Yesterday, memorial day, my sister and I visited the brand new Teavana concept store on Santa Monica Blvd. at 9844 Wilshire Blvd.

This is the fourth Teavana Tea Bar and it is next door to a normal Starbucks cafe. I have wanted to visit one of these stores ever since Starbucks Melody wrote about the TAZO store (that I never got to see) and it’s conversion to a Teavana concept store.

The new stores are larger than the typical mall location. It has an area to sell teapots and other tea equipment and a smaller tea wall similar to the mall stores. The difference is in the available (indoor and out) seating areas, specialty teas (not just hot or iced), and foods.

The food bar offered pastry, salad, sandwich, and flat breads. The orange cranberry rugela was good. My sister disliked her salad as she said it was a bowl of cold vegetables with no flavor – there was no (or minimal) dressing on her broccoli and peas. My glass noodle salad was more interesting.

She enjoyed her iced tea – half herbal strawberry lemonade, and half green tea stawberry pomegranate.

I was disappointed in my iced sparking silver needle – there was sweetener and tasted burned. I wish i had tried a smoothie or other crazy tea drink instead.

Overall interesting idea i think needs improvement.