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So I mentioned to you I was a casual tea drinker. Well…I’m apparently also a novice tea afficianado. I ordered a tea pot from Teavana online shortly after I bought some tea. It arrived quickly and it looked just like the picture on the website. But it came with no instructions. Oh, well, I’ve boiled water many times in a tea kettle. A-ha. Did you catch that??? In a tea KETTLE. That’s different than a tea pot. You see, you don’t put a tea pot on the stove. When water kept boiling over, I finally got on the phone and talked to the Customer Service rep. She said that tea pots don’t go on the stove and putting them on there could cause an explosion! Well…HE-LLO! Why wasn’t there a warning on the box? I’m sure I’m not the only tea drinker out there who doesn’t hesitate to think that a cast iron pot can’t go on the stove!!! So, needless to say I let the person on the other end know that Teavana should really put precautions and warnings all over their tea pots! …So now you know (if you didn’t already). Never ever put a tea pot on any heat.
Raleigh Best Tea
Teavana sounds like a heavenly place, doesn’t it? Well it actually means Heaven of Tea. And it is… the Teavana store in Raleigh recently opened in 2008.
This place is paradise for tea lovers like me. I’ve always loved teas and the idea of teas (see my cabinet collection pre-Teavana photo).
I had my first tea party when I was 4 and got my first plastic tea set…it was that awful 70s Kermit the frog green that was so popular…and I think making a comeback today. My teddy bears and I in the late afternoon would sip our favorite imaginary tea. Perhaps we were dreaming of flavors back then. But it didn’t end there, I had my bridal shower or I should say my bridal tea shower at the Ritz Carlton. But that’s a whole ‘nother story.
Back to Teavana…they have dreamy flavors that can be endlessly mixed and matched. You can try certain tea samples in the store but for other more customized flavors, you can have one of the knowledgeable and well trained tea assistants open a signature big tin can and waft the tin can top over the leaves… believe me, your nasal senses will be delightfully aroused by this experience. The tea leaves are so aromatic and strong, it’s hard to not be pleasantly knocked out and fall in love with the complex tea scents, ranging from biscotti, to lemongrass, from ginger coconut to apple pie, to name a few. Ummm…if that doesn’t get you interested, I don’t know what will…
Teas are getting such buzz these days…most teas have high health benefits including antioxidants and vitamins. There are so many different types of tea including the colored named teas such as white tea, green tea, black tea, red tea… also called rooibos tea. Then there are other types like herbal, and oolong tea.
And speaking of catching a buzz… for caffeine or coffee lovers, mate tea can be a great substitute. The ingredient mate is a stimulant and hunger depressant (…hmmm, great if you’re trying to lose a few pounds?).
Oh, and they sell German Rock Cane Sugar. Remember rock candy on a stick? This is the same idea. For people like me with a sweet tooth who may have eaten one too many spoonfuls of sugar as a kid (really!), I can eat those sugar crystals like candy. But you can also add them to your tea which is what I think it was meant for.
Teavana has a great business model to get repeat customers, including a tea of the month program. But for casual tea drinkers like me who drink a few cups a week, we can buy their small or large Teavana labeled tin container with tea that we can bring home, and bring back to refill. See the photo of my Teavana collection. This helps to remind us customers when we’re running low on tea, and gives us a reason to go shopping at Crabtree Valley Mall;-)
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