… a work in progress

I’m starting to realize the people who work at Teavana in the Cherry Creek mall have no clue what they are doing. Starbucks seems to have a better training program. This was my third visit to the store, in the past I’ve bought some Jasmine Pearl and Green Teas. On my most recent visit I stopped in the store to pickup a nice new glass teapot which I’ve been waiting for them to get back in stock. The glass teapot was very nice, I love it. It’s very delicate and made in China but its quality is equal to that of the French made Bodum teapots. It’s very delicate however, I hope that I don’t drop it. To go with the new teapot I wanted to get their “blooming” tea called Rose of Suzhou. First the person who worked there didn’t know what the components to this tea were. Well first it’s Marigold, Jasmine, Amaranth and White Tea and second it’s disgusting. Tastes like soy sauce soaked water. I’ve had this same tea that I ordered from Dean And Deluca once and it was so gentle tasting and even more beautiful. Oh well, what a waste of $36 and 4oz of tea. After paying for the teapot and the loose teas I inquired about some Pu-Erh, some good Pu-Erh, the kind that comes in a cake and you break off. The sales person directed me to an ornamental Pu-Erh, not something you would actually drink. hmm, oh well. I don’t know much about tea either, no expert here, but did learn Teavana really isn’t a place for Tea Lovers. In addition I ordered a Jamine Oolong to-go and they didn’t start making it until the sales person thanked me for coming in and I had to remind them I had a to-go order.

When I was in San Diego, I did discover once a really fine establishment with passionate employees. The place in near La Jolla and called Infusions of Tea which is located at 8750 Genesee Ave Suite 285 next to BookStar, Starbucks and PF Changs. Infusions of Tea is setup like a bar with a bartender and all the loose teas behind the bar. I highly recommend this place if you are in the La Jolla/UTC area.

So I suppose I’m still looking for a good tea shop in Denver, I can’t drive up to Boulder every time I want a goo tea experience. I guess since I’ll be here for a little longer I’ll keep looking. Oh and speaking of Boulder a good article from the New York Times on Boulder.