I stopped by Teavana in the mall today on my way to GameStop to buy another Sims 3 expansion. Finally, they’re releasing Pets!!! I can’t wait! And it’s going to have horses!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!
But anyway, I need to concentrate my excitement on tea now. I tried a handful of different samples they had out, most of them iced. As usual, I found them either too sweet, too watered down, or just otherwise not very enjoyable. But then they gave me a sample of this.
Finally, a great tea from Teavana that tastes like real tea should! This actually tasted really familiar. Before I could draw the connection, I almost walked out with a couple ounces of this. But something told me to hold off. Boy, am I glad I did!
This is a Ti Kuan Yin tea. A few days ago, I tried Life in Teacup’s Tie Guan Yin. They are quite similar indeed but have substantial differences.
The biggest difference is the price. Teavana’s is a whopping $12.50 per ounce, while Life in Teacup’s version is only $2.70 per ounce! That’s right, an incredible $10 per ounce difference!!! I couldn’t believe it myself and double checked the prices several times. How is this even possible?
But even when I compare taste, it’s a bit of a surprise. Honestly, Life in Teacup’s tastes better to me. It has more complexity, a more buttery mouthfeel, and an overall richer taste. I’ve only had the Moneky-Picked Oolong in the store so I couldn’t compare this, but Life in Teacup’s held up to multiple infusions better than any other tea I’ve had. This is a no-brainer.
Plus, I feel good supporting a smaller company like Life in Teacup. They state on their site that they don’t have money to spend on tons of marketing and advertisements. They let the tea sell itself and entice new customers with three free samples per online order!
Does Monkey-Picked Oolong taste good? Sure. Is it worth the money? Pretty much. But is there a cheaper, tastier alternative? Yep!
So, here’s the big question: which would you rather drink?
