Can Teavana do for leaves what Starbucks did for beans?

It wasn't long ago when a cup of tea for Americans simply meant a bag of black leaves floating in a cup of hot water, garnished with milk and sugar or—if you wanted to get fancy—honey. Your choices were few—Lipton, Tetley, maybe the odd British import and, of course, that exotic green tea served in tandem with a plate of General Tso's chicken. But with all eyes turning to China and India as economic powerhouses and cultural arbiters, tea is brewing a reputation as a luxury experience rather than a second-rate caffeine fix.

Read the full report in Brandchannel.com here.