Special tea to give as a gift?

[SarahKC]

I want to give a holiday gift to a coworker who loves tea. Any special one to recommend?

Thanks,
Sarah

[mamachef]

Mariage Freres has amazing, delicious fragrant teas; I'm partial to the Hibiscus.

[al b. darned]

DW and I are partial to Choice Organic teas. (http://choiceorganicteas.com/index.htm). If you scroll thru their various selection you will find sampler packs of many of their teas.

We haven't been disappointed yet.

[paulj]

How about a tea brick? It will be conversation piece even if it is never consumed. :)

[uwsister]

If she likes black tea, Whittard's is my favorite. British brand. They used to have stores in Boston and LA. You can still mail-order from online stores, such as Annie's Tea Time

[HillJ]

The assortment of affordable samples makes this co. one of my fav tea shops. The have dozens of gift ideas, you can even name your own tea. Wonderful quality; a part of my online shopping rotation for several years now. http://www.adagio.com/

[alanbarnes]

If your co-worker drinks bagged tea, than Val's idea is a good one - a selection of teas from Wissotzky or Twinings might be just the thing. If s/he's more of an afficianado, then loose tea is probably the way to go.

Looks like you're in SF, so you've got some good local options. The places in Chinatown have great selections, but tend to focus on (duh) Chinese teas. Lupicia (Union Square) has stuff from all over Asia; the sheer variety can be a little daunting, but the folks in the shop are friendly and helpful. And there are probably plenty of other good tea shops in the City...

[SarahKC]

Thank you all for your suggestions! She drinks a variety of tea in bags -- in the office at least. I'll get her a nice mug and some teas. Happy holidays!

[Siun]

Try Imperial tea in the Ferry Building -maybe one of their flowering teas for a special treat.

[julesrules]

Someone brought these into the office and I love them. They are like loose tea, but in a bag - convenient and mess-free for the office. They can be re-used for multiple cups of tea. And I'm not usually a sucker for packaging, but they are actually pretty cute with the little leaf.

http://www.teaforte.com/about/behind-...

[tcamp]

I'm no tea expert but the other day I was hurrying out of metro and walked past a tea store at Pentagon City mall. I accepted a free sample of Youthberry tea which the sales gal claimed would make me "feel younger." Hey, I'm game. Plus, it tasted very good.

What about something like this?

http://www.teavana.com/The-Teas/White...

[gaffk]

I love Teavana. We have a store near us and I was just there last weekend. I have a friend who always drinks these teas with flowers in them and they had them there. They come in balls and, when steeped, the flowers are released. I got her a mix of strawberry ones and peach ones.

My tea-loving friends have received many nice teas and tea accessories from there.

[hala]

How about a gift certificate to a nice tea shop?

You will probably get better answers if you post in your city's board and also specify what type of teas your co-worker likes to drink (herbal, green, black, white, mixes... or more specificly, what varieties they prefer: yunan, darjeeling...). and hopefully your local hounds would be able to point you in the direction of a place that sells something this co-worker would enjoy.

[kattyeyes]

I agree with hala completely...but barring a local storefront, you might consider a gift certificate to one of many fine online purveyors. Here are a few of my faves:
http://www.harney.com/
http://www.sundialgardens.com/
http://uptontea.com/

I like tcamp's Teavana suggestion, too!

[beachmouse]

Upton has some nice tea sample sets.

http://uptontea.com/shopcart/catalog....

Or if you go with the larger tins or bags, they'll put the name of the recipient on the label, which is a nice personalization touch.

[BobB]

I'll third the Upton's recommendation. Great teas, great customer service.

[fauchon]

4th. I've been ordering from Upton for at least a decade & never once been disappointed. I also recommend specialteas.com and harney.com. All of these vendors have appealing gift offerings and all will give excellent advice on the phone.

You might also consider a variation on a wine tasting & give a selection of Assams from different estates (or Darjeelings or Oolongs etc) so your friend can taste & compare. As a tea lover, she might appreciate that opportunity & have a good time tasting & comparing.

[LauraGrace]

Hey, thanks to you and kattyeyes for the Upton Tea recommendation. I've been shopping for good online tea purveyors and it looks great. Super nerdy and they have some of my favorite varietals. :)

[eamcd]

I'm with Hala on this one. There are many different ways to "love" tea. Some people love their morning/afternoon cuppa from a specific "regular" tea bag, others love natural herbal teas, others still only specific types of white/black/green teas, or some wouldn't tough a tea bag at all and use only loose teas.

Tea lovers can be very specific! I like the idea of a gift certificate. But also what about a tea "item" -- if you have any idea how she/he drinks tea -- a nice teapot, a single cup teapot, a tea infuser or fancy strainer.... My DH got me a neat tea infuser mug a couple years ago -- you add loose tea and the hot water, when it's steeped, you put it on a mug and it strains out the bottom.

There are some terrific online tea and tea-accessory sites. But you'll want some sense of preferences to make the best choice.

There are some tea-snobs among tea lovers (meant in the best sense)!

[LauraGrace]

Yes, this exactly, eamcd!

This tea lover's preferred cuppa is a strong, malty breakfast tea -- with the occasional double-bergamot Earl Grey or Darjeeling. I *enjoy* some other kinds of tea but am pretty particular about them. The nicest thing a non-tea-drinker can give a tea drinker, IMHO, is either a gift card or a handy, practical teapot. This one: (http://www.amazon.com/Stump-Teapot-In...) is my favorite teapot -- I use it every day.

[eamcd]

This is the item I was trying to describe -- it's a mini teapot that strains out the bottom into a cup.

http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenui...

I never would have thought of it for myself, but it's great with loose tea when I'm the only one having tea.

[alanbarnes]

I use a similar contraption - this one has a beaker that catches the tea (and any drips). But it's only 6 ounces...

http://www.tenren.com/suixinteapot.html

[Val]

QVC sells an assortment of Wissotzky teas in a hat box that someone in our office just received for Chanukah and she's delighted with them--you may want to check that out, just google "QVC Teas."