
Starbucks acquires Teavana for $620 Million  - saadmalik01
http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2012/11/14/tea-time-for-starbucks-coffee-giant-to-spend-620-million-on-teavana/
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acgourley
Teavana always had me torn. They found a sustainable formula for popularizing
tea. That's good!

But they are very expensive and their sales staff sell on commission which I
find uncomfortable.

I find myself in the position where I'm glad they exist but I never recommend
anyone to actually go there.

~~~
_delirium
I have similar views: I like that people seem to be caring about tea, though I
don't find much to like in this particular shop. Nonetheless, several people
who know I like tea have pointed me at them, so Teavana must be doing good
marketing, to the extent that people who aren't that into tea think of it as
something to recommend when they hear an acquaintance likes tea.

I personally mainly shop mail-order from Upton Tea Imports
(<http://www.uptontea.com>). When I compare their selection and pricing to
Teavana's, I don't see a lot of reason I would want to switch. But maybe
that's like comparing newegg.com to Radio Shack: not really going after the
same market segment.

~~~
objclxt
I like the newegg / RadioShack comparison...it seems rather apt.

I think Teavana promotes a certain lifestyle around their tea, and that's one
of the reasons they are rather expensive compared to the competition.
Marketing definitely plays a large part: if you are not an avid tea drinker
and looking for a gift you're probably not going to know the local places to
go (or the mail-order sites to visit).

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dotBen
As an aside, I'm very confident Starbucks will acquire Blue Bottle Coffee in
the next 18 months-2 years.

By raising venture funding they are signaling they are looking for some kind
of shareholder return/exit. The quality of the coffee, plus the "no-laptops"
approach to their official cafes would make a great "luxury"/"high-end" marque
and differentiator for Starbucks in markets where they are already saturated
or want to attract greater wallet spend (SF, NY, etc).

Look at what they did with Seattle's Best but the opposite end.

~~~
rlt3
I did some quick googling, but didn't pick anything obvious up:

Blue Bottle Coffee has 'high-end' coffee shops that disallow laptops?

If so, any reasoning behind this?

~~~
dotBen
There are Blue Bottle franchises and Blue Bottle cafes - notably Mint Plaza
(off 5th), Ferry Building, and Linden Ally (also Emeryville @ their roast
plant).

Mint Plaza, their flagship cafe, is modeled very up-scale and is about the
enjoyment of coffee. The tables are not laptop friendly (narrow), no power,
and just like all their other cafes, offer no wifi.

I heard one of the owners/managers explain it was because drinking at a Blue
Bottle coffeeshop is about enjoying the coffee and the experience, not an
alternative for an office

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amckenna
I have loved Teavana ever since they opened a store in the mall near me. I
hope they start using the teas that Teavana has to beef up the selection in
Starbucks stores. Tazo is decent but the variety is lacking and they miss out
on the complexities of flavor and aroma that specialty teas have.

I will be a happy customer when I can go get a Himalayan young black tea with
the same ease I can get a bag of Colombian dark roast beans.

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mmwanga
Afternoon hot tea is considered normal in other countries and it's a very
strange concept in America. Hope this changes that...

~~~
cmelbye
I wouldn't call it very strange. No one would judge you for having a cup of
tea in the afternoon, and they might even want to join in and have a cup with
you. Its just not something that most people would think to do.

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ryangripp
I bet these guys (<http://www.argotea.com/>) had something to do with
Starbucks decision to gobble up another tea company.

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supersaiyan
I don't understand why people buy teas from these places (teavana,
teopia,etc), there all over priced, sub par tasting teas, The best teas are
found in small outlet stores (chinese, indian, thai, etc); it's like going to
East Side Mario for a taste of italy.

~~~
citricsquid
Consistency. If you like something from one place enough to be happy to have
it again why spend your time trying to find something better when it's not
guaranteed there _is_ better? I always order burgers from McDonalds, sure
there might be a better independent place but I don't have the desire to spend
6 months finding it and I know if I'm 200 miles from home I can get exactly
the same thing I like with ease.

~~~
majorlazer
See, I am the exact opposite. I will never eat at a chain restaurant unless I
have no other choice. I will spend an hour looking for a new place to try
rather than settle on a chain that I know will be mediocre at best. This has
annoyed my brother on more than one occasion when I decided to drive across
town to try a new burger place.

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cypherpunks01
I've always used and liked <http://adagio.com> for tea - they have a really
simple and easy-to-use site.

~~~
dromidas
amazon has some of the best selection of tease imo, can't get all the
interesting blends but almost everything I've been shopping for was there. And
i don't mean in those gross little boxes where you get baggies of random tea,
but the foil lined packages or tins of loose tea from reputable companies.

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eekfuh
Non-techie in me: Maybe this will make Starbucks actually have good tea... or
at least more variety. (Teavana is more smelly tea than tasty tea)

~~~
mmanfrin
Wasn't that also the point of them acquiring Tazo back when?

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jgeorge
Tazo teas don't have the reputation of being high-end enough to fetch the
prices teavana teas do. I drink some of them, but boy, they ain't cheap.

I mean Teavana, but in hindsight that same comment applies to Starbucks as
well.

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deveac
Weird. Or really, the exact opposite of weird.

There is a Teavana in a mall near me. I've enjoyed their teas, and bought bags
to brew at home, as well as a rather nice iron kettle.

Every time I walk in there I say to myself "This place is like the Starbucks
of Tea."

I like premium Tea from Teavana much more than Starbuck's coffee though. As I
should for the prices they charge...

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gadders
For Americans that use Teavana, are you drinking this tea the English way with
milk, or iced?

I remember when I first went to America as a 21 year old (I had a job door-to-
door selling) and Americans, being the hospitable souls that they are, would
frequently offer me tea. Unfortunately, it was the cold variety :-(

~~~
cmelbye
Iced and hot are both common, but putting milk in tea is not common.

~~~
gadders
I take mine like a builder - milk, and two sugars.

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TechNewb
Starbucks currently boils their tea, maybe this ignorant act will stop now???
It is why I try and not go to Starbucks for tea.

~~~
dreamdu5t
Americans in general boil and over-steep their teas. It's common for people to
let tea steep indefinitely.

It's sad.

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knightni
When I went to a starbucks in NY recently (I'm British), I ordered a medium-
sized tea, and got given a tent-sized teabag sufficient for a very large
teapot. It made the tea extremely nasty, presumably in aid of a
quantity=quality impression.

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mredbord
They're doing in-home coffee, merch, etc. and now a big chain of pure retail
locations. Starbucks is really starting to open up alternative revenue
streams. Good for them.

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GR8K
wow, they got a lot of locations!

<http://www.teavana.com/retail/united-states>

<http://www.teavana.com/retail/canada>

