Photos: Elizabeth Daniels
The immensely popular Starbucks location on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire in Beverly Hills recently went under the knife. It has been split in two: a newly remodeled Starbucks occupies the rear while the front corner lot is now home to a Teavana Tea Bar. Starbucks purchased Teavana in 2012 — one of several acquisitions the coffee retailer made that year — and has slowly begun rolling out Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar, an extension of the brand's retail model, in cities across the country. This is the fourth Teavana Tea Bar to open in the country and the first in Los Angeles.
Starbucks' control of Teavana means they have a new profit model to play with, and one where coffee is not even on the menu. Instead, find tea from all over the world in many different forms (loose leaf, boxed, iced), and a menu unique to Teavana with no Starbucks overlap.
The coffee giant has clearly spent some time testing the temperature of the market. There's a matcha avocado tea smoothie, apple Oolong chia fresca, and even a Genmaicha miso tea soup. The menu isn't limited to beverages and breakfast pastries either: savory snacks, salads, and small bites are also on offer. Now open daily from dawn until dusk.
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