Tea Starter Kit for Christmas Gift
My brother has shown an interest in tea lately but has said that he doesn’t have the money to invest in a new hobby. My husband and I would like to get him started by making him a starter kit for Christmas. Any suggestions on what might be good additions? I’m looking for ideas on teaware, accessories, and loose-leaf teas that would be ideal for a beginner.
Thanks everyone!
I think that would depend on what he has, but as I am still relatively new to tea beyond what you can buy in the supermarkets, this is my suggestion.
1) A good infuser. I really love my Finum infuser basket and feel lost if I leave it at work or home. I really need to get a second so I don’t have to carry it around. Yeah, I know its not very attractive, but it works well and that’s what’s important to me. :)
2) Unless he already has some preferences, small amounts of a wide range of different teas. One of the hardest parts for me is trying to figure out what is worth spending the money on to try. Even if its samples from your own stash, I’m sure it would be welcome. Maybe Supplement with some additional samples that you don’t have.
3) Maybe a fun cup or mug, though I am quite happy using just about anything so long as it can handle the heat and I don’t manage to burn myself with it. I do like cups with light/white interiors. It makes it easier for me to see the color of the tea while it is steeping.
4) Some treats to have with the tea. Major bonus points (at least in my eyes) if they are home made. :)
5) A list of the different teas, what they are, and suggested steeping temps, times, etc.
Actually, looking back on the list, I’d like that for Christmas. I did mention I need another infuser. :D
At the moment, he doesn’t own any teas whatsoever (aside from some Lipton maybe for iced tea and a couple of bags of Twinings Earl Grey that I left for him) so I think he’ll be happy with any new addition. I’ve already taken your advice and bought him a Finum infuser basket. I also use these (my husband and I each have one) and it may be the single best teaware purchase I’ve made. I absolutely love it. He also has a tea spoon on the way and a jar of local honey my husband bought from a friend at work whose family has a few beehives. We’ve pulled a few teas from our stash to give him, a couple of each variety, and may add some new teas as well. My other brother is giving him a Supernatural mug for Christmas – he’s a big fan – so that should add to the fun. Thanks so much for all of your suggestions. These are awesome!
Random has good suggestions. If you get a mug, I’d get an infuser basket, not one of the balls. If you want him to be able to take it on the go or if he doesn’t have the ability to use an infuser basket at work, a pack of DIY teabags is a nice addition. I’d throw in a timer as well.
Maybe also start him with some sweetener of some kind since it sometimes seems to take folks a bit to get to the tea-obsessed stage where they don’t want sugar. :) On the same line of thinking, new to tea people seem to like flavored teas when they are starting out. But everyone is different.
Upton and Harney & Sons have a good selection of samples. I like the suggestion of supplementing some samples of your own with some new samples obtained just for him.
If you think he’s going to quickly get into eastern steeping methods, you can always pick up a small pot and tasting cup from somewhere like Yunnan Sourcing or even Ebay.
I’m glad you mentioned the teabags. I did buy him an infuser basket, but he works in construction so that’s not really practical for him to take on the job. I’ve added several teabags to the basket for him. He has a jar of honey as well so that should take care of the sweetener. I still love my tea to be sweet – maybe a side effect of growing up in the southeastern U.S. – so I couldn’t imagine a cup without it. I did pack mostly flavored, fruity teas since that is what he seems to like best when he comes over here. Thanks for sharing your ideas!
Good points from both the posters above. I would look into his brewing preference. Eastern or Western as both styles are quite different. Baskets over tea balls are a definite.
We have Japanese starter kit,it’s good for the gift!
If your brother interested to Japanese or green tea(also Matcha) please try this.
Also we are now on sale!
You can find some cheap teaware at your local Asian market. However, a basic mug and infuser basket works for most teas. An assortment of teas should include teas from each group: white , green, Japanese green, black, puerh, & oolong. Some flavoured teas along with straight is a good mix. Many people prefer the flavoured teas when just getting into tea.
I hadn’t even thought of that! Great idea. I might even find myself something there, hmm? ;) I’ve included a good mix, but don’t have any straight teas in there yet. I was afraid something without a specific flavor my throw him off. Probably wouldn’t hurt to start him out with one or two though. Thank you!
So as not to go too all out on teaware, I’ve told my friends and family that I’ve gotten to convert to loose leaf tea to adapt what they already use to suit loose tea. I’ve given a tea ball or two here and there to help make some things easier, but I try to show that you don’t have to overall you’re cupboard to enjoy loose-leaf tea.
I think the main focus should be on the tea. Find a good assortment of teas and tisanes so he can discover the different styles and flavors. My recommendations would be biased, so I leave that bit up to you.
You make a really good point. I love all the different gadgets and teapots and trinkets, but in the end it’s about the tea. Hopefully, this isn’t overwhelming to him and he just takes some time to learn what he personally likes. I’ve added a good mix I think, so he should be able to find something in there to enjoy I hope.
Shae,
I have Monday off. Go ahead and get in touch with me, I’ll send some puerh for your brother to enjoy as a gift. Love seeing others get people into tea :)
You are so kind to offer to do that, Andrew! Thank you!! I’ve actually been wanting to put in an order so maybe now’s a great time to do that. Any specific type you think he might enjoy and I’ll just go ahead and pick it up?
If you mean my company, I’m not sure what he likes so that’s hard to give you recommendation but Mordor is a perfect morning cup and for this season. Don’t want to seem like I’m selling anything, was just trying to give out some tea for the holidays : )
Just throw me a message and I’ll put in the puerh for free.
Oh no, I didn’t think that at all! I have wanted to place an order on your website for a while, so since you offered I thought now might be a good time to show some support. I didn’t think you were trying to push any sales at all. :)
I’ll shoot you a message here in a bit. Thanks again!
I like Teavana’s brewing starter kit. It has everything a new person that is getting into tea will need to make tea with their tea-maker, tin, and also beet-root extract. What types of tea do you think your brother would enjoy? Fruity? Traditional? Berry?
I think his favorites are the fruity ones. I tried giving him some Lapsang Souchong tea from Mountain Rose Herbs and he turned his nose up at it. :) I do like Teavana and plan to give him some fruit teas from there. That would be a convenient place for him to pick up some tea later on down the road if he likes it. Does the brewing starter kit include the gravity steeper? And what is the beetroot extract for?
A couple of recommendations from a guy and when I started into Tea:
Mug – Finium infuser – Must have!
Skip the gravity infuser that dispense into the cup. These are made for small hands and SUCK trying to clean! A couple of taps of the finium basket and the wet contents are 95% gone! (100% if you let the basket air dry)
Electric Kettle – I love the twenty-buck one that Upton Tea stocks but I started with a WalMart ‘door-buster’ 5 buck version. Wanted the upgrade that I didn’t have to plug/unplug. Took the bold step and grabbed a Zojirushi for the office. Cubicle farm would tease me hearing the electric kettle come to boil. Im at the point that there is no turning around for my tea obsession (other than craft beer).
Finally, Sample Sample, Sample – Who would have thunk that I LOVE Lapsang Souchong. But then again I love a dark craft beer and hate IPA (hops)!
I am definitely packing a Finum brewing basket into his gift box! I love mine so much. My younger brother is jealous so I’m secretly wrapping one for his Christmas present too. :) I tried to give him Lapsang Souchong last time he was over and he acted goofy about it, but I think you’re right that I should add some teas that are out of his comfort zone. He normally only drinks the fruity herbals that we have, but maybe I can get him to try some straight teas as well. Thanks for your input! It’s great hearing things from a guy’s perspective.
It’s not the page most people are on but a French Press works well for brewing tea. Those don’t need to cost much, are easy to brew with, making standardizing amounts easy, easy to clean, and they enclose the tea while brewing to limit essential oil evaporation. Teas would seem the key to it all, including a lot of small amounts of types for experimentation. If you can find the typical zip-seal type multi-layer packaging it’s a good presentation for what would otherwise just be tea handed over in a sandwich bag, and very functional storage, good for other gifts later. It might be a good excuse to buy yourself a few extra basic types too. To me in general lightly oxidized oolongs and softer, sweeter decent black teas in Chinese styles are approachable, easy to relate to, and both general types are hard to screw up when brewing.
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