Product Review: Teavana

I love tea, and you should too. Okay, perhaps you don't currently love tea, but you should after reading about my favorite product below. Teavana tea offers a unique beverage "experience." After trying Teavana tea, you won't ever be able to drink regular tea bags again. I'm almost a full convert; I only drink tea bags when on vacation.

Teavana recently expanded their line of loose-leaf teas. Teavana, only a decade old, sells a seemingly endless list of loose leaf teas, and that's probably what I love best about them: their endless variety of tea. They carry everything from black tea to herbal tea and everything in between. Teavana sells varieties of tea that I had never even heard of prior to becoming a devoted patron. Below you'll learn about some of the new flavors Teavana recently introduced.

Some of Teavana's new rooibos, or red tea, varieties include Blueberry Bliss, Banana Kiwi Karma, and Pistaschio Apple Pie. The new herbal varieties Teavana recently introduced include Peach Tranquility, Sweet Fruit Garden, and Vermont Maple. New varieties of white tea include Lavender Dreams, Queen of Babylon, and Sweet Lily White.

Teavana's sales clerks usually provide expert suggestions about what flavors can successfully be combined; however it is usually a good idea to get individual flavors packaged separately, which will expand the range of flavors you can create at home. If they recommend a red tea that pairs well with a particular herbal tea, such as Rooibos Peach and Strawberry Kiwi, it is best to purchase each tea separately and mix during preparation.

The only disclaimer is that when you enter a Teavana store the prices you see listed are for two ounces only. Two ounces of tea in any of the varieties is expected to brew between twenty-five and thirty cups of tea. Price can be a prohibitive factor for many customers, but I have found the cost to be well worth it. Their tea tastes extremely fresh, and you just can't get the same flavor from a tea bag even it is an organic or gourmet tea bag.

Teavana also recommends customers purchase tins to store their tea in which range in price from $4.50 for a medium tin to $7.00 for an extra large tin. The tea stored in the usual packaging they offer is expected to remain fresh for only one week, but tea stored in tins is expected to stay fresh for up to one year. You might want to hold off on purchasing separate tins unless you plan to make a particular tea flavor part of your regular tea lineup. I have tins of Peppermint, Earl Grey, Rooibos Peach/Strawberry Kiwi, Very Berry/Rooibos Orange, Banana Calypso, and Scarlet Cloud in my cabinet at the present moment. I love all of these tea varieties with the exception of Scarlet Cloud, which I will force myself to consume because it cost me $60 for eight ounces.

One other feature about their tea products is both a benefit and a drawback. In order to properly enjoy Teavana tea, you really should purchase their Perfect Teamaker. It costs nearly $18 and brews up to 16 ounces of tea. You can attempt to use a kitchen strainer, but if the strainer is not fine enough you will end up with tea leaves in your tea. The Perfect Teamaker simplifies the preparation process, but it does cost $18. I've found it to be a great investment, though. Prior to buying it my tea just sat in the cabinet since I wasn't sure how to prepare it.

Another advantage is that you are never at a loss for how to prepare their tea. Each tin, and even their regular packaging, includes a chart that clearly identifies how much tea you should use, what temperature your water needs to reach, and how long you should steep the tea. Steep times vary depending on whether you are preparing a black tea, red tea, green tea, white tea, or herbal tea. With the easy-to-use chart right on the package, you'll always know what to do.

Another disadvantage to Teavana products is that there are not very many Teavana stores. There are about fifty Teavana stores nationwide, and all are located in major metropolitan areas. Fortunately, you can easily place a Teavana order online and have it shipped to your home.