Revup
Throughout history, tea has been lauded for its medicinal properties. Not just a pick-me-up, tea has been cited as helpful for everything from digestion to its anticancer properties. Today’s health-conscious consumers are not only curious about the wide varieties of tea, but are actively seeking out tonics or remedies for their ills and general malaise.
Starbucks’ new Teavana Wellness offerings are timely, not just in the zeitgeist-riding sense, but their appearance happens to coincide with the worst flu season in more than a decade. Everyone’s looking for an immune-system boost.
Recover
The Teavana Wellness blends that Starbucks has added to its core tea menu are the Defense Wellness Tea, combining vitamin C, white tea, and blackberry leaves; the Comfort Wellness Tea, a “calming rooibos blend” with ginger, lemon, and mint; the Rev Up Wellness Tea, made from black, oolong, and green teas, combined with mango, apricot, and peach flavors; and a brand new super-charged Defense Wellness-based tea, the Citrus Defender, which adds steamed lemonade, honey, and warming spices to the blend.
Zesty orange, lemon & lemongrass, hints of cinnamon & ginger.
Strong research exists to back up the effectiveness of immune-boosting compounds found in tea. These include catechins (a chemical found in plants, especially green tea), amino acids (important in building proteins that help the immune system) and polyphenols (an antioxidant). Capitalizing on the “wellness” trend, with the addition of well-known cold remedies to an already well-known healthy drink is a stroke of… just ask your genius mother!
Sources: Starbucks, Sagetonic, Statnews.com
