Starbucks recently announced that they would be opening a Tazo tea store. An entire store dedicated to tea! I have heard in the news that this store will be located in University Village. From the official Starbucks blogs, they describe that their early stores had lots of tea options:
“Tea has been a part of Starbucks heritage since 1971, when we were founded as Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices. In those early days, Howard Schultz scooped 27 different kinds of loose-leaf tea from the original store at Pike Place Market.“
^ That is excerpted from this official Starbucks blog article: A Tazo Store For Our Home Town of Seattle.
With Tazo Tea heavily in the news, now seemed like a good time to write about them. Of course, the above excerpt describing Howard scooping tea from 1912 Pike Place, must be describing the tea offerings of the early to mid 1980s – the time-frame when Howard Schultz was new to Starbucks. And at some point in the late 1980s to mid 1990′s, Starbucks offered tea called “Starbucks Finest Tea.”
In 1999, Starbucks bought Tazo Tea. From John Moore, producer of the blog Brand Autopsy, I learned that the posters featured in this article appeared in the fall of 1999 in Starbucks stores everywhere. The posters were part of a brief Tazo marketing campaign, and there was an additional poster which said, “Enlightenment Shall Be Yours.” John Moore recalls that these posters were only in stores about four weeks, leading up to the Holiday promo in mid-November.
I think these two posters are too amazing to pass up showing off here. Everything about them is brilliant. They’re brave, bold, confident, and draw you into Tazo.
I owe a big thank you to the former partner who mailed me the above two posters. He’s the same person who sent me the “Coffee First” poster featured previously on this blog.
And thank you to Molly at Seattle Custom Framing for helping me out with photos. Though it might not be obvious, sometimes it’s quite a challenge to figure out how to get good photos of large posters that want to curl up on you. Her frame shop has a camera on the ceiling, originally installed to take photos of her work, but it’s come in handy many times for big posters.
Feel free to talk about anything Tazo Tea related. It’s true, I am much more of a coffee drinker than a tea drinker, but I am looking forward to exploring this new concept store. I hope it will offer more iced tea options, such as Vanilla Rooibos, or the Tazo Refresh tea. Both of those are delicious iced.
(For more Starbucks history lessons, click here.)
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I am very excited they are expanding the brand! I never has seen those posters, blasts from the past sometimes point out come companies – and trends – cycle.
Those posters are a hoot!
I still find it odd they’ve kept the Tazo brand and are pushing it forward in America whilst in Europe and Asia the brand is gone. It’s just Starbucks Tea. Will Starbucks do a first and reverse that decision and bring the Tazo brand back worldwide?
I am so excited to see this store open but so disappointed it is opening in Seattle. Boo! I guess I just do not get it. Why do they limit these new stores to your area Melody? Because corporate feels they can keep a better look at how it is being received? I agree those posters are amazing! I vote to expand this store to other regions and open one by me? I assume this store will take the SB card and you can get rewards?
@PatrickM - Sorry this will be short – in a rush. I know what you mean. Sebastian (who comments on this blog now and then) had sent me photos of a stores in Germany at one time, and pointed out that it is just “Starbucks Tea” in the German market. Apparently there is no Tazo branding in Europe. I’ve thought that strange too that the Tazo branding is so prominent here, but non existent in the international markets.
You drink tea! But I’m sure these new stores are opened near the headquarters so that they can be on a short leash. It is much easier to watch over them if they’re close to the SSC.
@Purple1 - I’ll vote to open a Tazo store near you.
@Melody – I’ve a pic from twitter taken last week of the branding of the Starbucks Tea here in Europe. https://twitter.com/PatrickMooney/status/216693132199329792
It used to be Tazo up until the full leaf blends were launched some 2 years back. They dropped the Tazo naming. Tazo Chai Tea Latte also dropped the Tazo name. When this happened peppermint was withdrawn too.
I understand the dynamics of why they open new concept stores – evolution fresh and this tea store in Seattle, but how on some level do they expect customer following and support if they are limiting these new stores? I also realize that they might expand and open in other areas, but that often takes so long! I would imagine SSC can see through this blog and other comments that customers are interested in this.
Yes, I wonder too why SEATTLE is the mecca for all Starbucks new concept stores when they need to branch out and embrace other areas where sales are brisk.
The posters are awesome! Thanks for sharing!