Teavana

This is not a place where you go to sit down. The description on some of the reviews and pictures doesn’t tell you that you can’t sit there.

So impressed with the staff of this place. Watched some woman go on an absolute tirade /​border line tantrum in the store. She was verbally abusive of the store clerk repeatedly calling her (screaming in her face) a liar and had her in tears, all over a couple of ounces of tea. I personally would have called the security guard that was right outside the store and had her removed. Just cannot believe what people think is acceptable behavior to retail sales people that do not get paid much or to any person for that matter. What’s worse is that it is Christmas time. The staff, and especially the manager, that ended up trying to calm her down performed admirably and far more patiently than I would have.

First time purchasing from Teavana in Reston town center– I had the worst experience there tonight! The sales-​women sold me 4oz of tea– meanwhile, there was a prepackaged one for the same price but DOUBLE the tea! She did the same thing for a few other products I purchased. I am so disgusted with their business model. When I went back the manager, Tanny, was not working– rather there to pick up wrapping paper. She was extremely rude, would not even talk to me because she was in a «rush». Some man (assuming her husband) called her name from the outside the store and gave her the «lets go» look. All in all, it was the worst shopping experience. If you’re like me and know nothing about tea or teavana promotions– avoid this store if you can!

If u want the cashier to yell at you go here. We ordered a drink we always order and the lady was yelling at us like no u only get that at Starbucks. She knew what drink we were talking about so my question is why didn’t she just make it instead of litterly yelling at us for saying the name wrong!

Echoing what others have said, the sales people here are uncomfortably pushy. While the heavily sweetened teas often taste more like juice (but who doesn’t like juice?), I will probably not visit again to avoid the incredibly aggressive sales staff

Went in there in November for the first time and regretted it. Yes, the teas themselves are lovely though WAY overpriced. Tea is typically sold by the quarter ounce. This place is so pricey they sell by the 8^th of an ounce, for example one of their pearl teas works out to 30 dollars for a QUARTER pound!
The staff is PUSHY PUSHY PUSHY. If you do go in there I recommend practicing practically screaming «NO, I just want my tea for Gosh sakes!» over and over until they stop (which they wont)
If you must go in there as they are the last tea place on earth leave your wallet in the car.

5 stars in the realm of comparing all Teavanas. Definitely sounds like this spot is hit or miss, especially regarding the staff. I’ve been to several Teavanas throughout New York and the northeast and this location was definitely my best experience so far.
I’m familiar with the typical merchandise upsell when you show any interest in purchasing tea, however, I didn’t get any of that from the two salespeople I worked with. They were Yuriy and Carson. It was a cold day and the store was empty. They took their time in going through the different teas I had questions about and took the time to brew two different ones for me to taste without any pressure in making a purchase.
The store is small but if either of those two employees are working you shouldn’t feel intimidated at all.
Parking was free in the adjacent garage on a Saturday.

Pricy but good selection of teas and tea accessories.
Stopped in to pick up a gift card for Christmas for a tea lover friend! Associate was efficient and got me processed and out the door in short order!

I needed to get a secret Santa gift valued between $ 10 – 20. Well, the girl greeted me in a friendly way inviting me to try the tea, which was pretty good on cold rainy day. I looked around the store, and there was a tea can priced at $ 12.99 but it was 75% off. So I only paid around $ 3.50, but since the original price tag was on there it looked like it was between $ 10 – 20.

Having a husband who wants to be caffeinated but doesn’t care for coffee or carbonated beverages presented a unique challenge until we discovered that he actually enjoys tea. Of course, we had to discover that tea can be a very expensive habit (but so can coffee and espresso — you should see how much I spend at coffee shops: P).
Anyway, I stopped into Teavana after lunch because they weren’t busy and I figured I could avoid the long «sales-​y» experience that Unilocal friends Rebecca M. and Susan H. had experienced. I knew exactly which tea blend I wanted, which made things relatively easy from a choice standpoint. If you don’t know what you want or what you like, the decision-​making process could be pretty overwhelming. Then, the upselling and such began!
Sure, I’ll take a canister to keep my tea fresh for one year (forgetting I have air-​tight and empty canisters at home). Oh, of course I’ll up my purchase to 16 oz worth of tea to get 10% off (but wait — it’s going to be how much $$ now?!). And, how could I forget — I definitely need a travel tumbler with built-​in infuser (and it’s 30% off, starting today?)!
$ 100 later, I’m walking out a free woman, with what seems like 5 years’ worth of Chai/​Mate blend for the husband and a travel canister, but it’s for a Christmas gift (hope he doesn’t read this review!), so whatever.
Even if their associates are trained (or even if they’re not trained) to upsell, the gal I dealt with was extremely friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and not pushy. Just mind your pennies and keep your credit cards out of sight here, because they seem to spend and swipe themselves :)
If you’re a huge tea aficionado (or you know a deserving one) or you’re looking for cute tea vessels and accessories, plus lots of free tea samples, and your money feels like being spent, Teavana will make you sing!

I love Teavana and their high quality products. It may be intimidating as a first time visitor not being familiar with so many different flavors tea and you may feel a bit overwhelmed. I met one associate who was very honest and helpful unlike some others who are too damn pushy.
I also love to check out the beautiful and cute tea pot sets and I purchased a little gift.
I am fond of their ice teas as well.
Been there. done that… they are pricey, I do admit. However, they have great products and samples.

Crappy service. Went there about ten minutes before they closed. My friend asked for a cold iced tea. Said she couldn’t do it. He didn’t even care what flavor it was.
I have sent people here because I live near the Old Town location and love it– now I am embarrassed and will never do that again. When in Reston I will save my money and spend it at the Old Town location or somewhere else.

Dear teavana,
Products: b for quality, variety, and potential. (Hooray!)
Service: c– for pulling me all over the store and pushing the hard sell in the first 30 seconds of my visit before I even know if I like the tea. (Boo! hiss!)
I like the variety of loose and bag teas you offer – especially those brewed, iced, and mixed with lemonade on a hot summer day. I love the clever infusers and pots and tins and rock candy swizzlers you sell and find most your items quite nice. The sales staff is friendly-​yet something lies beneath the surface just waiting for the opportunity to pounce on eager, yet unsuspecting yuppies who frequent RTC. Typically, i pour a tea from the dispenser outside, swirl it, sniff it, sip it in short pulls then exhale and feel the relaxing effect of the tea start to melt stress away before i bring the cup to my lip again – by this time, at least one of the sales staff approaches me with a barrage of information and entreats me to make a purchase before my derrière even passes through the open shop doors!)
If I pour a tea for myself or for my mother, I’m immediately shown the loose tea, the infuser, several receptacle options for a tea pot, even a tin to store the loose leaves in to protect them from diminishing in robust flavor. All that in less than 2 minutes. Now my attention is in 48 different places, price points, and pieces. I can’t even enjoy the tea in my hand. Tea is my relaxation tool, but a trip here is anything but relaxing when the nuclear «sell» option has been initiated.
.
There is only a finite number of times I can say“no, thank you” to your super sales pushes without my smile fading to transparency and fraying at the edges. Please, please find the line between «helpful» and «officious» and learn the difference between «facilitating suggestion» and «the good idea fairy on commission». Else I will have bitten a hole in my tongue and marked you with the look my mother calls the «Alabama stink eye» after vowing never to return. Hell, I’d drink espresso all day and not tea if I wanted that kind of jitter in my life.

Please bring back the ambience of relaxation to the store. Casually «just walking through» customers should not be viewed as sickly antelopes in heels on the Serengeti upon whom lions in Teavana employee clothing should be poised to pounce. Rather, this yuppie population would more likely prefer a restful, renewing spiritual haven where they will likely buy more products at their leisure than if surrounded by hungry sales staff wielding infusers and tea tins — -just a thought!

Employees were friendly and helpful. Warned me that the set I was buying would absorb the tea and they recommend only using one flavor. Gave me coupons for future visit, but did not try to push any products on me. Free samples are nice and unique in the the town center sad as that is to say.

Oh teavana… Your teas are divine but your constant upsales, pressure, product pushing and other stressful sales tactics take away from the overall experience. I believe that «pressure them like the steam blowing out of a overpriced cast iron tea kettle» is part of their mantra as every Teavana store I’ve been to has sales staff that don’t seem to understand «no thank you». My friend and I mentioned that we did not want to buy any more tea to get the 10% discount and the sales staff continued with their sales pitch as if we sat there quiet and dumbfounded the first two times they asked us if we would like to buy more to get the «discount».
This was my first visit to a Teavana in about 4 years, and this experience just reminded me why I haven’t been over here in a while.
If you want to purchase some high-​end teas and you don’t feel like trekking over to other smaller tea-​house outfits in the area (like Teaism) I guess Teavana will do. But you’re truly doing your wallet a disservice by catering to your desire not to trek outside of the dulles corridor.

What could be better than cold tea on a hot day or hot tea on a cold day? OK, a few things but if you are in the market for tea don’t head here. First off, take a look at the place. It’s filthy. Looking upwards at the glass shelves that have never been dusted gives you a taste of what this place really is, a dinge emporium.
Step over the threshold and behold a wonderful assortment of teas, and immediately face a motivated sales force that are all too ready to help part you from your wallet. They’ll try and sell you bales of tea, and infusers, and nifty kettles.
Hey Teavana — dust off the kettle (and the shelves) — and let us choose the teas we want. We’ll ask for help when we need it.

There aren’t any stores like this. If you like Lipton tea then this place is not for you.
Amazing selection of imported teas and mixes. Great place to buy a gift for someone who appreciates teas and their health benefits. Really happy that there’s one in Reston now too.

When it comes to Teavana, I’ve long had this wish/​fantasy that goes like this — One weekend day I will go into Teavana (any Teavana) and there will be no customers in the store. I will walk right up to the counter, order my tea, pick up some teabags and be out of there in no time flat.
Well…I’m here to tell you that this wish/​fantasy comes under that old saying «Careful, you just might get what you wish for!»
This past rainy Sunday, I made my first visit to this Teavana. My husband and I parked the car in the garage. He went to Red Velvet to get cupcakes for the tea and I headed to Teavana. We would meet up back in the car.
I walked right into Teavana — and — I was the only customer! «Oh, good!», I thought, «I will be in and out in no time!» Yeah, riiiiight! Here’s how it went:
I went up to the counter. There were 3 bored clerks standing around. One asked if she could help me.
Me: «I would like 8 ounces of Rooibos Tropica, please.»
Clerk #1: Tells clerk #2 what I want, then says to me. «She (Clerk #2) will tell you all about that tea.»
Me: «I know all about it. We’ve been getting it for years.»
Clerk #2: «How many ounces did you want?»
Me: «8 ounces»
Clerk#2: «Do you need a tin?»
Me: «No, I have some at home.»
Clerk#1: «Well why didn’t you bring them with you?» [Huh? that’s a new one!]
Me: «My tins are 6 ounces and I’m buying 8 ounces.»
Clerk#1: «Did you know that this tea is really good for allergies? I drank some and my allergy symptoms went away!»
Me: «Really? I didn’t know that. [said as I was scanning the store] «Where do you keep the tea bags?»
Clerk#1: [Takes me to the tea bags where there just happen to be infusers nearby — how convenient!] «Do you want to buy an infuser?»
Me: «No. I’m lazy. I don’t want to wash out an infuser. That’s why I like the tea bags.»
Clerk#1: «How do you use the tea bags?»
Me: «I put 2 teaspoons of tea in each, then put it in a large mug with some hot water.»
Then I take the 2 boxes to the counter. Clerk #2 has my bag of tea ready. and says after I pay for every thing: «Be sure to put it in your tins as soon as you get home!»
Me: «Yes, Mom!» [No…I didn’t actually say that. It wouldn’t have been nice plus I am old enough to be her mom LOL!] Actually, I said «I always do that!»
Clerk#1: «Come see us again!»
Me: «I will. It’s nice to have a Teavana close to home!»
And that’s one of the reasons I can’t give Teavana 5 stars much as I love their teas. When they aren’t too busy, no matter where the store, they always put on the hard sell. Also, it’s not uncommon for them to run out of popular teas. Then there are some Teavanas that are the size of a master bedroom walk-​in closet [ahem! Scottsdale, AZ!]
When I got back to the car, my husband was waiting. I asked him if he was waiting very long for me. «Not too long», he said «I was the only customer at Red Velvet so I was in and out quickly.»
Me: «And I was the only customer in Teavana!»

Watch out for aggressive sales techniques that may or may not involve the clerk trying to turn your kids against you! Clerk enjoyed up selling me at every turn and after my many refusals to buy measuring spoons, sugar and more tea than I requested, sales girl remarked to my 9 year old,
«Your Mom doesn’t seem very happy».
My call to corporate has gone unanswered.
I hope that my $ 35.00 helped her make her sales quota, because it is the last time I ever shop with Teavana.

I went there for the first time the other day. Great place if you like tea. Lots of different varieties and equipment. Knowledgeable stuff. Good location (for me anyway!)
I did however find the associate to be a bit pushy. I wanted to get four different teas to try, and he claimed that «most people» go with ¼lb each when they’re trying a tea for the first time. This averages out to about $ 20 per tea, so I find it hard to believe. He was also fairly hell-​bent on selling me two tins (for $ 8 each) to store the tea because it has to be stored in an airtight, light-​proof area. He neglected to mention that a zip lock bag in a dark cupboard would acheive the same goal for about ¹⁄₁₀₀₀^th of the cost.
So be prepared when you go in there to insist in the quantities that you want rather than what the associate wants you to buy.