Teavana vs. Adagio?

[entropyembrace]

I've never ordered from Adagio, though I plan to after the holidays. I like the prices better for sure, and people (here, at least) assure me that the quality is better. My boyfriend ordered the ThinkGeek sampler ("Tea, Earl Grey, hot", anyone?), and I'm very pleased with it. I'll give them a shot. I do like the fact that, unlike Teavana, you can order a sample.

I do enjoy some of Teavana's teas (the chai blend (and the white chai), Eastern Beauty, the black pearls and the straight Assam). However, apart from the chai blend and the Eastern Beauty*, I can find all** of them at SpecialTeas (or elsewhere) for much better prices. I don't care much for SuperSpecialAwesome Fruit Blend or whatever.
I will say that I like Teavana's selection of teaware better. I don't see the need for a cast iron teapot or whatever at this point, but I like the washi tins and some of their cups.
What I don't like are the pushy sales tactics--though it seems like the experience varies from store to store--and the high prices.
(I can justify perhaps buying all the teas but the Assam because I can get multiple brews out of them.) I can't really speak to the quality of the tea because I don't have enough experience.


*I'm sure one exists that I'll like, but I haven't found it yet.
**I haven't tried Adagio's pearls yet. I'll order a sample and see.

Don´t get the cast iron teapot no matter how much they push it on you, they suck

Also any loose leaf tea you should be able to get multiple steeps out of unless it´s trashy supermarket teabag grade stuff.

got around 20 steeps from a nice puerh from Essence of Tea on the weekend

[Theo Sinensis]

I go to Teavana to look at teapots, then get the same things elsewhere online for much less. I almost never buy from them, and in fact I'm very direct (but polite) with them about their products and their prices.

I'm glad they exist to promote greater public awareness of tea, but I've always put an emphasis on learning about the natural tastes and nuances of tea; they're selling high-priced tisanes and tisane blends to the masses. I don't mean to sound like a snob, but my interest is learning to appreciate the many different varieties of tea. That takes time, and I'm still learning to find the right darjeeling.

Also, if I'm trying to understand the flavour of silver needle, I don't want it blended with some kind of overpowering blueberry scent. OK, it tastes nice, but that's not what I'm trying to do.

[iannon]

I go to Teavana to look at teapots, then get the same things elsewhere online for much less. I almost never buy from them, and in fact I'm very direct (but polite) with them about their products and their prices.

I'm glad they exist to promote greater public awareness of tea, but I've always put an emphasis on learning about the natural tastes and nuances of tea; they're selling high-priced tisanes and tisane blends to the masses. I don't mean to sound like a snob, but my interest is learning to appreciate the many different varieties of tea. That takes time, and I'm still learning to find the right darjeeling.

Also, if I'm trying to understand the flavour of silver needle, I don't want it blended with some kind of overpowering blueberry scent. OK, it tastes nice, but that's not what I'm trying to do.

+100! completely agree on the tisanes vs "regular" Tea..I mean they have what..3 real oolongs.. Monkey picked, EB and the phoenix? ok 4 if you really want to count the jasmine blend?

[brad4419]

Adagio

Teachat, enough said.

[AlexZorach]

I think comparing Teavana to Adagio is like comparing apples to oranges. Personally, though, I'd strongly prefer Adagio. Teavana has a much bigger presence in its retail stores, and it also excels in its fruit blends. But for me, the killer is price: Teavana is pricey. Adagio seems much more reasonably priced, by comparison. Also, Adagio sells small sample sizes, whereas Teavana requires you to purchase in minimum of 2 ounce units, which are quite pricey.

I voted for "Other" though because honestly, my tea company of choice among the more mainstream online retailers is Upton Tea Imports. I prefer them because their selection is immense, I find their catalog descriptions to be honest, and their pricing is about as low as it gets without sacrificing quality.

But I would hesitate to say Upton is "better" than Adagio or Teavana; they're just different. Upton definitely has different strengths and weaknesses. While their selection is excellent, its catalog can be daunting. I also think a few mediocre teas slip through the cracks, and I think they're better with some classes of tea than others.

[TeaSnobInTraining]

I haven't ordered anything from Adagio yet, but being awesome enough to host a forum like this is going to force my hand. Teavana on the other hand, I have had an experience with. I saw Teavana at a local mall a couple weeks ago by complete accident, so had no impression of them going in.

I'll say first off the Assam Gold Rain I got was great. It smelled good in the store and was even better once I made it. Whatever my tea scoop scoops out (probably around a tablespoon or so) makes 2 liters of tea at the strength I drink it, so no complaints there. It was about $8 after tax for 2 ounces of tea. To Assam drinkers here, which one of Adagio's Assam teas would be closest to this?

I also got some Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls from Teavana, which I was highly disappointed with. They smelled really good in the store, but when I make them it just comes out...so bland. I put them in a 2.5cm tea ball if that makes a difference. It smelled a million times better than it tasted.

Onto the really bad...the sales guy there might as well have been Fat Albert. When he lumbered over toward me I half expected him to greet me with a "Hey hey hey!!!" No such luck though. What I got was somebody who reeeeeally didn't know what he was talking about, to the point that it was pissing me off. As an example, I ask if they sell any teapots or cups made out of sterling or jade, as I love my sterling and jade items (pewter is great too). Mine are very small touristy souvenirs from Hong Kong, so I would honestly consider buying something better if I saw something in my price range. He showed me something in green porcelain. I slowly explained that jade is a semi-precious stone, and I wanted something that was made from it. He countered by showing me some insanely overpriced iron. IRON?!?!? Really? It looked nicer than I thought iron would, but it's a pretty big step down from silver or jade. I wish I was taking notes at the time, because this wasn't even half of what was hilarious in retrospect. In short, my first tea purchase was a very mixed bag and the buying the store was a bad experience. If I ever want to try anything else I'll go to the store to smell it and buy it on the website.

[JRS22]

I also got some Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls from Teavana, which I was highly disappointed with. They smelled really good in the store, but when I make them it just comes out...so bland. I put them in a 2.5cm tea ball if that makes a difference. It smelled a million times better than it tasted.

I've never worked in sales, but my first instinct would have been to try to sell you a pot that would brew the tea you were buying. Anyway, Jasmine Pearls are curled up leaf bud sets and hold much of the scent inside. You need to brew them in a vessel that allows them to open fully, and then if they're a good quality you should get 3 steeps out of the pearls. You could use something as simple as an infuser mug, or brew in something that you can cover, and then pour the tea through a strainer into a cup.

And Adagio has excellent jasmine pearls, scented naturally, not artificially.

[zgradis]

I've been a Teavana customer for over two years, I recently started shopping at Adagio (although I bought a utilitea kettle when I got into teas two years ago). But I have been posting about adagio on my FB wall, recently someone said (who just got a job at teavana) that they own all their own gardens, however I am very skeptical about this because from what I understand only two companies in the world grow gyokuro tea because of the complexity of growing gyokuro. (someone correct me if I am wrong) She also claimed their tea is in the top 5% of the world, I laughed a lot at that, first off its subjective, second I have never been impressed by the quality of the tea. She also said adagio gets their tea from only tea auction houses. But again thats not a bad thing IMO, it allows adagio to get the best teas at the best prices and buy only whats good that season or from the best buyers.

Anyone have any thoughts or comments about this?

[AdamMY]

I've been a Teavana customer for over two years, I recently started shopping at Adagio (although I bought a utilitea kettle when I got into teas two years ago). But I have been posting about adagio on my FB wall, recently someone said (who just got a job at teavana) that they own all their own gardens, however I am very skeptical about this because from what I understand only two companies in the world grow gyokuro tea because of the complexity of growing gyokuro. (someone correct me if I am wrong) She also claimed their tea is in the top 5% of the world, I laughed a lot at that, first off its subjective, second I have never been impressed by the quality of the tea. She also said adagio gets their tea from only tea auction houses. But again thats not a bad thing IMO, it allows adagio to get the best teas at the best prices and buy only whats good that season or from the best buyers.

Anyone have any thoughts or comments about this?

Well let me assure you that more than 2 different farms grow gyokuro, but let me also say I am not entirely sure Teavana's Gyokuro *is* Gyokuro, and if it is it is a rather low grade one.

[Chip]

What he said ...

Also, Adagio is a direct from source buyer of teas. A few years ago, I met their native Chinese buyer/locator.

They extensively taste/sample many teas from the source before making final selections.

Perhaps Teavana is in the top 5% of highest price and/or lowest value.