New direction for Teavana?
Starbucks is really trying to go some kind of cafe route and trying a lot of options. Some of them serve beer and wine and have tapas style small plates after 5. Then there’s some new stuff with La Boulange that’s getting into sandwiches and salads like this. And the sandwiches most Starbucks already have are $6. This seems to me like it fits right in just with tea instead.
I’ll be interested if they open one sooner or later down my way since we’ve got the first district to sell Teavana in Starbucks stores.
I’m curious, but woah, those prices are outrageous. $15 for a salad that wasn’t made by a chef? No way. I agree with Cavocorax. I hope this new venture improves their customer service.
Yes, but the salad uses fancy imported organic lettuce. And maybe they try to up-sell you sides. (If you buy two salads, you should get several free ounces of tea.)
Hmmm… From the pictures, I would have to disagree with the idea that this new venture is “very different from the current retail-oriented shops” (which I realize was just your way of describing what they claimed it would be, Dr Jim). I look at them, and all I SEE is retail. The very large, sweeping bar that is clearly the focal point, saying “Come, make purchases.” The tables piled high with merchandise, alluring and shiny. And the “comfy” chairs and tables where people can “linger”—shoved in the back, crammed together, and honestly, not that inviting. There’s a LOT more standing room than sitting room, which, to me, says they want to sell you something and then see the back of you. It looks like every Starbucks into which I’ve ever been, except for the samples and the Teavana logos everywhere. Different? Ha.
For those of you that are curious, my blog post about their preview event was published today:
http://www.teaformeplease.com/2013/10/tea-places-teavana-fine-teas-tea-bar.html
The tables aren’t really piled high with merchandise. The selection is limited and comprises a very small portion of the store. The space is actually a lot more inviting than pictures might convey. The portion size for the $15 salad is gigantic. I would get several meals out of it.
Okay, I am a skeptic but if I were the type to visit NYC I would make a point of going there for a cuppa. Very nice photos – looks like tea heaven!
Good review. Makes me anxious to give it a try, but I think I’ll wait until they open a Boston location.
Very nice! I’m glad to hear that the real-life experience is a bit different than what I got from the article Dr Jim posted. THOSE were the pictures they should have posted! It looks like it was a good bit bigger than I’d have thought, which is good if they intend to make people feel free to stick around for a while. :)
Wow it looks awesome!
Prices aren’t bad at all. I work at a Starbucks that sells Teavana and a 16 oz tea is $2.62 with tax, made from sachets. A dollar more in NYC brewed in a much nicer method sounds about right.
Now I’m curious about carbonating some of them…silver needle though. That’s interesting.
I would love to be there and drink it all in.
Hopefully, they will bring one to Indiana soon!
Sigh, just what the world needs now, $9,000 – $15,000 automated, high tech, Reverse Atmospheric Infusion, high speed brewers for making tea cambrics at the speed of a carmel pumpkin spice soy latte.
Looks like a mutant cyborg lava lamp robot designed by the evil Lipton Tea Logo man, the villan in a future X Men movie who plans to destroy every Yixing and tetsubin tea pot in the world to subvert the Chinese economy. Even the name Reverse Atmospheric Infusion process sounds scary.
I wonder how soon they will be selling mini home RAI tea barista models at $750 each in Teavana tea bars?
It’s really not much different than me using my Breville at home. That’s a machine too :P
Excuse my ignorance but how do tea making machines work. Am I stuck in the dark ages with a kettle and teapot?
I never called you ignorant and I’m sorry if it came across that way. I was just trying to turn around the negative turn of the convo. Snobbishness comes in many forms :)
My apologies it wasnt aimed at you – no offence meant
So what exactly is a tea making machine? How does it work
I’m sorry for misunderstanding. The machine heats the water to the correct temperature, adds it to the leaves and then strains it when the steep time is completed.
The one Teavana uses is quite a sophisticated computer. They have 40 individual teas programmed into it and will eventually have their whole line calibrated.
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