Starbucks Introduces New Handcrafted Tea Beverages

Starbucks Introduces New Handcrafted Tea Beverages
(from a press release)

Starbucks introduction of the new Full Leaf Tazo Tea Lattes and Tazo Tea Infusions is a continuation of the company’s commitment to offering better-for-you options. Most of the tea offerings are less than 200 calories for a tall size (12 fl oz) and most provide more antioxidants than an 8-ounce glass of orange juice, which are essential to protecting the body’s immune system.

Starbucks new Full Leaf Tazo Tea Lattes are our first handcrafted tea offerings to use full-leaf tea bags in our stores, allowing customers to steep to their own taste preferences. Starbucks Tea Lattes are made from a soothing combination of steamed milk and Tazo tea and are available in three new varieties:

Black Tea Latte, a bold, invigorating combination of black tea and freshly steamed milk;
Vanilla Rooibos Latte, a naturally caffeine-free infusion of botanicals that unites South African rooibos (ROY’-bus), Tahitian vanilla, sweet spices and freshly steamed milk;
London Fog Latte, an intriguing blend of black tea, citrusy bergamot, French lavender, vanilla and freshly steamed milk.

Customers seeking a calcium boost can enjoy a new tea latte this winter, as a tall size offering contains 20 percent of the recommended daily calcium intake.

Starbucks Tazo Tea Infusions are the perfect winter pick-me-up. A handcrafted combination of premium Tazo black chai tea lightly steamed with fruit juices, these non-dairy beverages are available in two varieties:

Berry Chai Infusion, a blend of aronia berry and black currant juices steamed with black tea and sweet, exotic spices like cinnamon, cardamom and cloves;
Apple Chai Infusion, a blend of apple juice steamed with black tea and sweet spices.

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Starbucks Invades India

Okay, maybe "invade" is a bit of an exaggeration. Starbucks hasn't done anything in India yet, but a recent AFP report indicates that they're planning a foray into this great tea-drinking nation by the end of 2007. As you may recall, we recently wrote about Starbucks' activities in another nation of tea lovers - the United Kingdom.

According to the AFP report, Indians currently consume ten times as much tea as coffee. In China, where Starbucks has also gotten a foothold, the chain currently operates nearly 200 outlets. Of course, keeping in mind that China has more than a billion inhabitants helps to put a number like that in perspective.

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tea, green tea, food, food and drink, Starbucks

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The Starbucks Empire

If you're an avid tea drinker, you might tend to view Starbucks with a measure of antipathy. Then again, you might tend to view Starbucks with a measure of antipathy even if you're not an avid tea drinker. Yes, I know Starbucks owns Tazo Tea and serves it in their cafes. But let's face it, they were never known for their tea, are not now and probably never will be.

If you need another reason to mutter about the evil Starbucks empire - on which the sun probably never sets - take a look at this ABC News report on how they're infiltrating that great tea-drinking empire across the Atlantic. Yeah, that one. As the article's sub-title says, "Tea Is Still No. 1 in the UK, but American-Style Coffee Houses Are Gaining Ground."

According to the report, there are now "2,700 American-style coffee bars in the United Kingdom." Starbucks leads this pack, as you might have guessed, with 530 outlets.
If you're hoping this is just a fluke, consider this article, from India's Telegraph. It seems that nowadays the phrase "all the tea in China" doesn't have quite the resonance it once did. Which is a roundabout way of say that coffee is gaining a foothold there.

As of May 2006, when this article appeared, they were looking for 10,000 trained coffee makers and servers in Beijing and Shanghai alone.

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Starbucks, Black Tea & Weird Eats

Not long after Reuters reported that Starbucks is being "sued for squashing competitors," comes the news that the coffee (and a little bit of tea) giant's long-term goal is 40,000 stores. Starbucks currently has 12,000 stores. The fact that I can't understand why Starbucks needs so many stores probably renders me unfit for the high-falutin' world of big business.

This news appeared in numerous media outlets. Read what the International Herald Tribune had to say here.

If you feel that green tea's been getting all the press, at the expense of black and others, you'll be happy to read this report from Web MD and CBS News. If it's to be believed, black tea has considerable health benefits too.

I don't see the connection between black tea and stress reduction. Whenever I drink it - which is often - I tend to feel rather keyed up. But what do I know?

Last, but not least, I'd like to mention a new project I'm rolling out. It's called Weird Eats and it's a Web site created to take a look at...well - weird eats. It's only been around for a week or so, but there's plenty more to come. Have a look here and tell all your friends.

Image: Starbucks

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Matcha Comes To Starbucks

Matcha may turn out to be the next big thing, thanks to two new drinks that debuted earlier this month at Starbucks. Both use matcha, the powdered green tea best known as a component in the Japanese tea ceremony.

Said beverages are Tazo Green Tea Latte and Tazo Blackberry Green Tea Frappuccino. The former is "a delicious blend of lightly sweetened matcha green tea, accented with hints of tropical melon and steamed fresh milk" and will be available year-round.

The latter is "a creamy blend of the finest quality Japanese green tea matcha powder, lively flavors of real, fresh blackberries and ice, topped off with real whipped cream and a tangy blackberry drizzle". It will only be available through May 16, 2006.

Source: Starbucks

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Mr. Quixote, I Presume

The Associated Press recently reported about a man who goes simply by the name Winter (not his given name). He is closing in on his goal of getting a caffeinated beverage at every corporate-owned Starbucks on the planet. A lawyer named Bill Tangeman, whose name is oddly similar to my own, is making a documentary film of the quest. It will be called Starbucking.

Now, I know Starbucks is associated primarily with coffee, but they do sell tea and they do own the Tazo brand, so that makes this news relevant enough to include on my tea page.

Anyway, Winter, who must be really bored, is closing in on five thousand Starbucks, with about eight hundred more to go. The 33 year old, who lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, began his quest in 1997. On his best day thus far, he visited 29 Starbucks. This would be a pretty impressive feat, if it weren't sort of meaningless.

If you feel some perverse need to keep informed regarding this adventure, you'll want to bookmark Winter's Web site.