My experience at Teavana.

[Chip]

It is interesting that no other vendor receives such scathing reviews by so many members, don't you think?

This is a forum after all, it is opinions based upon experiences of any member of the forum. Had the comments been all positive, would that have also bothered you since this too would have been leading others to conclusions?

[flyoness]

Ok you have thrown down an interesting challenge.. & I bet you can't handle it became this whole forum started based on disgruntled biased opinions....
Teavana cannot be touched in vendor quality of loose tea.

There I said something positive about a tea company. I challenge all of you cry babies to say something positive about any other tea company.

[Pentox]

Lupicia

Rishi

Ippodo

Ippodo Again

Den's

Here's a few to start you out. And that's just a few I grabbed really quickly. Most of which also have both sides represented.

Now can you show anything to back your quality statement for Teavana? What other companies have you tried?

[auggy]

Teavana cannot be touched in vendor quality of loose tea.

Wow. That's just... wow.

I'm not anti-Teavana. I don't go to the stores because of the pushy sales people but there are one or two flavored teas that I love and can't find elsewhere (and there are a few that I love and can find almost the same elsewhere for cheaper so I don't get those at Teavana).

But to say they can't be touched in vendor quality? Maybe not by another other loose leaf tea chain store with a physical storefront (though does Lupicia fall under that category? because they are good)... but to say that unqualified... that's just showing your lack of knowledge of the loose leaf marketplace.

And to say something good about another tea vendor? I've had just as good if not better experience with Adagio, Lupicia, SpecialTeas, and Den's (to name a few) as I have with Teavana... the only "bad" experience I've had so far is TeaCuppa's HORRIBLE shipping times - but honestly, their tea was so awesome I will be ordering from them again.

[scruffmcgruff]

[Pentox]

But to say they can't be touched in vendor quality? Maybe not by another other loose leaf tea chain store with a physical storefront (though does Lupicia fall under that category? because they are good)... but to say that unqualified... that's just showing your lack of knowledge of the loose leaf marketplace.

Yeah, Lupicia would fall in that category.

[Chip]

Interesting, as a pretty fair judge I would like to think and someone who has likely read more posts than anyone, I can safely say that a vast number of vendors are discussed openly on TeaChat.

I would say that the vast majority of comments about virtually all vendors are positive.

One most notable exception is Teavana which receives an overwhelming majority and an abundance of negative comments.

This is just a matter of fact ...

Why do you think this is, is it a conspiracy theory, are we all out to get Teavana? No, we are simply pretty good judges of vendors of quality loose leaf tea.

However, you are entitled to your opinion, though I doubt your objectivity in this matter and thus are likely an unreliable source of endorcement.

[Proinsias]

I'm on the other side of the pond, I've never been to Teavana.

My expectation is not high should I ever end up there. This is based upon comments from posters here and elsewhere on the net over the years whose opinions and palates I have some degree of faith in. I've not come across many, any?, rave reviews regarding Teavana from sources I would trust.

I found this review of Teavana from Marshaln quite insightful and I respect his opinion more than any of the pro or anti Teavana posters in this thread with a handful of, mainly Teavana based, posts under their belt.

My experience is that much of this forum is people saying positive things about teas and teaware from other vendors. Much of the time when a vendor is put down a few seasoned members will sing their praises, this is not the case with Teavana. Subjective and biased? of course. I get by with a little help from my friends.

What is your benchmark for the claims of untouchable quality?

For Chinese green I love Jing Tea Shop & TeaSpring

For Japanese greens I love O-cha and Ippodo

For oolong I love Teamasters and Hou De Asian Art

For Indian tea I love Lochan Tea

For pu-erh I love Nadacha

Can Teavana compare to these sources? Which vendors is it you find cannot touch Teavana?

On the plus side, after looking over the website for the first time in a while, I would say that some of the tetsubins look rather nice. Although I was under the impression that unlined tetsubins were not made for brewing tea in, so I would probably pass on a vendor selling something at $700 who doesn't appear to know what they are talking about.

[Geekgirl]

Teavana cannot be touched in vendor quality of loose tea.

My response, a quote:

Why do you folks insist on telling people they are going to have the same experiences you had or are having working at teavana?

It is not MY experience that the tea I have purchased at Teavana has been equal to the quality of tea that I have purchased from other vendors. It is not MY experience that the service I have received at Teavana has been equal to the service received from other vendors. It is not MY experience that the price I've received at Teavana compares favorably to the price I've received at other vendors.

It IS my experience that the tea I've purchased at Teavana is consistently of inferior quality, at higher prices. It IS my experience that the service I've received at Teavana stores has included inaccurate or false information, and aggressive selling tactics.

I started my loose tea experience at Teavana. They're in the mall, so access is easy. I also have a teapot from them, that I really like (anniversary present) although we later found the exact same teapot by the same company at another local store retailing (not on clearance or sale) for $40 less. (Hubby was irritated.)

As soon as I was able to learn a little bit about tea, I realized that MY EXPERIENCE is that Teavana is NOT where I prefer to spend my money, and my tea experience was more enjoyable to me, in terms of quality, price and availability, if I looked elsewhere.

As a side note, I love how Teavana says regarding the unlined iron pots that brewing tea in them (!!!) will prevent them from rusting due to a buildup of tea residue. Ah-hahahaha!!!

[flyoness]

While I do appreciate the insight as to some companies I have never tried & can compare I find it just proves my point that you guys can't go a single post without bashing a company that's on equal footing with all the others mentioned. Why my credibility is any less vaulable than yours again leads me to believe most people on this forom are not fans of teavana because its a word of mouth thing & not based on actual exprience with the product. A review that blasts a tea because the free sample had too much sugar doesn't sound like they really took the time to test the quality of the tea. This from has shown me the worst of what human nature resorts to when they in some way feel inferior to something they are passionate about. I don't trust a word of what your claims to actually giving teavana a chance. You can keep making your claims of how many people you have heard say this & that but the reality is that there are a whole lot more people who feel the complete opposite. I'm one of them & I am going to say my piece & just leave it at that. The more you try to proove me wrong actually if you read what I hav been saying all along actually prooves me right.

[Chip]

[spot52]

While I do appreciate the insight as to some companies I have never tried & can compare I find it just proves my point that you guys can't go a single post without bashing a company that's on equal footing with all the others mentioned. Why my credibility is any less vaulable than yours again leads me to believe most people on this forom are not fans of teavana because its a word of mouth thing & not based on actual exprience with the product. A review that blasts a tea because the free sample had too much sugar doesn't sound like they really took the time to test the quality of the tea. This from has shown me the worst of what human nature resorts to when they in some way feel inferior to something they are passionate about. I don't trust a word of what your claims to actually giving teavana a chance. You can keep making your claims of how many people you have heard say this & that but the reality is that there are a whole lot more people who feel the complete opposite. I'm one of them & I am going to say my piece & just leave it at that. The more you try to proove me wrong actually if you read what I hav been saying all along actually prooves me right.

I love the propaganda and outright false claims. Tevanna could never touch Den's quality green teas.

And if I wanted Teavanna products, I would buy them at specialteas for a lower cost.

Teavanna tries to sell avg used cars as brand new luxury imports.

You must really like to argue sister, here is a gold star!

[Proinsias]

The worst of what human nature resorts to? A tea forum not liking a tea vendor doesn't rank too high for me.

I am going to say my piece & just leave it at that. The more you try to proove me wrong actually if you read what I hav been saying all along actually prooves me right.

You should stick around. If we can get another ten pages moaning about Teavana on the largest tea forum on the net the proof of their greatness will surely be undeniable.

[kymidwife]

Teavana was a great gateway for me into the world of loose leaf tea. I thought they were great until I actually explored other vendors... and when I got away from the full-court press sales pitch and was able to compare flavor and price with other vendors, I moved on to what I consider to be much better vendors, and I never looked back.

Bottom line is... it's no one's job here to tell others where they should buy tea or what they should drink. All any of us can do is make recommendations based on our own experiences... the good and the bad.

Buy what you like, where you like, and drink it up... share your experience, and suck it up if others disagree or had a contrasting experience. There's no arguing what you like (some people prefer Nes-Tea instant ) or what you're willing to pay for it, so knock yourself out... but those who feel differently have every right to express their own opinions too.

Sarah