T2

This place deserves nothing but praise! Since moving to Australia, I’ve really started to enjoy drinking tea. Every time I’m in the store, I’m always impressed by the level of customer service and knowledge of everyone who works there. They are always helpful but never pushy. I went in the store in August to buy a bunch of tea for people back in the US. When I went to the store in December, the girl who helped me in August remembered me and immediately remembered what I had purchased months before!

I’m from the South; not South Australia, but the American variety. As a child picking cotton in the fields under the sweltering Kentucky sun, our only joy on those days was a nice cold glass of sweet tea. Having moved to Australia, I quickly learned that deliciousness was no longer in reach. This isn’t because I can’t get tea and make it, but because my mom is too far away to make tea for me now. So, I’m only 2 years in on the Aussie by way of England love of hot tea. I now drink approximately 15 liters of green tea a day and my skin tone has changed to that of a smurf with the tint slightly off on the TV. T2 has so many good teas and all of the tools, equipment, instructions, dohickeys, etc. needed to make that delicious cup of tea a reality. I found the staff to be very helpful to this unknowing Southern boy. I will be back because my supply is getting low.

Chocolate. White Chocolate. Adelaide Breakfast. Brisbane Breakfast. There’s a seemingly never-​ending collection of teas for a beginner tea drinker or the seasoned tea steeper to take home. I stopped in to the Queens Plaza store recently to pick up a box of their Cocoa Loco chocolate tea. I kid you not, this herbal tisane tastes like you’re sipping on a hot chocolate. It’s a healthy alternative to sip instead of dessert. The staff were pleasant and helpful. I do like that once I say, «No I’m just looking.» I am generally left to my own devices to wander and peruse the teas and various tea-​making contraptions. There’s not a great deal of difference between this store and any other T2 store — it’s a formula carried out each time — beautiful brooding fit out, wonderful selection of teas and more tea making devices than you can imagine. If you’re after a gift or just want to broaden your tea tastes, this is a spot for you.

Reading a recent brisbanetimes/​Fairfax business article about T2 revealed that I am exactly the sort of customer that T2 was opened to serve. Young (ish) with a disposable income that I am willing to fork over for those little luxuries in life. My recent T2 shopping experiences will attest that they have me hook, line and sinker.
I have enough T2 varieties in my kitchen to single handedly sustain the British tea culture for many moons, I am now a card-​carrying member of the T2 tea society and not content with this, I have even tweeted my props to the Queens Plaza staff after some fantastically informative tea advice.
What did they tell me that was worth tweeting about? I finally learned why some green teas make me want to gag from bitterness and other more delicate varieties are like heaven in a mug. Turns out I need to focus my purchasing on Japanese, rather than Chinese, green tea and there are some other special instructions for brewing my tea that take the bitter edge off.
From organic sencha green tea, to the gorgeous geisha and summer varieties, free-​radicals haven’t a chance against the antioxidant superpowers brewing in my kitchen.
Beyond the thoroughly wonderful customer service there is more to love in the Queens Plaza T2 store — the tasting stations, the smelling stations, the tea varieties, the home wares and the free gift wrapping.
Smack bang in the middle of the city craziness, this vision of a retail outlet is a refuge. You may never return for another cup of Twinings once you’ve tasted the T2 blends.

This T2 is always a pleasure to browse in and is conveniently located in the heart of the city (on the bottom level of QueensPlaza), which provides a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle from the main streets upstairs.
There’s a huge array of teapots and teacups here stacked precariously in windows and around the store. You may want to walk carefully if you’re the clumsy type because there’s great potential for everything in this store to smash if you’re not paying attention.
There are several stations here, all of course, dedicated to tea. Firstly, there’s a tea tasting station. In Summer, they have jugs of chilled tea that they’ve infused with fresh fruits. There are paper cups here for you to use, but no bins, so you’ll have to take those out with you once you leave. And there is another station devoted entirely to dry leaves in small tea cups; these are for sniffing purposes only so you can get an idea of what infusions you’d like to buy and brew at home.
The only thing that annoys me about this T2 is how the products aren’t clearly priced. There are prices, but they are usually bunched together on a sign somewhere nearby, and often the sign can’t be located, so you have to keep back and forthing between staff members with your query. The staff, however, are incredibly nice and helpful, and do a stellar job of wrapping gifts.

Yes, yes, this place is brilliant. I have a book dedicated to all things tea that tells me all the ingredients I need to buy and blend for stomach pain, bad moods, to cure a cold, anti nausea, even anti ageing! And yet, I can wander into T2 and buy leaves for almost all of those things with ease (maybe not the anti-​ageing tea).
When I’m in the right mood, my favourite thing to do is go in and smell the tea samples. Classic peppermint is always amazing, but I’m a true fan of nougat. Sounds weird, right? Yet somehow the way T2’s leaves come out, they smell incredible, no matter the weird or totally outrageous-​sounding flavour.
Herbal teas are always my favourites for a little cleansing and relaxation. They always know how to hit the spot, and tea is always so much better when it’s made from real leaves. That’s a strong foundation of tea belief, which I can attribute to my English mother: leaves are always better. And she’s right; real tea is only real tea when it’s made out of leaves, and tea from T2 is resplendent in flavour.
I also have trouble choosing between which teapots I love. T2 has a rotation of amazing colours in cute shapes and sizes.
I have to try and buy tea from here sparingly though because it is quite expensive. But I love the city store because it combines convenience with a love of mine: drinking tea. Since closing down as Australian Geographic (sad), this T2 store has thrived and owns a coveted position as a popular tea retailer.
Go in and smell some tea, it will brighten your day, I promise.

The world of tea is an exciting place, thought it can be daunting as well. I grew up only drinking English Breakfast, and thought an Earl Grey was fancy. And I only ever drank my tea with milk and 2 sugars.
Thanks to the help of T2, I’ve expanded my tea drinking horizons, and now am enjoying tea without the milk and sugar, and I love to experiment with green and white teas, Oolongs and Rooibos.
If you’re not sure where to start, come in and try a free sample of whatever tea they have on display.
Even if you are still wanting to stay with the familiar black tea, you have a huge range of Morning, Afternoon and Evening teas to experiment with.
If you know your favourite tea and already have a tin for it, the most cost efficient way to buy is the 250g foil bag. However, if you want to try a variety of teas, T2 have a wide range of 3 tea Stacks and Sampler boxes.
They make great birthday and Christmas presents too!
The staff are all super friendly and very knowledgable about the world of tea, so if in doubt, ask someone for their help.

You know what I love about this place. The free tea samples.
I have lunch and I always like to have a bit of tea from T2… they have a pitcher of iced tea with strawberries and cream tea in it most the time here, oh my goodness. So good after a katsu curry. Bad? Maybe. I don’t care.
Their tea is pricey, but pretty. That’s pretty pricey tea. Don’t even get me started on their delicate teapots. They are pretty pricey too. But I have been guilty of buying one, with 4 matching teacups. I also have been totally guilty of buying T2 products for friends and family and businesses as gifts.
You know what? They also give you tea samples if you’re not sure. How can you not pay their prices and love them at the same time? This store in Queens Plaza is particularly pretty. And they have the best little containers for you to store tea. Plus non spill tea cups with self drainers — love that invention. And their big!
Fact — Did you know what tea has more vitamins and nutrients in it than lemon and honey teas you usually drink when you are riddled with the flu? And no I don’t mean black tea with milk. White tea… has furry leaves. Ask them, they’ll show you and it did make me better. Love them for that too.
There isn’t much I can fault T2 with but being so good to me over the years with their free iced tea pitchers of various tea. I hear Oolong’s good too.

I loved T2 when I lived in Fitzroy, so I was pretty happy when they moved to Brisbane.
The Queens Plaza store is large and gorgeous, the dramatic styling showcases walls of teas and beautiful china.
I bought the cutest range of porcelain geisha caddies for the girls in my family last year for Christmas, and I seem to recall they were around $ 20 each so don’t be afraid to look at the price tags!
It’s rarely quiet here, but if you manage to grab a staff member they are all very knowledgeable about the types of teas. Even if you’ve only drunk the occasional cup of Liptons you should try some tea from here, it’s a whole new experience.

T2 always manages to enthral
and make me happy enough to part with my hard earned cash.
This is a veritable tea-​lovers dream,
with over 200 (and counting!) white, yellow, black, green, oolong,
organic, scented, fruit tisanes, rooibos and lux blends.
The giant store in the city has dreamy mood lighting and mellow music making sifting through tea’s a very enjoyable and relaxing process.
I remember when I was really skint, I loved to come in here and take some sneaky samples
from their ever present jugs of Turkish Apple or Rooibo’s teas.
(I buy them now I promise!)
This year the guys at T2 have really ramped it up,
I was very impressed with the service and felt super looked after.
They offered me free gift-​wrap while I shopped and i came back to a beautifully wrapped parcel.
Handily located in Queens Plaza
this store is the perfect place to add to your tea collection or to find that perfect gift.