A Nice Surprise

[Mystican]

Just wanted to let everyone know about a nice surprise I got today after work as I was about to catch the bus to go home. I had stopped at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which is a coffee bar chain similar to Starbucks. Fortunately, it seems that a lot of those chains are making soy milk available as an alternative to cow's milk, so I was planning to get a nice hot chocolate with soy milk, and only that. After all, no chance any of the pastries or cookies there could be vegan, right?

Well... I'm trying to decide on what size hot chocolate to get... when my eyes get caught by the word "vegan" on some cookie packages in a basket on the counter. Could it be? Vegan cookies? Yes! It was true. They had Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, and Peanut Butter, and they all said "Vegan Cookie: No Animal Products - No Dairy - No Preservatives - All Natural." I threw thoughts of saving money behind me and got two (they were $2.00 per cookie), and went off towards the bus stop with my soy milk-based hot chocolate and vegan cookies. :D

Now, although they weren't the best cookies I've ever tasted (they were just "pretty good"), and although I still prefer the vegan cookies made by the Sunflour Baking Co., it was a nice surprise to see these clearly-labeled vegan items out in plain view. And cookies of all things, which most mainstream people and establishments consider impossible to make without heavy helpings of butter, milk, and eggs. It really made my afternoon. :)

Has anyone else had a surprise like this, where you've come across "vegan awareness" where you never expected to find it?

Erik

[Erin Pavlina]

I didn' t know that Coffee Bean could make a soy hot chocolate. I have been dying for a good cup of hot chocolate since I went vegan!! I've gotta check that out.

I knew they served vegan cookies. If I'm remembering correctly (this could be an urban legend) one of the owners or founders or something is vegan and was adamant about making vegan pastries available at his store. But unfortunately for me, my closest Coffee Bean stopped selling the vegan cookies. :(

I hope I can find another one that is still serving them!

[blas]

i never heard of the Coffee Bean but thats really cool!!

vegan may spread around the town
yes yes yes

[alexis]

coffee bean sells vegan stuff??? YAHOO!!!!!!!! :D i'm gonna go check it out his very weekend...sadly though....the prices are a little high for me...*sigh*

[Teejay]

Has anyone else had a surprise like this, where you've come across "vegan awareness" where you never expected to find it?

Yes -- in our little local student café -- we are in a small rural college town -- where, once a week, they have vegan cakes on offer (mostly banana loaf, but still :) ). I was so surprised to find that when we moved here.

Glad you had such a nice surprise. The cookies sound good.

[Mystican]

(I meant to post another message to this thread sooner, but have been a bit busy IRL.)

Erin, I'm not sure in what part of Los Angeles you live, but I've been to several Coffee Bean locations since I first started this thread, and all of them have had the vegan cookies. The one I referred to in the original post, the day of that "nice surprise," is the one just next to the food court at the AMC 16 theatre entrance at the Westfield Promenade in Woodland Hills, at the corner of Topanga Canyon Blvd. and Oxnard. A couple of the others that I've been to that had the cookies are the Coffee Bean next to the Jerry's Famous Deli in Woodland Hills, on Ventura Blvd. and Topanga Canyon; and the location at the Encino Place, on Ventura Blvd. just a few blocks south of Hayvenhurst, if I recall correctly. If I remember any other cookie-stocked locations that I've been to recently, I'll post their addresses here.

Btw, Starbucks also offers soymilk substitute for their drinks. I've had many a "venti no-whip hot chocolate with soymilk" there...probably more than I should. :)

Erik

[duckie1978]

I make vegan hot chocolate all the time. there is a recipe on any container of powdered cocoa. just heat up a cup of soy milk with a bit of vanilla, 2 tbsp sugar (sweetener) and 1 tbsp cocoa powder and viola! hot cocoa! Mix up the dry ingredients first and add the milk to it slowly. Make a paste first and then add the rest of the milk or it takes forever to mix. I also take a bit of heated soy milk and shake it up in a glass jar to make "foam" for the cocoa (and for capuccinos) There are even a bulk recipe on the containers for more than one cup, but I am the only one here who likes hot cocoa (can you believe that??)