I would say Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is better for espresso drinks and fresh brewed tea. In my experience, their baristas seem to be a bit more skilled and their lines are usually shorter. I also happen to like their selection of tea better.

I would also say that neither of them usually have truly good espresso, as most of the time their beans were roasted so long ago as to have become stale, which results in more bitterness and less caffeine in the cup.

If we are talking about a Starbucks with a Cloverleaf single serving brewing system for coffee, I would prefer the Starbucks. Those machines make great coffee and since they only brew a single serving, you can pick any bean you want. The single serving system also means that you know the cup is fresh and hasn't been sitting in a carafe getting stale for 20 minutes.

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