DavidsTea vs Teavana

104 Replies
TeaLady441 said

Thanks for all the feedback. Now I guess I’ll wait and see what Starbucks’ acquisition of Teavana means. :)

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Reading these, I’m sorry there is no David’s Tea near me. Maybe now that Starbucks bought Teavana, since they already have umpteen locations nearby, they’ll vacate that spot in the Mall and David’s can take it over.

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Sare said

Ide take Davids over Teavana any day!

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Lynxiebrat said

:( The closest DT is like 3-4 hours away from me, too broke to drive there, and since I have had trouble ordering online, (Long story.) that’s out as well. Unless I can get someone in my family to get me a DT gift box or be willing to pay for it online and I’ll pay them back….trying their teas will have to wait.
Teavana’s: All my experiences with Teavana’s has been good. (Though the last time I was in there I overspent, though that was my fault, not theirs.) I am not interested in buying any of the tea wares, because I already guessed the quality wouldn’t be good, though if I win the lottery or something then I might buy some stuff for the hell of it. I like quite a few of their blends, though while I was reading about the Starbucks acquiring Teavana’s, I thought that if Teavana’s ends up going under or for whatever reason I decide to stop shopping with them….I don’t think I would miss them a bunch. But am going to continue shopping with them because they are convenient.

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Dustin said

I have been shopping at Teavanna for a few years now and only made my first order with David’s recently. I have been liking Teavanna less and less for a number of reasons that have been mentioned and one that I didn’t see yet… they discontinue teas regularly and it’s heartbreaking. Three of my favorites are now gone and I’m waiting for them to yank my last favorite out from under me. After the last one is gone, I really don’t have any motivation to continue shopping there and will explore other companies.

Uniquity said

Davids regularly discontinues teas as well which I find quite traumatic BUT they’ve started making all of the discontinued ones available as online exclusives which is something. : )

Dustin said

You know, I would take it! Once I know I like a tea I’d be fine with buying online and in larger quantity. I don’t like to buy new teas online because I have no idea what I’m spending my money on or if I’ll end up liking it.

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Lynxiebrat said

Alot of stores tend to do that, Bath and Body Works does. Sometimes it drives my buggy but I try to take it in stride and try out other teas.

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nanaboo said

I have had limited experience with Teavana.. but I’ve been offered samples a few times and HATE that they sweeten their tea samples. I’ve never really gotten over that enough to go in and try one their teas.

I am a DAVIDs girl.. I like their selection and their innovation. I have found some of the staff in one of the Vancouver locations acting very fake, yelling “holla” or “hello gorgeous” when people come into the store. Despite that, I’ve continued to visit and my tea stash from them has grown.

I was reading this thread and 2 teavana-esque moments came up when I visited DAVIDs yesterday. I had a very friendly trainee attend to me yesterday.. but:
(1) She overpoured my tea. While she did ask if it was ok… I couldn’t shake the similarity of the Teavana overpour strategy.
(2) When checking out my single bag of tea, she asked if I was going to have a hot tea to go. Upselling? Maybe.. maybe not…

Here’s the thing. I have had good experiences at DAVIDs tea and will continue to shop there. I’m willing to overlook this experience as a “one time experience”. If they however, are starting to turn to the “sneaky” Teavana strategies, then I will start to order online.

Please DAVIDs… keep doing what you’re doing!

Claire said

I did have the clerk as me if I wanted a drink to go at my recent David’s trip, as well as showing me about a million teas I wasn’t interested in. I also wondered at first if they were adopting more aggressive sales tactics, but ended up chalking it up to an excited/friendly employee.

Raritea said

I hear you with the overpouring… A few weeks back I ended up with a bag that was 16 grams over what I had asked for. By the time I had realized it, I had already paid. The sales associate offered to pour some out and adjust the price but I just didn’t feel it was worth the effort at that point and just left. I would agree with everyone here and say that my experiences with David’s Tea are overwhelmingly positive! I find it helps if you are very clear with the sales associate before they start scooping out the tea. There is one fellow at my local location who knows me and is extra careful when scooping out my tea (I get a lot of 12 gram samples an extra few grams here and there can add up); he is wonderful! I hope that his attention to detail catches on with the rest of the staff!

OMGsrsly said

Recently at David’s I wanted to try a tea, so decided to get a cup to go. The sales person just gave it to me. I was so shocked! I didn’t end up buying any of it, but it’s on my list as a possibility.

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If I really wanted tea fast then DT even by mail gets to me faster than any other online tea person just because they are Canadian and I’m in Canada so there’s less hassle :D However I do know some teas will give my mom a headache and I can’t have any DT in the house (except pumpkin chai) or it’s migraines for her. I have had some other teas from other places that have the same effect. Which is why I keep my shopping to the vendors I know won’t cause her any issues :D She can’t be anywhere near a DT store either. Poor Mom….

Lynxiebrat said

I think that would drive me insane!

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Jules1 select said

I recently started going to DavidsTea in San Francisco and I’m pretty impressed. While Lupicia is still my go-to place for flavored black teas, DT has some interesting blends – I like the red velvet cake and toasted marshmallow ones in particular. Staff were nice and not pushy. They were fine with me only buying one ounce.

Teavana always seemed too gimmicky for me, plus the horror stories put me right off them.

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Katiek said

Right now my “cabinet” consists of piles on my counters, stuff piled on a shelf and next to the shelf, and a big mess in the dining room. No way I’m taking pictures of that mess!

But I recently ordered a cabinet for the kitchen – rustic and still relatively small, but I’m excited for it. Maybe it will help me organize the big piles of mess! I’ll post pics once it’s up and loaded. :)

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