How does The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf compete effectively with Starbucks?

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf competes very effectively with Starbucks. Coffee Bean hand picks and blends their teas and coffees. Further, they hand make each and every item with manual espresso machines and steam wands (Starbuck' machinery does it automatically.) Along with that, Coffee Bean doesn't use nearly as much chemicals as Starbucks. I'm sure we've all heard about some of the chemicals in Starbucks drinks, but after some research this is what I found:  Caramel Color Level IV which is made form Ammonia and is considered a carcinogen. Starbucks also uses Monsanto Milk which comes from cows that are fed GMO corn, soy, and cottonseed or soy milk that contains Carrageenan (linked to inflammation and cancer) Their drinks contain a toxic dose of sugar (a grande pumpkin spice latte has over 50 grams) When researching this information, I also looked up  Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf chemical scandals and the only results were store locations. I think that speaks for itself. However, Google didn't justify my curiosity so I grabbed a package of  Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's Hazelnut Powder that they use in their lattes, and took a look at the ingredients. I looked up some of the ingredients that had long scientific names and found they were nothing but milk proteins and salt. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is better than Starbucks. Who ever disagrees is basing their opinion on the fact that they've never actually been to  Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, or they've never questioned their ingredients.  Therefore, they do not have enough evidence to own a clear and legitimate opinion. If Starbucks is better than coffee bean then Kool-Aid is better than water.

Interesting that answers suggest Coffee Bean is "emulating" Starbucks when CBTL has been around much longer. The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf was founded in 1963, and started serving their Original Ice Blendeds in the late 1980s. Wikipedia states that Starbucks was founded in 1971. Their Frappuccino was introduced in 1995.

I don't believe Coffee Bean has carved a decent slice of the coffeehouse market in comparison to Starbucks. Coffee Bean has tried to emulate the Starbucks design without creating a real unique product that can allow them to enter a niche market. While yes, their tea products are significantly better than anything Starbucks has yet come up with, Starbucks is making strides to counter that (their recent purchase of Teavana). The trend on the west coast of the US especially is dominantly controlled by frappuccinos, where Starbucks earns a lot of their business. This product, compared to Coffee Bean's Ice Blends, has become a novelty item and is, as told by blended beverage customers, much superior in taste and quality than Coffee Bean's product.

I think The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is giving justice to the competition that it has against Starbucks but I think to fully support that statement, it would probably depend on what place does these two companies are more prominent than the other. Although here in the Philippines, when you ask people around, what comes to mind when you say coffee, Starbucks is always first and The Coffee bean & Tea Leaf comes second in mind. Which I think is proof of an  effective competition.