It’s the silly season, as they say. That time of year where you burn cash like it’s firewood. As my token gesture of seasonal anticipation, I have put together a list of gift ideas for tea lovers. Send this to your family and friends to give them some ideas on what to get you, or use this as a starting point if you’re buying a gift for someone who loves tea.

Tea Sample Packs

Pretty much every tea shop out there offers sample packs, which can be a great way to introduce someone to the world of tea. Adagio, for example, offer a whole range of sampler packs, including ones for black tea, oolong, white tea, green tea and herbal tea. Mighty Leaf also have a number of samplers, among them a Japanese green tea collection and a private reserve mini loose tea collection.

Also check out samplers from Teas Etc, Art of Tea and The Teaspot.

Tea of the Month Club Membership

The gift that keeps on giving. Instead of giving your loved one a handful of tea, why not give them a year’s supply? Art of Tea have 3-month, 6-month and 12-month memberships, with one seasonally selected tea going out every month. Mighty Leaf have a similar deal, with 3-month, 4-month and 6-month clubs. One bonus with the Mighty Leaf program is that you can find out exactly which teas you’ll get ahead of time. Alternatively, you might prefer O-Cha’s membership if you love Japanese green tea. Those are just three of the merchants with club memberships — I’m sure you can dig up a few more!

Flowering Tea Sets

I confess I’m not a huge fan of flowering teas, since the quality of the tea can be sub-par, but I know plenty of people love to watch these unfold. Numi Tea have a bamboo flowering tea gift set and Teas Etc have a flowering tea set that comes with a glass mug.

Matcha Starter Kit

Photo copyright O-Cha

I bought this for Bec last year for her birthday (which falls a week before Christmas). If you want to introduce someone to the wonderful world of matcha, O-Cha’s matcha starter kit is the perfect introduction. You’ll get a tin of the matcha of your choosing, an authentic Japanese bamboo tea whisk and a bamboo matcha spoon. You can also add on other matcha accessories (chawan, water cooler, whisk holder) with a 10% discount.

Art of Tea also have a matcha set that comes with a tin of their ceremonial matcha, a whisk, whisk holder, matcha spoon and matcha bowl (chawan).

Tea Travel Mug

This is what I’ll be asking for this Christmas! As I found a couple of months ago when I wrote about travel mugs, there are plenty of options out there for the tea lover.

Matcha Bowls / Chawans

If you know someone who loves matcha, check out O-Cha’s collection of matcha bowls (chawans). I found myself drooling over these last week! They’re not cheap, but they’re handcrafted in Japan and they’re absolutely beautiful. A great gift for the matcha lover.

IngenuiTEA

The IngenuiTea is a smart little device. Just put the tea leaves and water in it, allow it to steep, and then place it on top of your cup, which forces the tea to drain down.

My mom bought one of these for me years ago, and it’s been one of my favourite devices for brewing tea ever since. Easy to use and easy to clean. You can pick one up from Adagio or Teavana.

Tetsubin Tea Gift Set

A tetsubin is a cast-iron Japanese teapot. Art of Tea’s Tetsubin Tea Gift Set comes with a tetsubin, a trivet and a pair of teacups.

Stain Teacups

If you’ve been with me since the very start of this blog, you might remember these nifty teacups I wrote about back then. The cups start out white, but as you use them the natural staining that comes from tea reveals an underlying pattern. Very cool. They’re available from designer Bethan Laura Wood.

Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide

I’ve been raving about Mary Lou and Robert Heiss’ The Story of Tea ever since I started this blog! It’s been an indispensable guide to the world of tea and I heartily recommend it. A well-designed, easy to read guide to tea, covering everything from tea production methods to the health benefits of tea. Read my interview with Mary Lou Heiss or pick yourself up a copy of The Story of Tea from Amazon .

The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea

I actually just received this in the mail today. Michael Harney’s Guide to Tea is a lovely book providing a valuable reference point for learning more about the huge variety of teas available out there. You’ll feel like a smarter tea drinker within five minutes of picking it up! Available from Amazon .

Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West

This one is mostly about the history and culture of tea — a fascinating story. I reviewed Liquid Jade earlier this year, so be sure to read my review to see whether it sounds like something you’d enjoy. It’s available from Amazon .

Tea Shirts

Eh, you’ll have to pardon the pun! CafePress has some great t-shirt designs with a tea theme. Personal favourites? Make Tea Not War, Tea is the New Black and Instant Human. Just Add Tea….

Sigg Bottle

While you’re on CafePress, check out the tea sigg bottle designs. A lot of political stuff on that page, but there’s a few nice tea-related ones. My pick of the bunch is the Make Tea Not War bottle.

Tea Posters

I assembled a little gallery of tea posters earlier this year, but there are countless other tea posters at AllPosters.com.

© Eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2009. | 15 Gift Ideas for Tea Lovers | 2 comments |
Post categories: Miscellaneous
Post tags: chawan, ingenuitea, matcha, tea books, tea club memberships, tea gifts, tea samplers, tetsubin, travel mugs

Long-time readers of this blog will be well aware of my fondness for black teas. While I concede that black tea doesn’t — for the most part — have the depth or range you can find in other types of tea, I remain an avowed fan of our fully oxidized friend. This morning, with heavy eyes from too little sleep, I decided to turn my attention to one of the most well-regarded of all black teas: keemun.

Keemun is a region in Anhui Province, China, near the city of Huangshan and the Huang Shan Mountains (where one finds the teahouse I featured several weeks ago). It’s a temperate, wet area where tea grows amidst rain-soaked clouds and mist.

I have two Keemun teas to sample today: Narien Teas’ Keemun Imperial and Teas Etc’s Keemun. Note to the FTC and those readers who care: Both these teas were sent to me as free samples.

Keemun Imperial by Narien Teas

The name of this tea is surely a throwback to the days of the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, when Keemun was one of the Imperial Tribute Teas. The emperor of the day commanded an exclusive right over the Imperial Tribute teas, which were given him by loyal followers for whom the ‘gift’ was little more than a tax payment.

Narien’s Keemun is a smooth black tea with a slight smokiness. It has a buttery note that reminds me of Yunnan’s black teas, though the butteriness is less pronounced than I find in Yunnan blacks.

Keemun was the original English Breakfast tea, and as I enjoy Narien’s version, I can see why. Keemun is wonderfully smooth, with a refinement that sets it apart from most black teas. These days, most English Breakfast teas are blends of black teas from different regions (the organic English Breakfast tea I reviewed earlier this year combined teas from Assam, Darjeeling and Ceylon, for example), but dipping into Keemun gives me a new-found appreciation for what must once have been a most wonderful blend.

Narien Teas’ Keemun Imperial is not my favourite Keemun, nor is it Narien’s best tea (my vote for that still goes to their wonderful Earl Grey tea). While it is quite smooth, I find that it doesn’t have as much depth as I would like.

Keemun Imperial is available from Narien Teas for $11 for 4 oz.

Keemum by Teas Etc

Teas Etc have garnered quite a reputation over the past few years. Earlier this year, they won two gold prizes at the World Tea Expo for their Assam Reserve and Ceylon OP1. This Keemun didn’t win any prizes, but black tea certainly seems to be one of their strengths.

The first thing that I notice about this keemun as opposed to the Narien Teas’ version is the size and shape of the leaves. Whereas the Narien Teas Imperial Keemun is composed of small, mostly broken leaves, Teas Etc’s Keemun has some longer, twisted leaves. As it turns out, this has quite an impact on the tea’s flavour.

Teas Etc’s Keemun has a lighter colour than the Narien Keemun (though this could have something to do with the amount of dry leaf I used). It has a lovely aroma of fruit and smoke. Like Narien’s Keemun, this one is very smooth, but it has a rounder, more balanced mouthfeel. A lingering sweetness gives it fruity notes while there is a certain delicacy to it that is almost floral.

Keemun is available from Teas Etc for $5.95 for a 1 oz. tin.

© Eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2009. | Keemun Double-Header: Keemun by Narien Teas and Teas Etc | 2 comments |
Post categories: Black tea, Tea reviews
Post tags: Keemum, Narien Teas, tea samplers, Teas Etc