Starbucks recently announced it would shut down all 379 locations of its boutique Teavana tea shops. Tea drinkers weren’t the only ones annoyed by the news. A huge shopping mall landlord whose properties currently house 1-in-5 Teavana stores is suing mad, taking Starbucks to court to halt the shutdown. [More]
tea
Starbucks Isn’t Bad At Acquiring Businesses: It Just Doesn’t Want Them
By 8.1.17
Starbucks went on something of a buying binge five or six years ago, buying a healthy-lunch chain, an unhealthy-pastries chain, and a loose tea retailer. Since then, the coffee chain has shuttered all of these businesses, which it paid hundreds of millions of dollars for. Is Starbucks just really bad at picking companies to acquire? [More]
Starbucks Transitioning Three Teavana Tea Bars To Coffee Shops, Closing Another
By 1.22.16
When you think of Starbucks, you probably picture a cup of coffee, but the chain also operates several similar tea shops. Or at least it did. Starbucks announced Friday that it would transition three Teavana tea bars in New York into coffee shops and close a fourth location in California. The Teavana bar in Seattle, as well as 350 retail-only stores will remain open. Starbucks purchased the Teavana brand in 2012. [Starbucks] [More]
1.5M Bottles Of Sweet Leaf Tea Recalled Over Glass Fragments
By 12.10.15
Some days you just don’t want water or a soda to go with your lunch, so instead you pick up a bottle of something a little sweeter. But if that something else happens to be Sweet Leaf Tea, it might contain an extra ingredient: glass fragments. [More]
Study Says Ancient North American Civilizations Shared Our Devotion To Caffeine
By 9.11.15
If this were a celebrity weekly the above headline would read, “Ancient Civilizations — They’re Just Like Us!” But it’s not, so let’s just say that maybe getting out of bed wasn’t so easy without beverages that pack a caffeinated kick even thousands of years ago. [More]
Get Your Free Iced Tea At Teavana June 10 To Celebrate Another Nonsense Holiday
By 6.9.15
Did you know that there’s a National Iced Tea Day? It’s tomorrow, June 10 and yes, it is a self-promotional event, but the important thing is that you can celebrate this non-holiday by picking up a free 16-ounce iced berry-pineapple herbal tea at Teavana. There’s no purchase required, but if you go, be sure to avoid the upsell if fancy implements for making loose-leaf iced tea aren’t really your thing. [Starbucks Melody] [More]
Starbucks Set To Open Its First Teavana Bar In NYC (But Don’t Ask For Coffee)
By 10.23.13
Of course you can buy a cup of tea at a Starbucks, it’s a cafe after all. But don’t even think about ordering up a cappucino or other coffee item at Starbucks’ new Teavana Bar in NYC, set to open tomorrow. Nope — it’s floor-to-ceiling tea madness all day, every day. Coffee beans, begone! [More]
Former Teavana Employee Confirms That Workers Brew Misleadingly Strong Store Samples
By 2.21.13
Last week we heard from a fellow consumer advocate/customer who was disappointed that the Teavana tea she was convinced to buy in the store by its heavenly taste didn’t taste as good once she got it home. She spoke to a worker who said they use more tea in the store samples than the instructions given to customers, and now a former Teavana employee confirms that practice as well. Teagate, anyone? [More]
Starbucks To Buy Teavana For $620 Million, Declines $800 Million Tea Tin Upsell
By 11.15.12
If you’re not familiar with Teavana, they’re a chain of about 300 mall shops that sell exotic (and expensive) loose-leaf teas, along with pricey tea-holding tins and tea-making accessories. Starbucks, which already owns a tea brand (Tazo) sees something special in Teavana, and has purchased the company for $620 million in cash. [More]
It Could Take 20 Bottles Of Tea To Get Health Benefits Of 1 Home-Brewed Cup
By 8.23.10
Bottled tea has seen a substantial increase in recent years as more people turn to it as a purportedly healthier alternative to sodas and energy drinks, but a new study claims that if you’re really out to get the health benefits of tea-drinking, you’d be better off brewing it yourself. [More]
The Sharky Tea Infuser
By 4.22.10
Me wanty this tea device, the Sharky tea infuser. You put your tea in the bottom compartment, attach the dorsal fin top, and set it afloat in your (preferably glass) cup. The effect of the tea infusing into the water from the shark appears both beautiful and exciting. In the words of the Argentinian designer Pablo Matteodo: [More]
Customer Claims McDonald's Gave Her Mucus-Filled Iced Tea
By 9.30.09
Say you’re driving along sipping your iced tea when you suddenly realize that your mouth is full of something slimy. You would probably freak out. One McDonald’s customer says this happened to her and she is definitely freaking out.
Chantal Cookware Keeps Your Tea Kettle Whistling
By 7.19.09
After two years, the whistle on Ruby’s Chantal Cookware Livestrong teakettle finally gave up its zest for life. Chantal Cookware’s cleaning recommendations couldn’t revive the ailing whistle, so Ruby resigned herself to buying a whole new kettle. Before pouring another $60 down the drain, she emailed Chantal Cookware to ask if it was at all possible to replace just the whistle…
Teavana Salesperson Throws Involuntary Tea Party
By 7.8.09
When you think of “boutique tea,” you probably don’t associate it with obnoxious upsells and sneaky add-ons. If you do, perhaps you’ve visited the same Teavana outlet as one of our readers. Michael was so annoyed with his recent visit to the Willow Grove, Penn. store that when he realized what had happened, he had to share it with Consumerist over a nice cup of white needle tea.
PG Tips Tea Is Fantastic
By 9.26.08
At the beginning of this month, we posted an Amazon morning deal for PG tips tea. A couple of commenters mentioned how awesome this tea was. I bought some, tried it at different points over the past few days, and have no choice but to concur with their findings.
Starbucks Sued Over Spilled Tea
By 7.30.07
A New Jersey man is suing Starbucks after sustaining 3rd degree burns from hot tea that he claims was improperly “lidded.” The man’s lawyer says, “when he went to pick up the cup, the top wasn’t on correctly. The top came off.
Milk Cancels Health Benefits of Tea
By 1.10.07
- Research has shown that tea improves blood flow and the ability of the arteries to relax but researchers at the Charite Hospital at the University of Berlin in Mitte found milk eliminates the protective effect against cardiovascular disease.
