Starbucks to Debut Tazo Tea Shop

The new store moves away from the beans and encourages patrons to blend their own tea-based beverages.

June 22, 2012

SEATTLE - Come fall, Starbucks is hoping to do for tea what its coffee shops did for coffee: elevate tea drinking to a new level when it opens its first Tazo tea shop, Huffington Post reports.

The Tazo tea shop will be located near its Seattle headquarters. Customers will be able to mix their own teas from more than 80 loose-leaf varieties at a tea bar with the assistance of a "tea partner." The shop will also sell tea lattes, iced tea, packaged chocolates, honeys and infused sugars. Food and pastries, similar to Starbucks stores, will be available as well, although sans the "green dot" Starbucks logo.

Recently, the coffee chain has expressed interest in expanding beyond coffee. In March, the company opened its first Evolution Fresh juice store in Belleview, Washington. In April, the company also launched its own line of energy drinks called Starbucks Refreshers. Plus, Starbucks will begin offering a branded single-cup coffee machine this fall for brewing coffee drinks, like lattes, at home.

While Starbucks hasn€™t mentioned any plans for more Tazo tea shops, but the company has said Tazo is a $1.4 billion brand and it has plans for growing it. Starbucks currently has 17,000 cafes around the globe.

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