The Gift of Tea

Tea is the beverage that welcomes millions of holiday visitors in every land — instantly conveying warmth and comfort.

Centuries of joy accompany gifts of food and beverage, a trend that is accelerating. Recipients and gift-givers alike find pleasure and value in the exchange which includes homemade and artisanal offerings presented with an interesting and authentic tale.

Nothing in our view could be more satisfying than presenting a fine tea to either novice or more sophisticated consumers. Tea spans the range of price and taste. One-of-a-kind single-estate wild teas picked from the forest and familiar seasonal blends with cinnamon and orange and flavors that bring to mind the season. Ornate tins and holiday packaging complete the presentation.

Food gifting is expected to grow at a 4% rate from $21.25 billion in 2019 to $26.15 billion in 2024.  Market research firm Packaged Facts predicts retail spending on food gifts will increase slightly in 2020 to reach $21.8 billion – up from $21.25 billion in 2019. The pandemic has slowed opportunities to shop but not the desire to share the goodness of food – fancy or common fare.

 

Packaged Facts suggests that “food gifts are ideal gifts to send from afar and may bring a sense of comfort to people who cannot be visited in-person, and thus they are a more practical gift in times of economic and personal hardship. Due to many food gift retailers doing significant online business, these products will continue to be ordered online while store closures affect brick-and-mortar operations.”​

Tea, coffee, and cocoa beverages the third most popular gifting category, according to Packaged Facts, “more than half of the food gifts are exchanged during the holidays.” Matcha appears on Esquire’s list of the 40 Best Food-Related Gifts to Impress Any Self-Proclaimed ‘Foodie’ and Oprah Winfrey this year named the Palais des Thes Advent Calendar to her list of foodie favorites.

Tea Journey’s Holiday 2020 Tea Gifting issue contains curated collections of seasonal teas, stylish teapots, and kettles on the boil.  Look over the BRU smart brewer from Switzerland, and magical mugs and sleek kettles, and the amazing Menna traveler. There are children’s tea sets and delicate porcelain for ma grand-mère’s curio cabinet.

My favorite this year is a new offering from Fortnum & Mason in London, a must-stop tea shop up from Bolton Lane (named for a distant ancestor of mine who served as Lord Mayor of London in the days of Samuel Pepys).

This year the fabled tea company, founded in 1707, has assembled for the first time an Imperial Hamper of Tea — bargain-priced at £6000 ($8,000) and containing no fewer than 83 spectacular items.

There are 100 selections in this year’s Holiday Gifting Issue. Did we overlook something? Of course, we did! But you can remedy omissions with your own submissions.

Tea Journey is a global publication with an interest in tea gifts from every country. Due to my limited language skills, it is sometimes difficult to discover tea gifts beyond the horizon. That’s where you can help. Send a link to the item and a brief description of what makes this tea-themed gift special. Email me at Dan.Bolton@TeaJourney.pub. There is no charge. Backers from 36 countries crowd-sourced this magazine on Kickstarter, we can continue to take advantage of the power of crowdsourcing.

The Tea Journey team will post these gift suggestions by category revealing globally the kinds of gifts no single writer could possibly discover on their own.
It will be a big collective treasure hunt for everyone’s benefit — a gift to gift-givers that we will all enjoy.

Happy holidays,

 

 

 

 

One last thing! Will you consider sending a special friend or loved one a gift subscription to Tea Journey, it’s a gift that they will remember fondly all year long. If cost is a concern, send this link for a free subscription: www.teajourney.pub/3