Best Starbucks Drinks Recommendations! Starbucks Coffee and Matcha Frappuccino Iced Tea - Better Than Coffee

It may no longer be news that Starbucks sells tea. Since acquiring the "Teavana" tea company in 2012, Starbucks has been highly optimistic about the North American tea market. Not only did they introduce Teavana tea beverages in major Starbucks coffee stores, but in October 2013, Starbucks also opened four tea-specialty stores called "Teavana Tea Bar" in the United States, dedicated exclusively to selling tea beverages—no coffee!

At "Teavana Tea Bar" locations, customers could find traditional Chinese and Western teas, innovative tea lattes, and light food options not available in regular Starbucks coffee stores, but no coffee beverages were offered. Additionally, the store atmosphere was more subdued and gentle, not as bustling as typical Starbucks locations. Consequently, prices were slightly higher than those at regular Starbucks coffee stores.

Apparently, American consumers had not yet developed a tea-drinking habit. For them, drinking tea was like Asians drinking coffee—optional and non-essential. Perhaps due to the relatively high prices of "Teavana Tea Bar" beverages, customers preferred to continue choosing Starbucks coffee; or perhaps consumers felt something was amiss when Starbucks wasn't selling coffee, preferring to buy tea beverages at regular Starbucks coffee stores instead. For these reasons, all four "Teavana Tea Bar" locations were either converted to regular Starbucks coffee stores or closed down by 2016.

However, Starbucks was not discouraged. If tea specialty stores couldn't succeed in North America, perhaps they could in Asia! Starbucks noticed that after introducing Teavana's iced shaken teas, tea bags, and tea-based Frappuccinos in China, Chinese consumers were actually purchasing more tea beverages than coffee at Starbucks locations!

In 2016, Starbucks considered introducing "Teavana Tea Bar" to China, but clearly, at that time, many new-style tea brands had already emerged in China. As a result, this Starbucks tea specialty store was "eliminated" before even entering the Chinese market.

China didn't work out, but Japan was still an option! Japanese demand for tea is extremely high, and young people at the time were also embracing new-style tea beverages. However, perhaps concerned about consumer dissatisfaction from selling only tea beverages like before, Starbucks didn't dare to exclusively sell tea. Instead, in 2020, they established three Starbucks Tea & Cafe specialty stores focused on specialty tea beverages, while also offering a limited selection of coffee beverages at these locations. Tea prices were also made more affordable.

Regarding the flavors of their specialty tea beverages, Starbucks had successfully captured the tastes of Japanese young people, introducing Yuzu Citrus Lavender Sage Tea Frappuccino, Yuzu Citrus Lavender Sage Tea, Strawberry Passion Fruit Tea, Strawberry Passion Fruit Frappuccino, Shioan Matcha Latte, and Japanese Charcoal Roasted Tea Latte. Understanding that young people love taking photos, every dine-in tea beverage was served in transparent cups to make the drinks appear more visually layered and appealing.

Apparently this time Starbucks had found the right market! Starbucks Tea & Cafe became extremely popular. Since the initial three stores were all located in the Kanto region, this made people in the Kansai region quite envious! Consequently, Starbucks decided to open the fourth Starbucks Tea & Cafe in Osaka on February 25, 2022.

Although the tea specialty store business initially seemed disappointing, Starbucks still showed strong favor for tea beverages. Howard Schultz had initially strictly prohibited coffee products from entering Teavana tea bars, but ultimately compromised with reality. This clearly demonstrates that although demand for new-style tea beverages continues to grow and Starbucks has considerable "ambition" for the tea market, the Starbucks brand cannot completely separate itself from coffee. After all, when people think of Starbucks, they automatically associate it with coffee. Selling only tea would feel like "betraying" the brand.

Image Source: Internet

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