New to Tea, Have questions. Teavana vs Capital Teas

I’m not new to tea though I am new to Steepster.

First, if you are not liking any Capital teas, it’s probable that you are not doing anything “wrong.” Sometimes a tea is just not good. Sometimes a tea does not taste good to your particular taste buds. You can experiment with water temp and steeping times for starters. Play around. If you read reviews here, you will learn a great deal. Some reviewers will go back and either on purpose or by accident steep a tea longer, with fewer or more leaves or at a lower temp and suddenly they will “get it.”

I collect vintage perfume and when I first started that obsession, I had no idea what I was sniffing. I slowly learned by smelling everything I could and you will do the same with tea. If you dislike something now, put it aside. Taste other things. Come back to it when you have more tasting experience under your belt. Taste with beginners mind. Read other people’s reviews of the tea or the tea vendors description of the notes/flavors in the tea and try to experience them. Sit with a tea and get to know it. Enjoy yourself. We all learn in different ways.

I can’t say that Teavana is “bad.” I don’t know. If you prefer their tea, though, drink it. Keep going back to the Capital. You can always regift it or take it to share at work or school. Give it time.

My grandmother introduced me to tea. She used to get a sauce pan, fill it with tap water, throw 6 bags of Lipton tea in it and boil it for 30 minutes. That was what I drank for years growing up-with a lot of sugar. My taste has changed radically since then and yours will, too. That is perfectly alright. For now, read a lot, sip a lot, ask questions. The tea world is your oyster. Open it up and have fun.

Thanks so much! GREAT advice! I was the same with my intro to tea years ago …Lipton with milk and lots of sugar! But now I stay away from sugar and dont use milk , so i really need a tea that has a natural sweetness to it and lots of flavor.I will go read the reviews and like you said, try and enjoy!

where is the review section?

Just go to the search bar and type in the name of a tea you like and go from there. You can also click on a reviewer’s name to see other teas they have reviewed. That is how you start your wish list, too.

Teavana isn’t bad, much of their negative reputation actually has more to do with their customer service, I think, than their tea. They seem to market themselves towards tea-newbies, sometimes they’re a bit pushy and I think they overcharge (but then, the shop I visited was in the mall, so I’m sure their rent was hefty) but the tea I tried from them was delicious. Capital Teas has a good reputation, but I agree with Whiteantlers, it might just not be the tea that’s right for you. However, if you have a lot, it’s worth experimenting to see whether there’s another prep method that’s more enjoyable to you. Sometimes teas taste better iced, or sometimes adding extra tea (even if it goes against the directions) can help.

The only thing to say about Teavana’s teas is that they have to buy everything in extremely high quantity for all their stores and their website operation. In order to meet these quantities sometimes their quality suffers I think. That being said they have some good teas, and some bad teas. In my opinion their puerh is particularly bad. I didn’t like it at all and they mix it with black tea too.

What you did wrong… Only order from two places! You need Adagio, Davids, Teavana, Capital, and Lupicia all at once at the bare minimum. :)
Just kidding: taste is subjective. Make tea how you want so it’s how you like it and continue to do so. What taste good to you is what you should get more of

I have a Breville One Touch, and the thing can be a lifesaver for me. I’m absolutely useless in the morning, so it shaves an hour off of my morning by getting caffeine into me asap when I wake up. It’s good at steeping up most black teas, especially larger quantities. But it struggles with other types of tea, especially as you get closer to 500ml (the lowest recommended amount.) If you’re talking about a tea where the leaf expands significantly, its terrible. For the time and temperature, searching people’s reviews here will be a safer bet than using the presets on the machine.

I also have an older model of something like this: http://www.amazon.com/FORLIFE-Brew—Infuser-16-Ounce-Turquoise/dp/B00FONTT32/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1459482858&sr=8-6&keywords=forlife+infuser There’s a bunch of different products like this out there. The key is that the leaves have enough room to expand and move around. (You could always get the same effect from steeping in one cup and pouring into another through a strainer, just a little messier that way.) If it’s in your budget, I recommend getting a setup along these lines for experimenting.

As for experimenting… If you find a tea that you like a lot, use a little more leaf one day, a little less the next. Try different temperatures, different steep times with that tea. Not everybody like their tea steeped the same way, so this will help you find out what your preference is. Play around and have fun with it!

When started exploring tea, I focused on the less expensive companies so I could get an idea what I liked before investing in expensive teas. I bought a fair amount of bagged tea, as well as quite a bit of tea from Adagio, which has inexpensive samples. I found out that I mostly prefer herbal teas, which is pretty uncommon here on Steepster. I drink what I like, even if it’s different from what other people prefer.

As for getting rid of teas you don’t want – if you have friends who drink tea, that’s the easiest way. Even if you don’t like it, they might. If that’s not an option, you can get involved here on Steepster and have more options. There are discussion threads for selling your teas, swapping for different teas, and traveling tea boxes. Those are the main ways people here get rid of teas they don’t want. Be aware that most people throw out or give away teas they’ve had for over a year, as they often start losing their flavor at that point (certain aged teas are obviously exceptions). Good luck with your explorations!

Thanks to everyone who responded!I think I’m going to like it here;)