Do you think Teavana could replace the Tazo Tea offerings inside the Starbucks retail stores?
Last December, Starbucks purchased Teavana, making it a wholly-owned and operated subsidiary, along side Evolution Fresh, La Boulange, Seattle’s Best Coffee, and Tazo. Since that time, (in April this year) Starbucks has introduced a Teavana-branded Starbucks card, and added My Starbucks Rewards stars for purchases made inside Teavana stores. On July 25, 2013, Howard Schultz was quoted as saying, “Over time, many unique hand-crafted Teavana tea beverages will also find their way into Starbucks stores.”
So it is no surprise to hear that Starbucks has already begun testing in a small number of Atlanta Starbucks locations. Those stores now offer Teavana tea beverages, having launched Teavana in stores with the fall launch beginning on September 4, 2013, and removing Tazo tea from the retail wall.
In the Starbucks stores testing Teavana, hot tea options now include English Breakfast, Earl Grey Creme, Emperor’s Clounds, Jade Citrus Mint, Youthberry, Maharaj Chai Oolong, Passion Berry, and Pineapple Kona Pop. I’m familiar with some of those teas as I have made them at home. The Jade Citrus Mint reminds me of the Tazo Mintly Citrus which used to be available at the now-closed Tazo Tea store. Pineapple Kona Pop makes for an amazing iced tea, and I have made it at home many times. I last mentioned Pineapple Kona Pop in this article here. All of the teas are individually packaged.
The retail wall also has loose leaf Teavana tea available for purchase:
Also, I have heard that the stores offering Teavana teas have the Teavana German Rock Sugar available if you should want to sweeten your tea with it.
What do you think? Your turn to weigh in. There are aspects of this that are wonderful. Having tried a number of Teavana teas, I know they’re great – and a number of the tea blends work wonderfully iced. I am sentimental about Tazo though. Somehow, I would be a little sad to see it gone from the stores, should Teavana ever launch nationwide at Starbucks stores. It’s my understanding that if you want iced tea, you still get the standard black, green, or passion iced teas, but now baristas refer to them as “Starbucks teas,” rather than calling them Tazo teas.
If you like reading about the many things that Starbucks tests, you can read about more tests here. Last but not least, I enjoy featuring reader-submitted photos, whether that is your amazing neighborhood Starbucks, a coffee event, or what have you. I’m sorry but I don’t use every photo that is sent to me, but feel free to email me at Melody at StarbucksMelody dot com, if you have a Starbucks photo that you wish to be considered for this site. Please indicate in your email that you took the photo and that you are giving this site permission to use. Thank you so much!
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We have been drinking the black iced tea every day for 4-5 years. The moment the local Starbucks switched to Teavana it was horrible! So much so that the location stopped serving it because they thought there was a water problem because of so many complaints. We have discovered it is a tea problem. Bring back Tazo Black Iced Tea to Starbucks or this relationship is over!
I haven’t gone to Starbucks for at least two weeks. I used to drink 2-3 iced trenta Tazo green teas a day. I hate the new Teavano green tea. Tazo green is so much better.
TAZO!!!!! The Tazo Awake (black tea) and Zen (green) are exceptional bold crisp teas. The Teavana black and green teas are awful. As in undrinkably AWFUL. There’s no real flavor to either one, and there’s a hint of some sort of artificial almost honeydew-like afternote in both. Change them back or Starbucks loses me too. No more maple oat scones, the reduced fat turkey bacon English muffin sandwich’s retrofit is inedible, and now the iced tea is awful…who’s behind this treachery??? I typically spent $5-6 every morning and then at least $3 every evening, easily 360 days of the year. Now the only thing left that I even like is my SB DS on Ice, and the occasional hot chocolate. You guys are killing your business by trying to appeal to the mall store/McDonald’s crowd…
Yes I went to Starbucks to get my Awake tea and they have none. So I told them I will not be back then. I love the staff and the service but it is the most popular tea so the decide to get rid of it. I hope they read this and change back to Tazo Tea or they will lose so many customers.
Why are we constantly forced to make a change? Why not keep the two brands, Teavano and Tazo side by side. Let’s see which one wins out? My guess would be Tazo. In the meantime, there is no JOY in my life for the holidays! Santa is not pleased!
Doreen,
I found Joy at Target (literally)!
Ha ha! Go stock up 🙂
So upset with the decision, I was on the verge of tears when I saw a Starbucks still serving Tazo Tea. I left for holiday and figured it was something they only did in the south only to come home to Seattle and find that Teavana has nested here as well. While my favourite tea has long been Adagio, I have such a sentimental attachment to Tazo. Tazo has been alongside Starbucks for over a decade. Why change now? The taste difference is obvious and appalling. One may as well stay home for iced tea and wait for it to brew overnight.
I am excited to have the Teavana teas for purchase at Starbucks because I don’t care for Starbucks coffees. I love Teavana teas. Thank you!
Sadly, Teavana’s take-over seems complete. Start here:
http://www.starbucks.com/promo/tazo-tea
It would seem that Starbucks is still extolling the virtues of our beloved Tazo green tea:
“From delicate teas with a clean finish, to fragrant, full-flavored blends, Tazo® Green Teas offer a spectrum of unique taste experiences.”
Click on the link titled “Find Green Tea enlightenment”, however, and you end up here:
http://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/tea
The awful truth emerges:
“Delicious flavors emerge with New Teavana™ Shaken Iced Teas—hand shaken ten times to mix and unlock all of the unique flavors. A sublime escape, from the very first sip.”
Very disappointed in switch to Teavana black tea
My wife and I between us have probably purchased 6-8 black (no water/no sweetener) iced teas a week for a very long time. When we ordered the same thing two days ago we thought they made a mistake–until they enlightened us on the switch from Tazo to Teavana. We don’t care who makes the tea, we just want it to taste roughly the same as what they were serving. This new stuff just doesn’t taste anything like black tea. If they don’t change it, and fast, we will no longer be using Starbucks for iced tea.
NO TAZO!!!!!! What a MISTAKE…..
I am very disappointed to hear of this. My husband and I love the Tazo Chai tea – and we both drink around 3 cups a day and indulge our taste by holding business meetings at our local Starbucks’ three times a week where we buy our crew the beverage of their choice. We have no other reason to visit Starbucks and would move our meetings since neither of us are coffee drinkers.
Needless to say I think this is a poor decision. Only time will tell.
So disappointed with Teavana!! I honestly do not like the taste of them. I’ve thrown out all the ones I’ve tried because I couldn’t finish them. I LOVE Tazo teas, I really hope that Starbucks continues their relationship with Tazo!! Aside from the unpleasant taste of teavana, I’m also concerned as Teavana teas have artificial flavours and apparently they have also been found to have lots of pesticides (enough that they would fail European import standards).
I am normally a very frequent Starbucks customer but if the completely get rid of Tazo and as I don’t drink coffee, they will definitely loose me as a customer.
I guess I will have to buy a keurig they have tazo zen tea for it.
good bye Starbucks
Very sad about this change. Been a loyal Tazo Chai tea drinker for years now. Spend a great deal of $$ on tea at STBKS (at least 1-2/day) which I could easily make at home for 1/5th the price. Do the math STBKS? You’re losing $1,000/yr from me without having Tazo Chai tea. Big mistake. Oh well, maybe you think more people will drink Teavana. I’m not overly optimistic though judging from the comments above.
No more TAZO Chai in a teabag???? I’ve been buying a Venti every day. Now I guess I’ll go to Peet’s or make it at home. That’s $1000/year and a loyal customer that you’ve lost.
I NEED MY TAZO ZEN FULL LEAF TEA!!! It’s sold out all over the Internet and I really need, want, long for, am addicted to that tea!!! I hate Teavana’s green tea!!! BRING ZEN BACK!! I not only purchased the drink but the cans to bring home! I spent a lot of money on that tea! Yes, I need AA for this loss!
The manager at my local Starbucks (in the Chicago area) has told me that they are definitely converting from Tazo to Teavana tea but they don’t have any info on which ones. Currently, they now sell bulk loose leave Teavana tea in only five flavors. I prefer unflavored green tea – the Emperor’s Clouds sounds good but it is not one of the five now sold in bulk. Besides the Atlanta test area, has anyone’s local Starbucks converted to the Teavana cup servings and,if so, can you tell me which teas are available?
I have been drinking the Tazo Full Leaf Earl Grey for years now and buy it at Starbucks stores and on their website. The last time I tried to buy it on their website, back in early September, I noticed that there was none on the site. I called customer service and they said it “is temporarily out of stock” (which I guess was a lie, but didn’t know it at the time)….today I tried to order it again online and saw that there is none on their site. I called Starbucks again today and the agent on the phone said “we are in the process of discontinuing some of our products and converting to Teavana”.
So, bottom line: Tazo is history at Starbucks.
Now, I wonder if someone else will pick up the brand or were these products proprietary to Starbucks?
Hi Michael – Starbucks owns Tazo Tea. A Google search gives me this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tazo
Likely Tazo isn’t history but it is probably slowly being phased out of stores, and someday it will probably be a CPG only brand – meaning the kinds of Consumer Packaged Goods that are found in grocery stores or other similar retailers.
Teavanas Earl Grey Creme is to Tazo full leaf Earl Grey as saltwater is to saltwater taffy – similar name but the former makes you choke, the latter is delightful. It will be a sad day when my local stores stop carrying Tazo. The upside is that I will save $30/week when I stop going to Starbucks. Has anyone at Starbucks actually tried the Teavana substitutes?
Hi Melody,
Starbucks also owns Teavana:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teavana
So anything is possible.
The current reality is that the delicious Tazo teas we’ve loved for years are being replaced by less (sometimes un-) drinkable Teavana teas, with no end in sight to the hostile change over.
@Michael – Oh yes, you’re very right that Starbucks owns Teavana. That’s partly why it seems even more likely to me that eventually Tazo will be gone from stores someday. Starbucks didn’t buy Teavana for a premium to not find a way to bring that brand to their stores. That’s my two cents. I wouldn’t call it a “hostile” change. One thing about Starbucks is that they change all the time. All the time. Standards change. Rewards change. Foods change. Promo drinks come and go. Rules change. They’re not afraid of change – even more reason I think this change will eventually happen.
Tried to order my Venti Earl Grey just to be told, not available, sorry we are phasing out and over to Teavana. I will be giving away my Starbucks gift card so those who drink coffee can use up the balance. I no longer have a reason to go to Starbucks. They were always my go to place in the airport for consistency and comfort when travelling. 🙁
I feel your pain!!
Any idea if Starbucks will still carry Tazos Joy tea at holiday time? It is my all time favorite & I stock up for the whole year when it comes out! Down to my last tin now (hopefully not forever).
Aaargh!!! Please don’t take away my full leaf Tazo!! I drink both the iced and the hot daily. Starbucks will lose me as a customer when the switch is complete. I tried the Teavana iced and am extremely disappointed.
My world without a daily, sometimes twice daily, Trenta
awake black Tazo iced tea is horrible! However, my wallet is much fatter, more time in my day not trying to find a parking place, and standing in line. I’ve tried the Tevana black tea as it’s made and with no
water. No matter how you try it, it’s disgusting! It has no richness of flavor,it tastes like it’s yesterday’s batch, and has a weird aftertaste!! Tea drinkers are like coffee drinkers &
know what they like! I just heard on TV that Starbucks quarter sales are down maybe all of us that are tea drinkers
have said Bye, Bye Starbucks!! The profit margin on your black & green tea has to be huge! We all know it’s just tea,
water & ice. Now it’s lousy tea, water & ice! By the way, every time I go to Safeway they are sold out of the Tazo awake black tea. Guess lot’s of people are brewing at home!Bring back the Tazo Teas! Buy them and sell Tevana!!
Mistakes happen, correct this one.
back the Tazo teas, correct your mistake!!
I found out about Full Leaf Tazo Zen being discontinued today. Very upsetting. I do know that a local tea vendor at the flea market has a very similar full leaf tea. http://www.shop.tbysarah.com/product.sc?productId=62&categoryId=14
It’s the Green Guru. I don’t prefer the loose tea because it’s messier, but if Zen is discontinued, then I’ll deal with it.
We’re so sad at this shortsighted change. We buy Tazo Awake English Breakfast tea everyday, but were told at our local drive through today that it’s been discontinued but we could try the new Teavana Earl Grey as it ‘tastes the same’…..erm no, Earl Grey might be a black tea but it’s fragranced, we want a good straightforward strong black tea with no aftertaste. I’m shocked that Starbucks who pride themselves on quality have gone this route. They’ve lost our daily custom and I’m sure many others. I know Starbucks constantly changes but dropping Tazo Awake is the tea equivalent of dropping a basic Cafe Latte.
I am so dissappointed that Tazo will no longer be served!! I drink at least one vente Zenith a day with some sort of food usually being purchased too. The new tea is not even close to what they have been serving. I am like most of the others on here. I won’t be going to starbucks anymore.
*Zen
Just found Tazo full leaf tea tins at Target yesterday (including Joy!!).
Sooo, Im really upset that Starbucks no longer sells the Zen Tea!!!! I bought several tins of tea last year and then stopped drinking it when I got pregnant. Well now Im back to drinking tea and I went to purchase some and was told they no longer sell it. I seriously wanted to cry..I NEED MY LOOSE LEAF ZEN TEA NOW!!! Luckily and sadly I only have 7 tea bags left from my stock. I will cherish every sip of that tea. Sigh…Starbucks…you are so fired!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@jackie……Walmart, Target sells Tazo Zen in bags and K-Cup’s.
Loose leaf? The Tazo tea bags are at lots of grocery stores, but nobody sells the loose leaf in tins. Very annoying.
Yeah. This change is horrid. I don’t drink coffee and I don’t want to “try something new” as the Starbucks’ customer service representative told me to do via email. I have been a loyal London Fog (Earl Grey tea latte) drinker for years. It’s much less sweet than anything else that’s non-coffee at Starbucks and to be told that because “we’re changing tea brands you cannot have the kind of tea that you like,” is ridiculous. Honestly. You bought a tea company and now have FEWER kinds of tea? It’s been a good run, but this relationship appears to be over now. Bye bye Starbucks. 🙁
So disappointed in Starbucks for this decision. I’ve been drinking Tazo Awake tea for the last several years. It’s how I start my day. I’m not sure I will be a customer much longer.
Oh yeah, and bring back the cinnamon chip scones. These recent changes are not good ones.
I’ve been a Tazo English Breakfast Awake Tea Drinker for over ten years. Last week I was informed that Starbucks no longer carries this. I was shocked and deeply disappointed!
I go to Starbucks over twice a day all over the country and wish you could please reconsider this change. I don’t understand why can’t give us an option.
Please do not abandon Tazo tea! I finally found a Chai tea that really excites my taste buds–Tazo Organic Chai. Also–for variety, I cannot say enough about Chai Latte made with Tazo Chai mix.
I asked for awake tea and was offered green tea instead. Not the same. Tazo’s Awake tea is the only reason I ever go to starbucks. I am deeply disappointed.
I really don’t understand this one. The manager at my Starbucks has told me that they are switching over on January 7, and it’s already really hit or miss to find Earl Grey at other local stores. I enjoyed my daily morning trip to Starbucks and find it mind-boggling that they are throwing away a segment of their market. After January 7, they will be losing my business, and it seems like they will be losing lot of other business.
I purchase two Awake Tea Latte’s each and every day that Starbucks is open. As someone else has stated – it’s how I start my day. I was so disappointed to arrive at my usual Starbucks yesterday morning only to find out that they were not only out of Awake tea, but they were not going to carry it anymore. My barista’s were apologetic but the only information they had was that they would start carrying Teavanna teas in January. They were not sure if there would be an English Breakfast tea offered and if it is offered, how comparable to Awake tea it will be.
I’m upset – so disappointing. This drink is my perfect mix – the low caloric content combined with the taste = perfection. So much so that I don’t mind paying the nearly $5.00 price tag to enjoy it.
I did find that my local grocery store (Chicagoland) carries the complete line of Tazo teas and I stocked up on Awake. My Starbucks baristas offered to sell me a cup of my usual drink less the tea bags each morning and I’ll add my own tea bags. I tried that this morning and my drink was great. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep this up and may just start making my own lattes once I get to the office.
This is a bad move Starbucks.
I have been drinking Tazo Chai tea for several years. I drink 2 cups every day. I am very disappointed that Starbucks no longer carries it. I spend over $1K a year on tea at Starbucks, that’s how much I love it. I tried the Teavana Chai and it is HORRIBLE! What is wrong with you people?!?
Bring back Tazo Chai or you will continue to lose loyal customers.
Booooo! After daily ordering a china green tips I am left no longer buying anything at Starbucks! My husband drinks the coffee because we go there for my tea. So after over a decade of giving Starbucks my money, time to just brew tea at home. Adios Starbucks! I think I will take vacation with the money I save.
tazo tea has been a favorite of mine for years teavana is way too ordinary – you should have bought tazo co. instead.
I hate change! Bring back my awake tea!
I was forced to try the Teavana Chai last week, as that particular store quit providing Tazo Chai. It was terrible! I, like so many others, will consider leaving Starbucks to novice tea drinkers, and look for another venue.
Some of my local Starbucks are carrying the “replacement” for Tazo Awake (Teavana English Breakfast Tea) and some have not even gotten their delivery of it yet. One barista admitted that Starbucks botched the transition. How do you stop carrying a very popular tea and then not have the replacement for a month??? Not only that, having tried the Teavana version, I am deeply disappointed. It is ok, but ordinary as someone else stated, and tastes nothing like Awake! They may as well use Lipton or Tetley. They just don’t get that a lot of us tea drinkers are very upset .