THE COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF® PROMOTION RAISES $56,215 FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Los Angeles Non-Profit The Help Group Benefits from Retailer’s Holiday Fundraising Campaign

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – February 26, 2003 – As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to support organizations benefiting children, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Los Angeles based specialty coffee and tea retailer, donated $56,215 to The Help Group on January 31. Representatives of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf presented the donation to Dr. Barbara Firestone, president and chief executive officer of The Help Group, one of the largest non-profits of its kind serving young people with special needs related to autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, learning disabilities, emotional development, mental retardation, abuse and neglect.

The fundraising initiative began when The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf commissioned the children from The Help Group to design and illustrate exclusive holiday themed artwork for their holiday 2002 retail merchandise campaign. The artwork was then featured on many holiday retail items, including gift boxes, gift tins, ceramic mugs, gift cards and more. A portion of the proceeds from gift box sales was a part of the donation to The Help Group.

The remaining portion of the donation came from customer donations collected through The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Holiday 2002 Deck the Walls program, which raised $31,215. From mid-November through December 2002, specially printed holiday cards featuring images from

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf holiday retail items -- drawings by children from The Help Group -- were available to customers for a $1 donation. Customers signed the cards, then “Decked the Walls” of the stores with their cards. Of all the 105 participating The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stores, the Santa Ana store secured the largest number of donations.

“Our employees’ hard work over the holidays coupled with our customers’ support enabled us to meet our goal of contributing this sizable donation to The Help Group,” said Tami Clark, Senior Director of Marketing & Strategic Alliances. “Contributing back to our community is an important part of our Guiding Principles at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. We were thrilled with the artwork created by the children of The Help Group and are happy to be able to support The Help Group as they continue their terrific work for children with special needs.”

The festively designed gifts, also part of the holiday fundraising program offered a wide assortment of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf traditional coffee, full leaf tea, and proprietary powders. The gifts were available worldwide, online at www.coffeebean.com, via 1-800-TEA-LEAF, and domestically at more than 100 of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf locations in California, Arizona and Nevada.

About The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Founded in 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is the oldest and largest privately held chain of specialty coffee and tea stores in the United States. With a reputation for excellence, the company is a leader in product innovations, having developed the Original Ice Blended®. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf serves more than 30 million coffee and tea beverages annually worldwide. Providing the highest quality coffees and teas for nearly forty years, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf currently has more than 200 stores in California, Arizona, Nevada, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Brunei, Indonesia, UAE, Israel, Australia, and China and continues to expand both domestically and internationally. For more information visit www.coffeebean.com

About The Help Group
Since 1975, The Help Group has been dedicated to serving young people with a wide range of special needs related to autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, learning disabilities, emotional development, mental retardation, abuse and neglect. One of the largest and most comprehensive non-profit organizations in the United States, The Help Group has served more than 5,000 children and families this year alone on its four campuses.
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