Cofftea said

Receiving tea or teawares as gifts

Holiday season is here and a lot of us will be buying tea related gifts for others, but when it comes to recieving gifts would you rather receive a tea related gift or money to purchase something yourself?

19 Replies
Cofftea said

I personally love getting tea as a gift (although I have NO MORE room lol), but when it comes to teaware I would rather receive money to put towards it and pick it out myself (but take the person w/ me so they can see what I decide on) because teaware is like any piece of art or furniture. What one person may think is the most gorgeous piece of teaware may make another person puke lol. That’s why I bought my matcha set myself. I didn’t want to end up w/ an ugly bowl. Well that and no one that I’m receiving a gift from knows squat about tea (even though matcha is what I know least about) and… well… who am I kidding? I just couldn’t wait til Dec. 24th. I’ve suffered thru matcha withdrawl long enough!:)

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Linda said

Not to be a snob or anything even close to that, but if you are not into tea, then do not buy me anything tea related or heaven forbid any tea. I find non tea drinkers have no clue. However you can get me a gift certificate to a good tea co. like Upton or Harney etc. As for the tea related collection I have. Tea pot’s ok, tea cups only if you know what I like.

Angrboda said

I agree with this. At the very VERY least let it be a loose tea bought in a ‘real’ shop that sells tea and not just from the supermarket shelves. I’d prefer a gift certificate too, though.

Cofftea said

Well yeah, I’m just assuming that even someone that knows nothing about tea would buy only loose leaf if that’s what you drink.

Linda said

Hey cofftea, you know what they say about assuming. Some of my non tea drinkers and some of the tea bag lovers (Liptons etc) didn’t even know you could get loose tea. Duh.

Angrboda said

Cofftea, that is far from always the case. FAR. I have seen people ask how to make loose tea because they didn’t know if it involved anything more complicated than stuffing a teabag in some hot water. If they’ve never had loose tea, how would they know? I know people who can’t for the life of them understand why you can’t ‘make’ a tea loose, simply by taking it out of the bags.
Secondly, it’s not just a quality issue, it’s also a question of me having enough experience that I know what I like and more importantly what I don’t like. Last time someone who didn’t drink tea themselves tried to give me tea as a present I got a bagful of some sort of fruity herbal tisane stuffed full of hibiscus. And then they ask me later, excitedly, if I have tried it yet and what I thought. It’s really difficult to sit there and have to tell them that I didn’t like their gift.

Cofftea said

@Linda and Angrboda, but if you talk about your tea drinking habits they would know that you drink loose. I’m also assuming that if they didn’t know anything about tea they’d go to a tea shop where someone could help them.

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My husband and I share the exact same taste in teas (mostly Assams and flavored black teas) and teaware (he bought me my most favorite teapot, dark red Chantal ceramic teapot with porcelain infuser, a few birthdays ago. I use it just about every day!). I have every confidence that he would pick things that I love.

I have gotten some really nice teas from friends, but I don’t think anyone in my family has ever bought me any tea! I think it might be better that way honestly! I have gotten some pretty unsuited-to-me gifts from family over the years – sigh! It’s not that my likes are ever hidden. I am very effusive about the things that I like.

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rabbysmom said

Unless I’ve pointed out a specific type of tea/tea ware for a gift, I would rather have them give me a gift certificate. That way I can choose just what I want.

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Cofftea said

I think it might be a lil different if you want a clear glass teapot or clear glass cups too… I mean there are only so many clear glass teawares.

Linda said

my daughter wants a clear glass teapot you know for the flowering teas. She told me exactly what she wants too

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Auggy said

I’m going to go against the grain here… I love getting teacups from people that are their tastes (and maybe not mine) but make them think of me. It gives me happy feelings using something like that. (I’ve also gotten some fun sweaters this way (my MIL got me a chicken sweater that I never would have gotten for myself but I totally love – it’s cute and quirky!)). So yeah, teaware (or sweaters) over gift certs.

I love getting pottery cups/mugs as gifts, mostly from my mom and grandma, which I use for tea.

Auggy said

Aw, yay! Things like that are always more special because of who gave them.

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Cofftea said

I think (or in fact know lol) that the one other exception for me is if a friend/family member went to a tea growing country or other country that has a unique tea culture. A friend from church and her husband are going to China and Japan next year so I KNOW I’ll be wanting to give her some money to bring me something back. I don’t care if it’s not a gift.

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My mom brings me back tea when she travels, which is nice cause sometimes she gets me tee shirts which I never use other than the gym. Sometimes it’s bagged, sometimes it’s loose. She’s also brought me teapots and cups and pottery cups/mugs.

I do buy my grandma tea since she will drink loose. She likes plain black so I try to give her different ones as well as different kinds of tea to try.

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i would like getting a random tea as a gift so i could try something new i probably wouldnt have, but i would willingly accept a gift card/certificate. on teaware, i havent ventured far enough into that realm yet, right now its just fun mugs (like my lion king one) and travel tumblers. so at this point any teaware is great

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A friend gave me a screamingly hideous tea-for-one a few years ago, with painted pictures of middle aged ladies in bathing suits. It was funny, but not terrribly useful. I still have it, as I’m always reluctant to part with a gift, but I can’t say that I’ve gotten a lot of use from it. I’ve given her a Lenox tea pot – I don’t think she’s used it a lot either. So, I feel that tea-related gifts can be a bit chancy.

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