Starbucks Expands Tea Offerings in Asia with the Launch of Teavana

Starbucks launched Teavana Handcrafted Beverages and Full Leaf Tea Sachets in more than 6,200 Starbucks stores across the China/Asia Pacific region, including the Philippines. The coffee company promises a modern tea experience that gives customers the opportunity to enjoy a range of unique iced and hot tea beverages with bold, layered flavors.

“The launch of Starbucks® Teavana™ brings an entirely new tea occasion specifically developed for our customers in Asia, who increasingly want new and different tastes and experiences,” said John Culver, group president, Starbucks Global Retail. ”With Starbucks® Teavana™, we see a tremendous opportunity to leverage the company’s expertise in creating best-in-class retail experiences, handcrafting customized beverages, and sourcing the finest ingredients, to create a new, premium tea experience. Just as we’ve done for coffee, this is tea reimagined at Starbucks.”

The new individually handcrafted beverages are the result of an in-depth exploration of flavor, culinary trends, and premium ingredients by Starbucks’ beverage innovation team, with the goal of bringing something new and unexpected to customers. It uses traditional flavors that tea drinkers are familiar with and adds different ingredients and textures to create a new experience.

Tea is a $125 billion global category and is the second most consumed beverage in the world, second only to water. Starbucks is leveraging all of the company’s internal expertise, including knowledge in creating best-in-class retail experiences and handcrafted beverages, to create a new premium tea experience for Asian customers in what’s known as “the land of tea.” This is the first time Starbucks has launched a brand on this scale since 2008 with the launch of Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew instant coffee.

Starbucks Philippines offers three new Starbucks® Teavana™ Handcrafted Beverages:

Iced Shaken Hibiscus Tea with Pomegranate Pearls

This refreshing beverage combines Starbucks® Teavana™ hibiscus tea and bursting pearls of real pomegranate juice for a tart kick of flavor. 

Iced Shaken Black Tea with Ruby Grapefruit and Honey

Combines a traditional western black tea experience with a creative twist that is delicious iced with bites of pomelo fruit, grapefruit, and honey for a touch of added sweetness.

Matcha & Espresso Fusion

Fine Matcha powder layered with milk and Starbucks’ signature Espresso Roast creates a beautiful layered beverage and is an inventive combination of coffee and tea, to be enjoyed hot or iced.

The six (6) new Starbucks® Teavana™ hot teas available beginning September 14 include:

BLACK TEA

English Breakfast – A handcrafted blend of Indian Assam, Sri Lankan Ceylon, and Chinese black tea. This tastes great with or without milk.

WHITE TEA

Youthberry™ – Inspired by super fruits, acai fruit is blended with tropical pineapple and mango flavors with high quality white tea, balanced by rosehips and tart green apple.

GREEN TEA

Emperor’s Clouds and Mist™ – Exclusively harvested during the month of April and grown on the steep, windy slopes of Huangshan Mountain at 3,500 feet above sea level, this tea has a rich body and a naturally sweet flavor.

 CAFFEINE-FREE HERBAL TEAS

Hibiscus – Bright, juicy papaya and mango combined with citrus lemongrass for a naturally caffeine-free blend. Hibiscus flowers lend the tea a slight tartness and extraordinary deep fuchsia color.

Mint Blend – This tea’s spearmint base is rounded out with cool peppermint notes and undertones of spicy-sweet lemon verbena. The mint leaves come from the prized Pacific Northwest mint known for its high amount of mint oil.

Chamomile – The Chamomile used for this tea is sourced from Croatia. It provides the overarching flavor for this soft, soothing floral blend.

Event photos by Ira Cosme