Teavana

One of the pushier Teavanas I’ve been to. I don’t like being prowled on at Teavana of all places.
I had a saleswoman rave about the Perfectea maker after I told her I already had one. Had another sales guy out of nowhere literally tell me I would absolutely LOVE the Oprah Chai tea, and I just NEEDED to try it. He then proceeded to pace over to the samples and told me I HAD to walk over now and try it. Ok… haha, yes, don’t tell me what to do.
I do like Teavana’s teas, especially when they have sales, but I’d probably won’t visit this one again.

I have several issues with this place.
1. Incredibly overpriced tea. Why no, I don’t think that paying $ 12 an ounce is reasonable. What is that you say? That’s one of your bargain teas?! Oh sure, I’ll take out the equivalent of a mortgage to have a year supply of tea!
2. Pushy sales. I don’t think there’s a single other store I’ve ever been too that I’ve been pushed more to buy something through so many different tactics. They will question you, beat you over the head with descriptors, and do the ever famous «waft» where you lean in and smell the tea they wave at you. It all seems very enticing.
3. Artificial Flavors. Call me a purist, say I need to go somewhere else, etc. However, if you’re toting that you sell super high quality tea but then you add artificial and natural flavors to all of them then it’s not high quality. It’s mediocre quality at best that needs to be flavored to taste better. If I wanted kool aid I’d make it.
Overall, if you have any respect for your body or your wallet, go someplace that sells fair trade organic tea for a fraction of the price like Global Infusions.

I got Teavana’d. Other Teavanas are not as bad as this one with the pushiness. I have had the same bag of 20 dollar /​2 oz tea sitting in my kitchen, not in one of those stupid steel containers, for about 2 months. I leave it there out of anger about how bad I got screwed when I got lured in for a simple sample of tea. Stay very far away from this place!

This review is based on the service at this teavana location. It is stellar. The new management is fantastic, the employees are very knowledgable and this is probably the best teavana location out there!

Are you Kidding me? Bring your banker to this place cuz you’re going to need a loan if you want to buy tea here. I don’t drink coffee or coffee drinks, but I do like tea. But Oh my you need to empty your pocket to in this joint. Ok so if you want to get hi-​end tea and not have to sale your house to pay for it, try Chazzono’s on 9 mile in Ferndale north of I-​75 on the north side of the street. You’ll get great tea at a great price and no second mortgage or bankruptcy. I think I’ll go into the import business then I can retire.

Their tea is heavenly, and deserves 5 stars, however, I am a conscious consumer. It loses one star because 1) the tea can be very expensive especially for a regular tea drinker and 2) it goes stale in about 1 month no matter how you store it. Their customer service is very very good and convincing… when you walk in there, they make sure you get lost in a world of tea, steepers and rock sugar! They really make u feel like u NEED it all! Although all you really need is a pot of hot water and a regular strainer, so unfortunately for Teavana, they haven’t profited off me on that. However, their tea is delightful and soothing. Even got my husband hooked (and that’s a feat in itself)!

I LOVE TEA so when I heard of Teavana I had to check it out and when I did I was not disappointed. I was asked if I would like to try some of their Youthberry tea. I did and it was Delicious. I was also asked if I have ever been here and I said no so the employee had showed me around and explained the products. Every time I go there she is always there and so helpful. It’s so nice to have great customer service every time you walk into the store.
Now for the Teas: I haven’t tried all the teas but everyone that I have tried I have LOVED. They even let you smell the ones that you might be interested in. They have so many to choose from that it’s gonna take a while to try them all. If you are ever in the store. Try the free samples of the different teas.

Mmm. I normally hate tea but I’m pretty sure they put a boatload of sugar in theirs, so it tastes pretty good. Get yourself a free sample but don’t get lured into the store.
Starbucks once did a free coupon for one of their teas and it took me forever to drink, even though it was medium-​sized, I believe, but it tasted pretty good.

Did you just walk out with a canister full of tea that cost you $ 40? Yep, you’ve been Teavana’d. Did you just buy an overpriced tea infuser? Yep, Teavana’d again. Did you get lured in by the free overly-​sweet tea samples? Umm, do I have to say it? Teavana’d all the way.
Be careful here, or you will get Teavana’d. Yes, that’s a term (made up by me, but still…) Teavana’d means you’ve been had by the Teavana folk, they go fishing at the doorway, entice you with free samples and then will try to sell you the earth, moon and stars to secure their sale, and probably their jobs.
And how do I know this? Sadly, I too have been Teavana’d in the past, a few times actually. Most recently, I walked into check our their honey selection. Somehow I ended up walking out $ 35 in the hole, which some tea I’ve only brewed once since I got it home. :hangs head in shame: During this visit, I had to tell the guy I wanted exactly 2oz and not to do that oopsy, overage thing they tend to do.
So how can you get some tea and avoid getting Teavana’d? I’m not sure… but I always make sure to be super clear about how much tea I actually want to purchase. I also make sure to say I want the tea in a bag; sales people have been known to keep on scooping tea into a jar (that will run you an additional $ 7 – 10), hoping that you will purchase the jar and the excess tea they scooped out.
Teavana isn’t bad by any means, the product is good, although expensive. I’m just not a fan of the bait-​and-​switch selling tactics the staff employs to increase their sales numbers. I admit that its the sharky sales tactics that keeps me away from here, I’m not a fan of the overt, and sometimes sneaky, upsellling. Its a worth a try, just as long as you don’t mind super «sale-​y» pitch.

This place is expensive! BUT they have pretty good service. I have never bought anything for myself here. Hint Hint!
Everything I have tried here is pretty tasty but like I said it is a bit pricy. Don’t let them trick you into buying a can unless you plan on coming back here often to buy teas. They do have paper baggies you can hold your tea in! We were tricked last time but good thing my boyfriend loves tea and it makes life easier for me when I have to get him something.

Teavana is my fav tea spot. I recently stopped drinking coffee due to health concerns, so tea has replaced it. I have always loved tea but preferred coffee, now the choice is easy. Teavana’s loose leaf teas are luxurious! The teas are full of fruit bits, chocolate, nuts and flower petals. The selection is astonishing, and the staff will literally pull down each of the over 100 teas and let you smell them. They recently added 17 new teas, yay! I stopped by yesterday and got 5 new ones to try, and so far so good. The best so far has been the coco-​caramel sea salt, mixed with a little Javana. Another tasty blend is the Raspberry Lemon Riot Mate with some of Teavana’s amazing Matcha mixed in. Actually, the Matcha is great whisked into almost any of the teas, but with the fruit or chocolate based flavors, it shines.
Teavanna has lots of fun little tea accessories, mostly uneeded, but all very useful. The staff is great, so is the tea so give them a try, you wil be hooked.

I am a consummate tea drinker with a confession to make: I am lazy about making tea.
Forget the sacred tenets of ‘near boiling water’ and infusion for 3 – 5 minutes for blacker teas and 2 – 4 for oolongs and whites. Hell, forget infusion at all. I can take a perfectly splendid bag of Tetley, dump it in my tea carafe, and leave it there for a milk bath lasting half an hour when I feel unmotivated. Never mind I received instruction on proper tea drinking and preparation from the likes of a 90-​year-​old Japanese chayu master in a Japanese tea garden, English and Scottish grandmothers who religiously observe 3PM tea, and a host of classes at excellent shoppes. In short, I’m a disgrace and I know it.
But I do know my teas and appreciate the light balance of a fragrant white mixed with different fruits or the joys of a gunpowder green on a frosty autumn night. Teavana is a place I typically avoid because of the expense and upcharge on products I can find at local stores (like Sereniteaz or Adagio Teas in the Chicagoland area or Goldfish Tea in Royal Oak).
While visiting the Somerset Mall — I refuse to call it a Collection, height of pretention that is! — the beau and I capped off a fruitless trip to Lululemon and a bountiful trip to Lush with a stop for a sample. I ought to know better than sample Teavana’s wares. Inevitably those blends get the better of me.
I met my match in Youthberry and some delicious fruit concoction. Apple Blossom, I suspect. It was warm, not piping hot, and the first sip washed over me like the very essence of spring wrung out from any hibiscus flower known to man. I blinked. I swallowed. I poured myself another tiny little cup like a greedy monster, shoved it at the beau, and said, «SIP.» He did.
Side note: the beau rarely if ever drinks tea that isn’t iced tea. Hot tea doesn’t do it for him despite trying a variety of samplings. This? This did. His eyes lit up, he licked his lips, and pronounced Youthberry + Blossom delightful. Then he promptly took a taste of the mate blend, shrugged, and hightailed it to order himself some Youthberry at the counter.
To their credit, the employees didn’t mob us too badly. They did push flavours on people and they swarmed around us when we got to the counter. I tried a blueberry herbal up there which was nice, but once I saw the price of the Youthberry ($ 18/​two ounces), my mind was made up. We ended up getting a measure of both and I watched the girl like a hawk when she casually scooped out three ounces and looked all nonchalant. No, doll, two. At those prices, I wasn’t even thrilled with buying that much.
Now we have our glorious teas in our cabinet, waiting for me to dig out my infuser from storage. At this rate we’ll get the pot off Amazon — much cheaper than anything they carry in the store. Teapots are ludicrously expensive ($ 75−150+!) and while the sets are cute, they’re prohibitively expensive for something that would be shoved in a cabinet when not in use.
Buyer beware here. The salespeople can be _​demanding_​if you’re not careful.

I love it. My only complaint is that it’s expensive.
I always go in to get some of my usual teas and then ask for to make me a beverage of something new that I’ve never tried. I have yet to try something that I didn’t like. They are always very friendly and helpful.

Really good samples ready for you which is why I purchased some after some time of repeated tastings lol. My husband and three year old son even liked it so I figured why not buy some.
Ok so I purchased what is always on sample, I think it was called Samurai something but anyway all the teas are sold by ounces and all teas have a different price, now another thing is that the samples are usually two or three teas mixed to together and also they have their sugar or sugar rocks whatever their called in it too. So if you taste the sample and want it to taste that exact way when you get home, seriously you do need to purchase everything from them. The only thing I didn’t get from here was a tea strainer and my sugar, I had raw organic sugar at home, the kind they have at Starbucks and it tasted fine. Be prepared to spend a good amount of money because the tea isn’t cheap but if you like tea and will really drink it I think it is worth it especially with our cold Michigan days!

I have a love-​hate relationship with Teavana. I love the product. Sure its overpriced, but it is good tea. I like the variety and all of the awesome tea combinations that are available. Mix Darjeeling with Arcadian Apple… yum! Raspberry Riot Lemon with a bottle of seltzer water… a refreshing summer drink!
The My Morning Mate blend is the one I keep going back to. It gives me the caffeine but without the jitters.
The Perfect Tea Maker and Thermos are nice too. The Thermos is on my wish list. It supposedly keeps a beverage hot or cold for 6 — 8 hours.
Now on the the bad…
Pushy salespeople! Horrible sales tactics. They purposely weigh more tea that what I asked for just to sell more tea. «Oops, I measured out 3 ounces, instead of 2… is that okay?» It happens every time.
What’s even more horrible is that I had a friend go there for an interview and the «Top-​Down» sales model was explained in full detail. Always push the most expensive product first (and I mean expensive… $ 120 for a tea pot? Yikes!) and then move down from there.
Each salesperson is graded A through D on their sales every week. So their pushiness is not really their fault, they are trained to push product on you, just so they can keep their jobs.
Which I don’t think happens very often because every time I go, there is a complete turnover of staff.
So whenever I go, I head straight for the counter and just buy what I want, which is really a shame because I never get to just browse.
It’s complete farce to have a company sell tea for good health properties and then turn around an treat their employees poorly.
Teavana… I wish I could love you. Please change your evil ways.

Delicious tea, cheerful, levelheaded service, and wonderful scents.
I’ve been to tea houses in England, Taiwan, and all over the US, and I’m extremely impressed with the quality of the tea and the staff members at Somerset’s Teavana.
Yes, as with any specialty shop, if you aren’t familiar with what you’re getting into, it can be pretty overwhelming. However, I was thoroughly pleased that the woman who helped me was able to field my eye-​rollingly specific questions about honeybush tea while simultaneously explaining to a tea n00b how to brew and store tea. Good employees are able to be knowledgable without being douches to the uninitiated.
I should also note that I wasn’t expecting much when I went into the shop. A mini-​chain in a ritzy mall at the height of the holiday season? It could have been a disaster. Well worth the price.

Teavana has wonderful smells inside it’s tea haus! The tea is good for you. We like the Samurai Chai! It’s a bit pricey though.

I am a tea lover. can’t get enough of it! I am a sucker for the tea infusers, German rock sugar and Teavana’s many, many varieties of blends.
They have a HUGE stock of blends– white, oolong, green, black, rooibos, mate, herbal. you name it. They have something for everyone and every taste.
They are a bit pricey. actually, really pricey. And their sales staff can go either way. Sometimes they sit back and let you look, and then you have to ask them to smell/​see something. Other times they are in your face, and try to offer up all kinds of suggestions. It just really depends on who you get I suppose. Usually they are really nice. We went in right before close one night, and purchased almost $ 100 in tea and sugar. It just happened that two of the blends we buy they had mixed together as a sample for the day. One of the two guys that was helping us was taking down the sample station, and he gave us 2 to-​go cups of the hot tea. It was a nice gesture, especially considering we didn’t realize we were keeping them from closing up!
I am addicted to Samurai Chai Mate and White Ayurvedic– mixed together. Unfortunately, they are like $ 6 and $ 10 per 2 oz. I take my own jars in, and to fill them it costs me like $ 60. But it lasts my boyfriend and I roughly 3 months, so I suppose I save by not making a daily stop at Starbucks.
Speaking of my jars, the staff here has given me a little bit of an attitude about not using their canisters. Every time I go in with my jars, they try to sell me on their canisters. I explain that I have some of their canisters, but prefer the ones I got at IKEA. You can tell it just kills them to fill my jars, but I keep taking them because I always forget how much volume they hold.
The one thing I am disappointed about is the fact that they don’t sell many single flavor teas. I like Peppermint, and they don’t have it. Almost everything they sell is a blend. So if you are looking for a specific flavor or blend you are probably out of luck. Check out their website beforehand to see if they have what you are searching out. But ultimately, they have so many varieties that you are sure to find something!

My friend and I were peering through the window admiring this retarded penguin tea cup. I thought it was cute. And then sales person pushes through the CRACK OF THE WINDOWS a teavana pamphlet. Weird. Seriously weird.
So I walk in, curious, to see how much the retarded penguin tea cup was. And I am swarmed with questions about stuff. I was getting information from left and right, and I didn’t care if I knew how to brew something — I just wanted to know the price of the cup!
My god, pushy, pushy pushy! It’s a tea store! Shouldn’t people be just like, chill?
I walked out not having purchased anything. And I now avoid the store every time I am in the Somerset for fear of being vortexed into their massive sales force.

I was so happy when I read Kiarash Z.‘s review of Somerset Collection and saw that it now has a Teavana store!
Teavana carries over 100 loose teas that are part of an EquaTrade program that ensures that the tea farmers are treated fairly in areas where their tea is grown.
This four month old store carries all kind of teas… green, red, black, white and infused. They all smell so nice!
The downside is that they are a bit expensive, starting around $ 3.30 for two ounces up to about $ 18.00 (Yes, two ounces!).
I prefer the black teas such as Assam Gold Rain ($ 7.50/2oz.). If I felt like splurging I would get their Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls green tea ($ 12.00/2oz).
Stop by and have a free sample. It will revive you after a grueling day of shopping.