sucking down Vanilla Ice Blendeds with your friends, discussing very the likelihood that the Coffee Bean could quite possibly have put actual crack in their vanilla powder. (Seriously, those sugary drinks are that addictive.) But what you might not have realized is that CBTL is a homegrown company that was one of the first to bring direct trade coffee to the local caffeine drinkers. And they've been doing so for 50 years.
Oddly enough, those dangerously delicious Ice Blendeds were actually created by a few of the company's employees in Santa Monica. Looking for something cold and refreshing to drink during the summer months, they put Slim Fast, ice, and coffee in a blender, and voila. Though they might have been our first introduction to the coffee world, the Bean had been around for a while, and that era was what they consider part of their "second wave" of business.
When The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf first launched in Brentwood in 1963, they were taking part in a newly blossoming coffee culture in the US. At first they were just a wholesale location that sold coffee and loose leaf tea for folks to brew at home on their own. But in the 1980s, coffee shops were popping up around college campuses, and they started to sell some of their brews in house. Now they have nearly 1000 stores in 25 countries worldwide.
Though the ideas of direct trade with farmers have become buzzwords in the coffee scene as of late, CBTL has always had that idea as part of their business plan. But they're not snots about it. There's none of that coffee snobbery that sometimes comes along with the craft coffee culture these days -- just a passion for building relationships with customers, coffee farms, tea estates, and their very own team members at the RAD facilities in Camarillo.
Support for LAist comes from
After a tour of the company's outpost, and we can now officially confirm that there is no crack involved in the production of their goods -- just an addiction to innovation, consistency, and creativity.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If California redistricts, the conservative beach town that banned LGBTQ Pride flags on city property would get a gay, progressive Democrat in Congress. -
Most survivors of January's fires face a massive gap in the money they need to rebuild, and funding to help is moving too slowly or nonexistent. -
Kevin Lacy has an obsession with documenting California’s forgotten and decaying places. -
Restaurants share resources in the food hall in West Adams as Los Angeles reckons with increasing restaurant closures. -
It will be the second national day of protest against President Donald Trump. -
The university says the compact, as the Trump administration called it, could undermine free inquiry and academic excellence.
Best of LAist