Teavana (Mall of America) Edit

I don’t buy tea from Teavana just because I dislike their sales ethic, I have no problem with their tea or their prices—but, they push bad tea on people whether or not it’s good for them, sell mostly dried fruit juice, rather than real tea, and promote poor drinking habits.

over priced and pushy sales people. Lots of other tea options in the twin cities

Their loose leaf teas are a little pricey but when you compare them with other shops its not by much. The only things I think they over charge slightly on are their cups of tea and their tea tins. I’ve only bought one cup of tea from them and I think $4 is a bit steep (pun intended). However, I feel like the $4 more or less goes to the service you receive. They are really great with helping you decide which tea and what ones to mix with it(if any) and if you don’t like that one then they will make you another.

This is a nice place to meander if you want to sample some of their teas and check out their interesting products. However, I tend to drop by during the week in the morning/afternoon to avoid crowds (it is the mall of America, after all). They have a wonderful variety of teas and I’ve found the employees able to provide good suggestions upon telling them what I’m looking for. Overall, I am very satisfied with the teas I’ve tried there and with the advice given about how to get the most out of my teas.

The most important thing I noticed about this Teavana location is how they give you a tad more tea than you ask for, and although they ask you if 2.4 oz is okay when you ask for 2oz, when you’re buying a lot of tea the difference can certainly add up. Thus, although the pressure to buy is somewhat subtle, it is definitely there.

A lovely place to visit if you’re at MOA on a winter weekday, but forget it on a summer weekend. Teavana gets super busy and though they have great teas, they can be pretty pushy/sales driven.

The selection and quality is pretty awesome, with their now-famous Wall of Tea. They also have great a selection of tetsubin and teaware.

It can be quite a feat to come out of here with exactly what you came for, no more, but it’s a great tea-lovers treat.

I’d rather hit the Tea Garden for a drink though.

Excellent selection of teas, as you’d expect. Easy to locate. Always has two different blended teas to sample and an eye-catching array of teaware on display. Sells brewed tea to go as well as its famous loose leaf “Wall of Tea” selections. Not a café-type of store, more like a showroom where you can order a drink at the register.

The drawbacks are the foot traffic – during the holiday season they get so busy they’ve often had to discontinue their prepared drink “to-go” sales – and there has never been a time when I’ve walked into the store where they haven’t tried to “up-sale” at every turn – be prepared to feel "pushed’ to buy their proprietary tea tins and other accesories. The staff’s tea knowledge can be hit-and-miss, but always friendly. The quality of the tea is what keeps me returning several times a year, but I always have my shopping list prepared and I presume that I’m going to be asked the same questions each and every time. As time goes on, I’ve done more of my Teavana shopping online to avoid the up-selling atmosphere. The tactic of limiting the number of blooming teas for sale without having to buy an expensive $89 tumbler kit has recently been the first sour note in my Teavana experience. I’ve found more blooming tea options at other places that aren’t bundled.
But as it’s located in suburbia where there’s a drought of tea shops and an overabundance of national chain coffee stores, it is a true oasis.

Best features: variety, tea quality, location
Worst feature: sales pressure to buy more than you need, recent trend to bundling teas in expensive gift sets and making them exclusives