[Hello to whoever from Teavana seems to have found this post...]
This past weekend I ventured into Teavana in the mall. I'd never really gone in before, just tasted their sample teas in the front and once or twice looked quickly at the teapots. This time I decided I wanted to try their loose teas, mostly because I'd scored a pricey ceramic Rishi teacup/tea steeper for a great deal thanks to one of the half-off local coupon sites.
I will tell you this - I was very surprised at the hard sell I was given. The girl who helped me was very sweet, but she was pushy and definitely into the upsell. She talked fast and she kept it up nonstop. First, I asked for one tea (which cost about $5 for 2 ounces) and she immediately said "You'll like this one better" and brought out a tea that cost almost $11. Her reasoning was that the expensive tea was better and SHE liked it better, but I still felt uncomfortable - why offer the less-expensive tea at all if it's supposedly lower quality? But then she tempted me with the offer of 10% off if I bought a pound of tea...and I caved. I caved! I got the expensive tea AND the less-expensive tea and 6 others! AND I got rather talked into buying tea canisters as well, which are definitely useful, nice, and reusable, but I probably didn't need 8 of them either. They were $6 each, but I found slightly smaller ones on the website (not offered to me) for $4.50. They do make my pantry look really nice...
So this post is going to be a review of these teas - and I am going to update it with how many cups I got out of each as well. I am following the directions given - how much tea to use, how long to steep - and I am on occasion reusing the tea for a second cup.
The eight teas I got:
Youthberry - This flavored white tea is pricey but it is honestly delicious. There are giant pieces of fruit and berries in the blend and they smell fresh and enticing. The tea was a light reddish color and both smelled and tasted fruity and sweet. No sugar needed. I would buy this again as a splurge. I'll let you know if makes me look or feel any younger. ETA: This tea is very hard to scoop in such a way to get a balance of fruit and tea. I seem to wind up with a lot of fruit (which is yum) and not enough tea. I know I know, buy the fancy scoop from Teavana, right? Ha. [Now am wondering if I can eat the fruit bits after I steep the tea. Is that weird?]
Current cup count: 6
Tiramisu Treviso - A flavored rooibos tea (as most of the teas I bought were). Not too expensive. DELICIOUS, especially with a splash of milk and sugar in it, but it would be OK on its own as well. Very sweet and yummy.
Current cup count: 4
[Cup count includes the 1.5 tsp I gave to a friend to try - I'll assume she'll make a single cup with it.]
Thai Tea - A flavored black tea that I'd absolutely get again. Almondy, sugary, and wonderful. Milk and sugar turn this into the Thai tea I have had at restaurants for sure - I can't wait to make this iced. Yum.
Current cup count: 4 [and reusing the tea leaves worked very well for a second cup]
White Ayurvedic Chai - The original upsell. This tea is expensive - and it's not very exciting, flavor wise, or at least not as "wow" as I'd hoped. BUT it did make me feel warm and tingly after I drank a cup, and the flavor did seem more pronounced as I went along. Still, I don't know if I'd go for this again.
Current cup count: 2 [tried reusing the tea and got a much weaker brew, but will always try to stretch this one]
Rooibos Peach Bloom - A nice, basic peachy tea. The peach wasn't as pronounced as I'd hoped it would be, but it made a nice cup. [With second cup, I added a bit of sugar - it brought out the peach nicely!]
Current cup count: 2
Haute Chocolate: Alas, my awesome teacup just isn't dealing well with Rooibos teas - I get mouthfuls of the Rooibos. Bleh. So this tea...not chocolatey enough for me, but then I guess that means I prefer hot chocolate, while this is a tea. With some milk and sugar, it's fine, but I probably should stop chasing chocolate teas (this isn't the first I've tried) and start accepting that they're not my thing. [Note: By the end of the first cup I liked it a bit better - getting a mouthful of the tea put me off, but the flavor did wind up being very nice.]
Current cup count: 5
Rooibos Chai (the tea I originally wanted to buy): So now I know - I should have just pushed back, bought 2 ounces of this, and left happy. While I do like everything I've gotten so far, at least somewhat, this really is just what I wanted and is delicious. Once I fix the tea steeping issue (again, mouthful of tea leaves), I think this will become a favorite. Nice sweet cinnamon/cardamom-y flavor. I added some sugar to it and it brought out the rest of the chai taste. Lovely.
Current cup count: 1
Tahitian Limeade: Absolutely lovely as an iced tea - I made it double strength, poured it over ice, and voila. A light, fruity tea. I want to make tons of this this summer.
Current cup count: 1
PS I really want this:
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2 comments:
Ooohh tea! <3 I have spent so much on tea from Adagio. I usually avoid Teavana because I am a sucker for the upsell. I might order online though... :)
I am intrigued by Adagio and may order from them when I'm low on Teavana teas - following them on Twitter scored me a $5 coupon! And I think I may buy the Ingenuitea - the shopkeeper I bought the ceramic mug from talked me out of it for very legit reasons, but I'm finding the rooibos teas get through the holes in the fancy mug and I need a finer mesh.
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