coldfusion strings are already java strings underneath, and you can call the java String class methods on a CF string.

gistfile1.cfm

<cfscript>
// Converts a ColdFusion string in a java byte array
	function createByteArray(string){
		var objString = createObject("Java", "java.lang.String").init(JavaCast("string", string));
	return objString.getBytes();
}
</cfscript>

<cfset variables.myCFString = "Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore" />


<cfdump var="#createByteArray(variables.myCFString)#" />

<!--- cf strings are Java Strings --->
<cfdump var="#variables.myCFString.getBytes()#" />

<!--- you can call all of the Java String class's methods on a cf string --->
<cfdump var="#variables.myCFString.split(" ")#" />