Nervous about giving the gift of tea? Here are five great reasons tea makes a great gift and a ideas for every type of tea drinker that might be on your list!
Tea is easy to ship, and it’s light in weight!
It’s personal, your gift recipient will think of you every time they brew a cup.
Tea lasts, as long as it’s kept dry and out of direct sunlight it keeps indefinitely.
It’s easy to build a whole package around (see great gifts for your tea or coffee lover).
Tea is good for caffeine lovers and caffeine haters alike!
That said, we’ve compiled tea suggestions for everyone on your list, whether you are gifting for the holidays, looking for a hostess gift, or just a special pick me up or thank you gift. Read on below to find tea for everyone on your list:
Best Tea For The Collector (or Best Tea for the Tea Nerd)
We all know that person - they collect tea when they travel and take great pride in telling stories about its origins and traditions. Perhaps they keep a pu’erh cake in their cupboard or special order white tea from some small independent producers. Tea Zaanti is proud to carry some very high end “reserve collection” teas as well as a rotating collection of seasonal specials. Most of the teas in our reserve collection have a story of their own.
Fukamushi Sencha: A Japanese green tea from the Shizuoka tea prefecture in Japan. We had an opportunity to travel and tour the farms and factories of Japan and this sencha was our favorite. Shizuoka is between Tokyo and Kyoto with views of Mt. Fuji, the tea gardens are located near one of Japan’s deepest bays, which is reflected in the tea they produce. Fukamushi Sencha is steamed three times to produce sweet, fresh cut grass notes. It brews up to a deep rich green and only brews for 35 seconds. Expert tip, if you like sencha, ask Scott if he has any Miyazaki sencha in stock, it’s even more special than the Fukamushi.
Everest First Flush: This Nepalese black tea is hand-picked in April and then hand-rolled We’ve sourced it through a fair trade distributor based in Boston, MA. Scott has built a great relationship with the distributors, who are both from Nepal. They travel to Nepal a couple times each year to check on the fields and to make sure that the money they promise to give back to the community is going to the right places. This is a smooth, sweet tea that finishes with vegetal notes.
Rara Willow: If you didn’t think you were a white tea drinker, this tea will change your mind. It’s another special find from our Nepali friends and one we won’t let go of soon. It brews up darker than most white teas, almost copper in color, and has a naturally sweet taste with just a hint of citrus.
Best Tea For Kids
My family grew up drinking tea after dinner, and as a kid, I loved going to the cupboard after dinner to pick out my evening blend. Today, we are impressed with how many kids visit the shop on a regular basis and always know just what they’re after. Here’s a few of their favorites, and to make sure we don’t upset any parents, all of the below are naturally caffeine-free:
Root Beer: This rooibos blend is uncanny in how much it tastes like the real thing. It’s great hot or iced, and, as a treat, add a splash of cream and vanilla syrup. Yum!
Berry Berry Tart: The fun starts with the color here as it brews up bright red, and you can see the actual berries when you are steeping it.
Apple Pie: This was one of my favorites as a kid and it still brings me comfort. For the adults, this makes a great Hot Tea-dy when you add splash of whiskey or spiced rum.
Coconut Chai: All the chai spices kids love in pumpkin pie plus coconut in a rooibos base. Also great with milk and honey.
Best tea for friends that buy bagged tea at the store
You’ve been to their house and seen their drawer or cupboard stacked full of boxes or tins and they can be seen wandering around the office with the a tea bag tag hanging from their mug. We’re not criticizing, but you’re thinking maybe it’s time to introduce them to the joys of loose leaf tea? For starters, know that these people drink tea bags for convenience, so don’t forget to gift these first timers some brewing equipment- and the easiest would just be some disposable filters (it’s what I keep at my desk as I’m too lazy to clean things at the office). Have a good look at their cupboard and then maybe buy them some classics for them to taste and compare the difference. I’m gonna guess their collection probably includes:
Early Grey: A classic that never gets old, but when you encourage them to try the loose leaf version you can also let them know they are drinking a certified organic blend. Also available with lavender flowers in our Lavender Early Grey if you want to mix it up.
Masala Chai: This isn’t the concentrate, but straight up black tea with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla.
Moroccan Mint: Most tea drinkers I know have some version of a minty green tea in their cupboard, so this is a great transition blend. If they aren’t into green tea, we have several herbals too: lemony mint, licorice mint or straight up mintz.
Lemon Gingersnap: Do you know a tea lover that doesn’t enjoy some version of ginger tea? This green blend has lemongrass and ginger, and it’s delicious
Best tea for your "no caffeine" friends
We carry a large selection of rooibos (see some of the “kid friendly”suggestions) and herbal teas, perfect for those who need to skip the caffeine because they are all naturally caffeine-free.
Raspberry Rose Petal: This herbal blend is beautiful just to look at before you brew it, and it’s one of our top sellers. Delightful hot, iced or as a tea-mosa (mix half and half with champagne or sparkling water).
Detoxify: The name says it all and the ingredients speak for itself: goji berries, lemon, ginger, fennel, honeybush… and it tastes great too.
Relax: Valerian root is known for helping with anxiety and sleep disorders, which is where this tea gets its name. However valerian root is known for being not so tasty, so it’s hidden well by lemon myrtle, rose petals, chamomile and lemon balm, making it perfectly palatable.
Licorice Mint: Don’t be scared by the name, licorice is a natural sweetener (and it doesn't taste like anise). This blend also has cloves in it and it gently coats your mouth and throat on the way down. I love it year round hot or iced. Also with whiskey, if you’re into that.
Best tea for the "new to tea" folks
We meet a lot of folks who are working on giving up coffee and switching to tea, but it can be an acquired taste at first - here are some good “gateway” teas:
House Blend: If your former coffee lover just wants things dark and strong, this is the tea for them - a robust blend of pu’er and assam teas. Nothing complicated here.
Ginger Peach: I find many people need to ease into tea, so this house favorite is a great place to start with ginger and peach softening this black tea. I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t like this classic blend. Also, if you think peach is up their alley, we carry a White Peach - a much lighter, softer tea but still brimming with peach flavor.
Cherry Sencha: People new to green tea often think it’s too earthy or too bitter - which is typically a result of poor brewing methods (and we know you’ll help them with that by teaching them about brewing in 175 degree water for a shorter period). The cherries in this blend add a pretty pink color and a nice flavor for someone who is easing into green teas.
Gin Shan Creme: Oolong is a fun place to start if you want to introduce someone to tea and surprise them with how different tea can taste. Oolong is more subtle than traditional green or black teas and this one is steeped in milk essence - it smells like butter when it’s brewed! Plus your new tea drinker will love to watch the oolong balls unfurl into full leafs.
Best tea to surprise and delight... or Best tea to try something new
You know your friend loves tea and you want to suprise them with something new or different - here are a few of our favorites:
Houjicha: This is a green tea, even though looks might deceive you. Sencha tea is roasted over an open flame resulting in a toasted green tea that has yummy caramel toasted undertones. At the shop it’s what we use for our Toasted Tea Latter and you’ll find it on the menu at Starbucks in Japan.
Genmaicha: Another sencha variety, this one has puffed rice in it, which brews up with a nutty flavor making your green tea a little more robust and warming. Perhaps your tea drinker already knows Genmaicha? Ask Scott if we have any Genmai-hoji in stock (picture Hojicha and imagine it with toasted rice)
Turmeric Chai: All the spicy goodness of a chai tea, but with the added boost of turmeric. Who doesn’t love a good twist on a classic favorite?
Gui Fei Oolong: You’ll love being able to tell your friend that this tea gets its unique sweet flavor from bugs… yes, that’s right, Leafhoppers chew on the leaves which results in live oxidation while the leaf is still on the stem. Fun!
Best dessert tea, or best tea for milk and honey
At the start of this post I mentioned drinking tea after dinner, so it seems only appropriate that I wrap it up with some of our favorite “treat” teas:
Chocolate Pu’er: What can I say, I love the richness of this tea so much I named a latte after it- the choco-tea latte. Chunks of chocolate infuse with the rich flavors of pu’er leaves, great on its own but a treat with milk and vanilla syrup.
Raspberry Truffle: Black tea, raspberries and chocolate, what else do I need to say?
Vanilla Bean: Not as decadent as the two chocolate based teas, but the vanilla warms up the black base and takes nicely to milk and sugar too.
Blueberry Matcha: Another top seller, this is a treat on its own. People love it iced or served warm as a sweet latte. I’ve been known to use it to make ice cream too. Note: we also carry raspberry, vanilla, sweetened and original too.
Still don’t know what to get that perfect someone on your list? Just ask us, we’re happy to make a recommendation!
