tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post101445840590574350..comments2024-02-15T05:45:04.193-06:00Comments on Cwyn's Death By Tea: Teavana, Just what the Doctor Didn't OrderCwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17990034926886208526noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post-76760974239203376812014-11-06T11:05:32.317-06:002014-11-06T11:05:32.317-06:00Agreed, and I have no problem with flavored teas e...Agreed, and I have no problem with flavored teas except when ingredients aren't disclosed. Here I was told I was getting a Yunnan puerh leaf but something was added to the tea, either flavoring or a black tea as another reader suggested. Earlier this year I bought a puerh tuo from another company that had rodiola herb added and I had a heart reaction. And I love high quality leaf teas in many forms! Always up for a good cuppa. But brewing is another matter, I can tell a dirty leaf when I see one and the lack of a rinse bothers me. Even a high quality leaf can need a rinse. We also don't know what pesticides might be on a tea, and most regular tea drinkers know what pesticides feel like in the mouth. Overall, I want to like any and all tea shops, the more good sources for my addiction, the better...or worse, depending on the point of view of my wallet. Cheers!Cwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17990034926886208526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post-45714055203307187112014-11-06T00:55:42.897-06:002014-11-06T00:55:42.897-06:00I think its possible to have hybrid stores like mi...I think its possible to have hybrid stores like mine that cater to both the flavored tea lovers and higher quality pure leaf teas. Personally speaking if it wasn't for the flavored teas I wouldn't be able to pay my rent, as there is only 10,000 people in my town. However, I have slowly introduced customers to higher grades. People have to start somewhere. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11801234128348743930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post-335283308130297052014-11-01T23:47:08.112-05:002014-11-01T23:47:08.112-05:00Some of the portable tea thermoses might be worth ...Some of the portable tea thermoses might be worth a look for people who want to bring brewed tea with them. Unfortunately, gong fu tea sets aren't very practical in the car.Cwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17990034926886208526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post-48539824718732380982014-11-01T23:44:51.201-05:002014-11-01T23:44:51.201-05:00I suppose both companies put the idea of better co...I suppose both companies put the idea of better coffee or tea into the mainstream than Folgers or Lipton. But I think the Internet had more of an effect in the end for drinking high end tea especially, whereas the coffee shop scene out west had more to do with improving coffee. As you noted, even bigger cities don't really have much a tea scene even now, it is all online for the most part.Cwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17990034926886208526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post-50891529559104503462014-11-01T20:19:48.830-05:002014-11-01T20:19:48.830-05:00Thank you for telling us about your experience the...Thank you for telling us about your experience there; I'm not surprised at it, though, having visited a number of Teavana stores in my own town. I don't even bother going in there anymore (unless they have their tea for 75% off after Christmas, and even then I'm not certain their tea is worth it). SimpliciTEAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06082949070598666896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post-21390507414834315722014-11-01T15:19:58.606-05:002014-11-01T15:19:58.606-05:00Terrible sweetened/artificial flavors and glazed t...Terrible sweetened/artificial flavors and glazed tetsubin-pushing aside, the worst part about Teavana and similar type stores is that you're paying like 10 times more than you should for tea that's 10 (or many more) times crappier than tea you can buy if you find a decent retailer (esp an Asia-based one). To use the coffee analogy, it's like if Starbucks was successfully selling Folgers for $50 a pound. And what's more, the employees of said Starbucks genuinely believed the coffee was special and had all sorts of miraculous health benefits and, like, deep cultural significance among the mystical Colombian mountain peoples who grew it. It's really a shame, and it's possible because (good) tea is such a new and foreign concept to most Americans. Along the same lines, I don't think there necessarily could be a successful retail store market for the type of tea we Internet puer nerds geek out about. I live in Portland which is kind of the promised land for people who geek out about non-mainstream foods and beverages, but even a place like The Tao of Tea seems kind of niche and out-there for this market. I would love to be able to go hang out and taste at a Chinese-style puer or oolong-oriented teashop in the US, but realistically I think I'd have to open it myself, and I'd probably do most business online...<br />That said, I can't say that Teavana didn't act as a kind of gateway to the tea nerd I've become, but thank goodness I had the Internet to whisk me quickly away from their shit-tastic and expensive mall-aroma-infused sencha for good.Ian Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06524043049575023153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post-54380115979523752102014-10-31T15:13:34.133-05:002014-10-31T15:13:34.133-05:00Staff will do their best but there is no substitut...Staff will do their best but there is no substitute for tea shops run by enthusiastic and knowledgable individuals. Sadly they are few and far between, but there are some notable exceptions. They are generally small independent retailers who deserve our support. I love Bristol (UK) where chains like Starbucks are struggling in the face of independent retailers and good tea is being promoted by the likes of Canton TeaAdphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07107686680929928600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post-23924635397700781492014-10-31T12:20:42.736-05:002014-10-31T12:20:42.736-05:00The Starbucks sale is somewhat recent, I think it ...The Starbucks sale is somewhat recent, I think it pre-dates one of the main complaints by tea drinkers which is the high pressure sales pitch. I didn't experience that. The staff are not paid a living wage here in the US for this type of work, and the jobs are often taken by students trying to get through school. The gal that helped me with my camera was of student age. As a lover of tea, I am not happy necessarily to criticize the tea quality, I want the tea to be better than it is...:(Cwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17990034926886208526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post-27359131160243774732014-10-31T03:11:33.291-05:002014-10-31T03:11:33.291-05:00Teavana is owned by Starbucks, which perhaps expla...Teavana is owned by Starbucks, which perhaps explains the negative experiences. Mercifully we are saved from such things (so far) here in the UK. Adphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07107686680929928600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post-43195398704284900522014-10-31T01:51:29.848-05:002014-10-31T01:51:29.848-05:00Oh dear...they might have a decent tea or two but ...Oh dear...they might have a decent tea or two but I had so little time to actually look. Did feel a bit odd looking at the strange brewing devices, realizing I would have no idea at all about how to even use them. Felt a bit primitive. After I wrote this post though I wondered if that rubber band-aid flavor came from the plastic in the brewer, maybe something emitted from the heat of the water.Cwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17990034926886208526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4373256628108442713.post-46168292892708688602014-10-30T23:57:01.141-05:002014-10-30T23:57:01.141-05:00I feel your pain! I sometimes torture myself by wa...I feel your pain! I sometimes torture myself by walking into a Teavana and almost always regret it. On my last visit, they were showing a customer the Dragonwell and Sencha. When she asked what the difference was, he told her that the Dragonwell is from the top of the bush and sencha is from the bottom of the same bush. There was no mention at all that they aren't even produced in the same country. I had an aneurysm and walked out Nicole Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09107281031571780772noreply@blogger.com