Virgin Loose Leaf Tea Drinker

[TeaMonster]

Hello! My Oh My what a great tea forum. I didn't know such a site existed.I don't remember what quite got my into loose leaf teas, but I saw a Teavana store in the mall a few months ago and it just intrested me. When I asked a store associate about how I could get into the craze, he pointed me to kettles, and pots that were all very expensive. I only wanted to spend around $20. When I went to teavana.com, it was then where I found the "Perfect Tea Maker" which I then purchased with teas that looked appealing. Sour Cherry Serenade Black Tea, and Tranquil Dream (Night Night) Herbal Tea. The former because I love Sour Cherries, and the latter becuase sometimes I have trouble falling asleep. This alltogether came to around $40, so I asked my parents for it, and they ordered it. It came today, and I'm very eager to try it.

Then I read some on this forum about how teavana isn't the highest quality, and it's overpriced. Did I make a bad choice with teavana? Could anyone point me into the right direction to a good tea website? Teavana looks like the one with the best interface. I'm stressin' All of the people here seem very friendly, and I'm very excited to join a new forum. Could anyone give me a list of great "starter teas"? I think I should start with Green and Flavored first, and maybe work my way up.

I would love ideas. It's 2AM, and I'm off to bed. A good cup of tea would be nice. I have plenty of bags, although those are awful quality. Okay! I'll try out my new teas on christmas morning, but until then Cheers!

MonsterTea (Evan)

[iannon]

Our host Adagio has quite a few good teas and a lot of what i would call "gateway" teas..in other words decent quality teas of many different types that will make you branch out to look for higher quality of the same. they have quite a few sampler sets as well as just individual sample sizes.
Now you say you want to try greens..japanese and chinese greens are very very different for instance dragonwell and sencha are worlds apart in flavor profile. looking at what you have picked out, if you want to try something different i may suggest some oolongs..any of the samplers would give you a start

[Geekgirl]

I'm what my friends call "hardcore," and yet I used my "perfect teamaker" today. I will admit it is very convenient for certain kinds of teas, and when I'm in a big hurry to get something into my cup.

Teavana is not bad for tea, there are better places, and there certainly are less expensive (and more expensive!) places, but it seems like it was a good place to start for many of us. Poke around on Adagio's shop site. One of the great things they do is offer a sample tin of most of their teas. Very economical, and if you get something you don't care for, you're not out much. Also their quality is very consistent.

We have a good group here, I hope you enjoy yourself!

[Victoria]

Hi and welcome to the forum! A lot of the bad "press" so to speak about Teavana is the pressure tactics they employ in store. Especially pushing those kettles! Their fruit blended teas are probably equal to most out there, so don't worry. The "perfect teamaker" is a common place to start and lets you begin your journey into loose leaf teas very conveniently. Don't worry, relax and enjoy your tea!!

[TeaMonster]

Thanks Everybody. I'll check out some Adagio Sampler teas. Thanks so much. I think I'll try some form of sencha, as well as some more fruit teas. Depending on how my Teavana tea tastes. I know teavana can be pushy in stores; when I went to get my friend 2 OZ of Sour Cherry Serenade, it was suppose to be $6, but the lady at the front gave me almost 3 OZ for $8, I know it's not a huge difference, but still.

Also, she asked if my friend had a tin for this specific flavor, and I said no. So without even asking me, she started putting the tea in a $8 tin, and told me about how it will seal in freshness. I'm pretty sure the online Airtight Ziplock bags you get do the exact same thing, so why don't they offer those in the store, or even ask me if I wanted the tins to begin with.

I put "MonsterTea" in my username, and for 10 minutes I thought TeaChat screwed up everything. But really, I just forgot to put in "TeaMonster" FML

Peace,
TeaMonster

[TubbyCow]

Teavana was one of the first places I picked up loose leaf, too, so even though they're expensive, I think they are a good "gateway" company.

Of course, check out Adagio, but I also suggest you hop on over to SpecialTeas.com They've got decent prices and a wide selection. You can also get samplers there, which are key for people just starting out who are unsure about their tastes. Rumours are they have a lot of the same tea Teavana does anyway, and it's quite a bit cheaper. Great place to start off.

[TeaMonster]

Teavana was one of the first places I picked up loose leaf, too, so even though they're expensive, I think they are a good "gateway" company.

Of course, check out Adagio, but I also suggest you hop on over to SpecialTeas.com They've got decent prices and a wide selection. You can also get samplers there, which are key for people just starting out who are unsure about their tastes. Rumours are they have a lot of the same tea Teavana does anyway, and it's quite a bit cheaper. Great place to start off.

Thanks TC, I haven't checked out specialteas. I will, right now in fact.

[Chip]

Teavana sources many of their teas from SpecialTeas ... if not all. Plus they basically own SpecialTeas.

Welcome to the forum. If you want to change your user name, shoot a private message to me, requires super powers to do so.

[TeaMonster]

If you want to change your user name, shoot a private message to me, requires super powers to do so.

Thanks Chip! I see you all over, so of course your a moderator.

No, I just did a quick google search for "TeaMonster" and someone owns a shop with the same name, so I used her icon. I love it.

Thanks Everybody!,
TeaMonster(Evan)