We Talk Shop

Hello, my name is Tanya, and I am a tea addict. Hot on the heels of shopgirl_phaedra’s chai tea latte post comes another tea product for us pure tea lovers. (Not knocking the chai tea latte though as I’m an equal lover of all things tea and ready to run out and buy that latte machine now …)

I was not acquainted with Teavana until I got home the other night to find a gift bag left on my counter. (Unexpected gifts are the best kind; you know people are thinking of you even when it’s not a special day.) In my gift bag was the Teavana Perfect Tea Maker, the perfect tea spoon, two cans of loose tea and a can of German rock cane sugar. It was as though the tea gods looked down upon me and bestowed a thank you gift for my devotion.

The Teavana Perfect Tea Maker is an easy-to-clean loose tea steeper that makes the perfect cup of tea. The back of the loose tea can tells you how long to steep your tea depending on the type you have, and they have so many flavors and types of tea, your head will spin. (In my case, my Rooibos Tropica required 1 1/2 of the tea to be steeped for 5-6 minutes. And the result was nothing short of delicious.) Oh, and btw, you not only get instructions for hot tea, but also for iced tea and herbal iced teas.

Teavana also sells the Perfect Tea Mug, but it’s not necessary to buy this as well. I’ve used two of my ceramic mugs, one with a smaller mouth, and the tea maker fit on both. (Although on the mug with the smaller mouth, I did need to move it around a little to get the proper fit.)

Get it: Online or in stores: $17.95 for the two-cup tea maker, $32.95 for the four-cup.

Ok - so I’ll admit it - I am addicted to Chai Tea Latte.
I am not a coffee person, so when my husband would go to Starbuck’s or Barnie’s, I of course wanted to have something to drink and found Chai Tea Latte. From that point on I was on a quest to find a way to make it at home. One day we were in Target and found this machine which advertised on the box that “the machine brings the cafe experience home and that you can automatically heat, whip, and mix instant cocoa, coffee and tea into frothy cafe style drinks”. No way I said, could this be true that I could make the drink that I loved so much any time I wanted?

Oh yes, heaven in a cup was mine again! The machine is so easy to use, just add the mix and milk and six minutes later, you have a perfect cup of Chai – the machine has a dispenser button that adds the “froth” to the top. Yummy!

I use the Vanilla Chai Tea Latte from Target – Pacific Rim brand which sells for $3.99 and you get about 10 cups – not bad.
Oh and yes it also makes a really great cup of hot chocolate. This machine is made by Back to Basics - the same company that sells the all in one breakfast station, I’ll save that one for another blog. The machine comes in white, black and brushed crome so it is sure to go with any kitchen decor and it is small enough to keep out on in a cabinet.

Get it: Target stores for $24.00, suggested retail price from Back to Basics $39.00.