Good morning, tea people! While it has been almost 5 years since Teavana officially closed its stores, at Good Life Tea, we still regularly hear about how much you all miss their blends and ask if we have anything comparable. We hear you and we do! Today, we're going to be discussing a few of our teas that we recommend as alternatives to Teavana's former blends, as well as encourage you to try mixing some of our blends together on your own!
In 2018, Teavana, a company owned by Starbucks, made the decision to close all of their stores. They chose to do so as the majority of the stores were located in shopping malls and due to the growing popularity of online shopping and lowered foot traffic in malls, their sales were suffering. Since the closing, many of their customers have been on the hunt for their favorite blends or something comparable. Below I will detail a few that we regularly get asked about, and going forward, should you have a blend that you miss dearly from Teavana, if you reach out to us and let us know what the ingredients were, we can work with you to find one of our teas that we think you will like as well!
Teavana Tea: Wild Orange Blossom
Our Recommendation: Bright Orange
Teavana Tea: Spiced Apple Cider
Our Recommendation: Canandaigua Chill
Another tea that we hear is missed greatly, especially in Upstate NY, is Teavana's Spiced Apple Cider. This was another tisane tea with a base of apple that was highlighted by cinnamon and clove. It was loved by sippers as a fall treat and put a lively twist on plain old apple cider. To mimic these flavors, we recommend our Canandaigua Chill tisane tea. In this tea you will find a base of apples that is layered with cranberries, rosehips, clove, and cinnamon. It celebrates our beautiful Finger Lakes town and is again caffeine free so you can enjoy it well into the evening as well! We recommend this tea around a campfire this time of year. It is delicious!
Teavana Tea: Lavender Dreams
Our Recommendation: Lakeside Calm
This Teavana favorite featured white tea that was blended with lavender, pink rose buds, peach, apple, orange blossom, and raisins. Teasters loved this as a tea to relax with and sip slowly after a long day. The lavender notes induced restfulness and the fruit notes added a bit of depth with sweetness. To fill the void that you now have for this tea, we recommend our Lakeside Calm tea. This is another tisane that blends hibiscus, lemon, and lavender. Just as the Lavender Dreams would promote relaxation, Lakeside Calm helps sippers to really sit back and breathe. It is caffeine free, like all of our tisanes, so it won't give you any jolt in the evening hours, and will help you to really unwind. Try this one today and envision yourself sitting beside the lake and watching a beautiful sunset.
Teavana Tea: Raspberry Balsamico
Our Recommendation: Amethyst Berry
Another tea that we have been asked about numerous times is Teavana's former Raspberry Balsamico. In this tea you would find a whole host of berries including blueberries, raspberries, elderberries, and more that was enhanced with the floral profile from a rose petal component. As a replacement for this tea, we recommend our Amethyst Berry tea. This is one of our newer teas and has been so well received by you all. In it you will find hibiscus, butterfly pea flower, apple pieces, rose hips, orange, papaya flavor, blueberries, strawberries, and natural blackberry flavors. Just as in the Raspberry Balsamico, you will be greeted initially by all of the tangy berry flavors. Likewise, the hibiscus and butterfly pea flower add the floral touch. This tea steeps into a beautiful deep purple color and is a real treat to offer guests!
Teavana Tea: Earl Grey Creme
Our Recommendation: Cream of Earl Grey
A tea that most tea aficionado's keep at least some of in their cupboards is Earl Grey. Because of this, a Teavana favorite always proved their Earl Grey Creme. It was a traditional Earl Grey tea that was enhanced with lavender and creamy vanilla. Similarly, our Cream of Earl Grey tea incorporates these flavors of bergamot and Madagascar vanilla. It is a customer favorite that people routinely buy and keep stocked in their homes. We love this tea to curl up with in the evening with our furry friends. The aromas give off very cozy, fall vibes and we highly recommend trying some for yourself!
Teavana Tea: Gyokuro Genmaicha Green
Our Recommendation: Genmaicha
Now we are onto the green teas. A Teavana tea that was very well liked by green tea connoisseurs proved their Gyokuro Genmaicha Green tea. This tea was a base green Sencha-style tea, layered with rice. Our Genmaicha tea incorporates these same ingredients and those who loved the Teavana tea say that this is an almost exact match. In our tea you will see actual pieces of popped rice that resemble small pieces of popcorn. The flavor of this tea is primarily vegetal with some toasted notes due to the popped rice. For green tea drinkers, this is a must have. Try yours today!
Teavana Tea: Silver Needle White
Our Recommendation: Chinese Silver Needles
Last, but certainly not least, I'll mention our Chinese Silver Needles as an alternative to Teavana's Silver Needle White. Hailing from the Fujian province of China, this white tea that is harvested from the youngest buds of the tea plant. This is an in depth process and requires very careful pruning by hand. The result is an absolutely beautifully delicate flavor. It is light and slightly sweet. It is refreshing. It is something that you need to try today!
If you are missing your Teavana tea and decide to give one of these alternatives a try, let us know what you think. If you have found any other alternatives in our teas, please also let us know so that I can update this post! We love to hear from you. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and happy sipping! - Kaytea :)
P.S. This weekend in downtown Canandaigua, we are proud to be offering the Vintage and Classic Euro Car Show! The tour will begin at noon and include a drive through downtown and commence in the historic Main Street area to continue until 5PM! Come check it out!
My all-time favorite tea was Teavana’s Winterberry tea. Do you have anything comparable to that?
My favorite Teavana tea was the peach I don’t remember what the official name was but I’ve never found anything close