Putting together a huge sampler for my mom's birthday, need some advice.
So I’m trying to get her a good range of teas to try, one from every category type thing. Then I’m going to put them all in some lovely tins with labels and instructions, etc.
I still need a green though and I’m having trouble picking one (I haven’t had a ton myself and don’t have a whole lot in my stash to share with her). Does anyone have any advice for a green that’s appealing to a large number of people? A middle of the road type green… It’d be great if I could get it from Adagio or David’s Tea because I’m getting her a Ingenuitea/Steeper as well. Maybe a suggestions for your favorite herbal blend as well.
Thanks!
What a sweet idea! For a long time, my gifts to people were always tea related. It became sort of a joke among my friends. Actually, I recently gifted some tea to a friend for his birthday so I guess I’m still doing that. haha Tea is such a perfect gift!
I can’t personally recommend anything form Adagio since I have extremely limited experience with them. I’ve tried lots of tea from David’s though! For beginners I would recommend:
David’s Tea:
Toasted Walnut (green)
Movie Night (though there’s barely any tea in this…) (green)
Forever Nuts (herbal)
Midsummer Night’s Dream (Herbal, best iced)
Strawberry Ginger (Herbal)
Luscious Watermelon (Herbal, best iced)
Green and Fruity (Green rooibos)
There’s also a tea called Birthday Cake from DT that you might consider. I hear it’s tasty.
Of course, this also depends on the flavors your mom tends to like. For example, I’d totally consider giving my mom ginger flavored things, but never anything tart.
Check out how people rate teas from DT.
http://steepster.com/teas/davidstea?letter=D
Good luck!
Haha, well I only do tea gifts if they’re asked for. She asked but I’m not sure she knows what she’s getting into…
Thanks for the advice, I’ll take a look at those!
Actually, I was thinking of adding some Birthday Cake if I order from there, along with some stuff I’ve had my eye on…
Are you looking for flavored green or just basic unflavored plain green? For flavored, I’d recommend Earl Gray Green or Apricot Green from Adagio, or the green tea sampler! I don’t know anything about David’s tea, so I can’t help you there! I was hoping Frank still had Marshmallow Treat on 52teas.com because that’s the best green tea EVER, but alas, I did not see any. Good luck! :)
I really love Teavana’s Dragonwell, though I’ve never tried Adagio’s. David’s was decent, not my favorite though.
The Korean Sejak and the Sencha Ashikubo from David’s are both fantastic.
Adagio’s gunpowder is great.
I don’t know when you need this by, but I’m trying to weed out my teas (heh… I just want an excuse to get more XD) so if you want to try some samples, I’d happily send some out to you.
I decided to get the three pack that has those two that you mentioned and another. Just enough for a cup or two of each. :)
Oh, the 3 teas for $5? I bought that last time I ordered, and really enjoyed it!
What a nice idea!
Never tried anything from Davids. From Adagio I didn’t have much luck with the greens, but the gunpowder is good, as is their version of Moroccan mint (called Casablanca twist). And though I haven’t tried theirs, their Lu An Gua Pain (“Anhui Emerald Seed” green) is rated highly. Generally I find this type of green to taste like a lighter Ti Kuan Yin (sweetly floral rather than grassy or vegetal). I suppose it depends on what you think she’ll like.
The one tea I break out for people and always get compliments on is Jasmine Pearls. It comes in a variation of names. I think pearls from Harney and Sons, and Teavivre are the best. But for the two vendors you are asking about:
From Adagio:
http://www.adagio.com/green/dragon_pearl.html?SID=9c98db4cf98aa3987fcd6d8a99150ab2
From Davids:
http://www.davidstea.com/our-teas/green-tea/dragon-pearls
The jasmine pearls from David’s are decent. I’ve found that a lot of their greens are okay, but not spectacular, and this is no exception. It’s not bad at all, just not remarkable.
Jasmine pearls are great and can be resteeped many times! Plus you can pretty much get them anywhere.
I think a nice sakura tea would be a good idea! A lot of companies have variations of Sakura teas – just do a search for Sakura here and check out some reviews I guess. I love Den’s Sakura Sencha but it is seasonal for them.
I second sakura tea! It’s a wonderful balance between floral/fruity, while not being heavily flavored. In a good one the green base will really shine. David’s has one, but sadly it has a ton of extra stuff like coconut and cherries and like 4 different teas in the base.
Caraway Teas has one AND there is the KILLER sale right now – Fifty percent off – THEN there are other discount codes AND free shipping – check the Orders thread for info!
Well, for an herbal from Davids I feel compelled to recommend Northern Lights:
http://steepster.com/teas/davidstea/20711-northern-lights
And while I haven’t tried Davids version of Gen Mai Cha, I would recommend it as a good green for anyone getting into tea.
It was kind of mine as well. It, among some other things, was randomly left in my house by an exiting roommate. And here I am ;)
Login or sign up to leave a comment.