Many Malaysians don’t remember the way things were before their first Original Ice Blended® coffee beverage, and many more just can’t imagine life without it! However, few know that it was first invented by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® (CB&TL) and introduced to Malaysian coffee lovers in 1997, when the first three stores opened in key locations across Kuala Lumpur. Since then, CB&TL has seen its creation spread far and wide across the country. Today, there are 84 stores nationwide that range from standalone stores and shopping mall stores, hospitals, and its recently opened, first-ever drive-through store in Setia Tropika, Johor Bahru.
Two decades ago, there were only mocha and vanilla flavour bases that were used to create five different Ice Blended® beverages - Mocha, Vanilla, The Ultimate, Malaysian Cinnamon and Black Forest. However, today fans get to enjoy hazelnut, double chocolate and cappuccino too, with 13 toppings to customise their beverage exactly how they like it, resulting in a menu that boasts a whopping 22 Ice Blended® flavours!
At CB&TL, coffee connoisseurs can have their pick of Arabica beans that range from light and subtle to dark and distinctive that come from the finest sources in the world, while tea lovers get to enjoy fragrant and delicate brews from plantations in Sri Lanka, Kenya, Japan, Thailand and India.
Essentially, the quality ingredients keep customers coming back for more. Its coffee- and tea-based drinks are continuously being reinvented and refined, from the introduction of the Chai Tea Latte in 1998 and Tea Ice Blended® drinks in 2010 to the CB&TL Single Serve System in 2011. More recently, the Sparkling Iced Tea series elevated the tea-drinking experience further while the Cold Brew and Nitro Cold Brew give customers something special to look forward to. Periodically, new, limited edition offerings are developed to celebrate festive seasons and other special occasions.
This year, to mark its 20th Anniversary in Malaysia, CB&TL offers an exclusive Anniversary Tea Blend of rose petals, lemon balm and hand-plucked whole-leaf Assam tea from India, specially created by Director of Tea, David de Candia. For coffee lovers, the dark and distinctive Anniversary Blend Coffee features the robust flavours of beans crafted by Director of Coffee Jay Isais.
For a limited time only, the Anniversary Tea and Anniversary Blend Coffee are available at all CB&TL stores nationwide all year round at RM39 so they can be enjoyed at home. In-store, the Anniversary Tea and Anniversary Blend Coffee are available at RM8.80 and RM8 per cup respectively.
For more information about CB&TL’s latest offerings, and promotions, visit www.facebook.com/CBTLMalaysiaPage