“Danielle, if you eat this the zipper on your skirt is going to burst.”

That was me talking to myself one afternoon as I sat at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (TCBTL) in Downtown LA. I was meeting a few ladies and made plans to devour an ice blended. I had no problem devouring a drink after previously having a light lunch, but my skirt was already struggling to keep its two sides of fabric together. To add a caloric dinosaur to the mix would be fatal. If my skirt broke, I should be fine because I had a safety pin in my purse. Or was it a bobby pin? Oh crap, it’s probably a bobby pin. No idea how I’m going to keep it all together, literally, but it was too late to turn back.

If you remember, I went to TCBTL a couple of times: one to try out their Mexican Hot Chocolate and another time to try out their Thai Iced Tea; both were great drinks! This time I was trying out a different drink. Starting back on May 18 and running until August 30, the Coffee Bean is letting you “Find Your Chill”. It’s a drink initiative where you can create your ice blended any way you choose–and if you don’t already know it, they’ll help you find it. Instead of going my usual route, I scanned the menu and went for something close to home: a medium Cookies and Cream Ice Blended ($5.19). When they shouted, “Danielle” for me to pick it up, it was eager to find out if this would become a new drink to add to my ice blended rolodex. The drink is unbelievably sweet. If you’re not a fan of sugar, milk, cookies, and or cream you may want to switch to a different review. If you are, then this drink is what you’ve been waiting for. It’s creamy, packed with bits of Oreo cookies, and the perfect combination of all things fattening. While some of their other drinks tend on the smoother side, the addition of the cookie pieces give it a fun texture. At the same time, it makes it feel more like a meal because it’s so dense. I’m not a nutritionist, nor do I now the basics about nutrition but don’t use this as a meal replacement unless you really like it and don’t care for anything else. That’s what I do at least.

Luckily, my skirt didn’t break in half after finishing the ice blended. But I was feeling happy and full. You know the feeling when food sends endorphins through your body and you just want to lay in bed watching Bob’s Burgers. Yeah, that would be nice. I think I should call out sick. Or I could be honest and call out fat.

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Images and tasting featured here: Pasadena (415 S Lake Ave #108, Pasadena, CA 91101) and Downtown LA (645 W 9th St #108 Los Angeles, CA 90015)
Phone: Pasadena – (626) 744-9370 and Downtown LA – (213) 627-3816
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