News: Starbucks Opens Tea Bar Concept

Starbucks is looking to do for tea what they've done with coffee and have opened a new tea bar concept out in New York City.

Basically a Starbucks but for tea instead of coffee, the new Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar leverages the Teavana tea brand Starbucks acquired about a year ago.

The tea bar offers handcrafted tea beverages, premium loose leaf teas, tea-inspired food offerings, and tea merchandise. If you've been to a Teavana store before, it's basically like that but with expanded prepared food and drink options (much like you'd find at Starbucks).

A central feature of the new tea bar is a "Wall of Tea," which displays a number of loose leaf teas and tea blends and is much the same as you'd find in Teavana stores. Unlike Teavana stores, the tea bar concept features seating for hanging out.

The plan is to open several such tea bars in the upcoming year or so and to begin to offer a selection of loose leaf teas in Starbucks stores (which currently only offer tea bags).

Between the tea bar and the Evolution Fresh pressed juice stores, Starbucks seems to have a foothold in most beverage trends.