Teavana steps up to the plate -- and it's a clean miss!

[jducoeur]

Okay, time to declare Fail. For the second time in the past week, I've gone to Teavana for some tea, only to find that they don't carry it.

Of course, this isn't obviously a big deal. But we're not talking about cutesy specialty teas. I was looking for Genmaicha one time, and Lapsang Souchong the second -- both pretty routine traditional (if eastern) teas. Worse, both were attempts to refill cans that I had bought from Teavana in the first place: in both cases, they've replaced the classic with cutesy blends.

So be it. I've already started buying my blends from Teaguys instead: the flavors are, in general, better, and it's considerably cheaper. And I'd bet I can get the classics quite cheaply at an Asian market, if I look around. So I think my last reasons to bother walking into Teavana have gone away...

Comments

[pale-chartreuse.livejournal.com]

As I recall, the India markets (pretty much one in every neighborhood) in Burlington were quite good. I wasn't looking for tea, but it would certainly be worth some minor field trips. It was always my best bet for cheap , bulk spices.

[jducoeur]

Oh, sure -- indeed, we've been coming to China Merchandise for many years. (Long before we moved to Burlington.) They certainly carry Genmai, although I don't remember if they have Lapsang. And the new H-Mart *probably* has useful teas, although I haven't looked yet. So I'm not terribly worried about being able to find them.

[keshwyn]

I'm having a similar experience with Republic of Tea.

I have about 4 teas I get from them that I cannot seem to get elsewhere - one of them's an LE that is sold out for the year, less than two months after it went on sale! - but otherwise, I seem to be heading toward Upton Tea for more of my stuff.

(And hey, they're local. Makes shipping times very quick.)

[jducoeur]

Yaas -- the fact that Teaguys are a MA company doesn't hurt in my book...

[alienor.livejournal.com]

I *love* Teavana's fruit herbals. Total love.

But, yeah, for traditional teas, go somewhere else.

I haven't tried TeaGuys, but what they say on their website about how to decaf teas isn't true.

Adagio's traditional stuff (but not their flavors) has a lot of fans on Steepster. The flavored stuff is pretty blah I'm finding.

[jducoeur]

Dunno about that decaf technique -- hadn't noticed it there until you pointed it out. Don't care much, though: I simply calibrate the tea type I choose based on the caffeine level I'm looking for, since they provide a lot of options at each level.

Teaguys are great for flavored: I've found a lot of major wins there from their blends. But I'll note that I'm not a fruit-tea fan, so our tastes may differ -- I'm more into blends with things like vanilla, coconut, and cocoa. (Even coffee, which they have in one or two of their blends.) Strong, rich, dark flavors, which suits my tastes well...

[alienor.livejournal.com]

They do have some that sound good... but I have spent TOO MUCH recently and will have to wait a bit before ordering more (Golden Moon has a sampler for their whole catalog for $20, plus recent orders from Stash, SBS, and Adagio - whoo boy).

I'm finding that Steepster is a good way to keep up with my collection and also find new teas. I'm denisend on there (but you probably won't learn much from reading mine, as you point out, we have different tastes).

Just stay away from the forums.

[vairavi.livejournal.com]

I feel like I've seen Lapsang at the Sherman Market in Union Square or at the Harvest Co-op in Central. If you can't find them anywhere else, I can check.

[jducoeur]

Thanks, but I doubt it'll be an issue. There are enough Asian markets in Burlington that I ought to be able to find it somewhere here...

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

I've never found Teavana to be useful for acquiring tea. If I want room fresheners in scents I don't like, or overpriced teaware, they're high on the list. But then, my tea tastes are pretty simple - if it's not Camelia sinensis, it's not tea. That leaves a huge variety of growing, picking, processing and blending choices for variety, though.

For local pick-up, Tea Zone in Somerville isn't bad. For mail order, I've usually dealt with Adagio or SpecialTeas (I get my Genmai Cha from there). Haven't tried TeaGuys.

[jducoeur]

I've been to Tea Zone a couple of times -- indeed, my favorite teacups are from there. (They were carrying cups with built-in infusers before they became more widely available.)

As I mentioned upthread, TeaGuys' strong point seems to be blends of tea with other flavorings. I like their approach, which is to favor mixing in high quality Real Stuff rather than infused flavorings -- coconut shreds, vanilla beans, cacao beans, etc. They're not really about Pure Tea, but they've earned a permanent place on my shelf as the best morning-coffee replacement I've found so far.

I'll check out Adagio and SpecialTeas -- thanks...

[rickthefightguy.livejournal.com]

Rock. Tea has to have tea in it. Herbal Infusions are...well...just that.