Tea News Direct Exclusive: Buy Tea Online’s Richard Fray looks for the perfect tea gift.

Time for a little last minute Christmas shopping? Just about…

We’ve added hundreds of new products to Buy Tea Online over the past few months. With the holidays upon us, it seems a fitting time to review some of the tea gifts on offer this season.

Mind you, these tea gifts are not only suitable for any occasion, they’re also rather nice to treat yourself with, so the timing isn’t that relevant. Tea samplers are a great place to start if you’re new to tea, giving you the opportunity to try different varieties and begin to discover your favorites. The more experienced tea drinker can have fun with samplers too, by exploring one type of tea more extensively or trying teas they might not otherwise drink.

We’re just going to look at loose leaf teas here, but there are plenty of teabag gift sets and samplers out there as well.

Starting with the bargains at under $20, we found some very reasonable prices for surprisingly good teas. My pick in this category are the high quality tea samplers offered by Adagio Tea, presented in smart tea tins and gift boxes. We’ve picked out a few below:

Green Tea Sampler (Adagio Teas) $14.00 - A wonderful introduction to the wide range of green teas. Each sample makes about 8-10 cups of tea, and includes: gunpowder, sencha overture, green pekoe, pi lo chun, citron green and vanilla green teas.

Herbal Tea Sampler (Adagio Teas) $10.00 - The wide range of herbal teas are explored here. Each sample makes about 6-8 cups of tea. This set includes: berry blues, lemongrass, mango melange, peppermint, rooibos jasmine and sour apple.

IngenuiTEA Gourmet Tea Set (Adagio Teas) $19.00 - Adagio’s most popular gift item combines an easy-to-use teapot and four samples of their best-selling teas. This ingenious teapot makes loose tea easy to make and the teas are a great introduction to a delectable world of gourmet tea. Dishwasher and microwave safe. 16oz (0.5L).

In the mid-range, $20 – $60, we found several ways to get a high-end tea selection. Here are a couple of great samplers of the finer white and oolong teas:

Wuyi Oolong Tea Sampler Set (The Tea Farm) $25.00 - A personal favorite of mine, and at a very reasonable price, this set from The Tea Farm includes four 2oz packages of the famous WuYi mountain teas: Big red robe, Shui Jin Gui, Tie luo Han, and Shui Xian. Yum!

White Tea Sampler (Culinary Teas) $38.85 - This is perhaps the best way to try a group of different white teas. You get four 1oz bags of Adams Peak Rare White Tea, Pai Mu Tan White Tea, Leopard Snow Buds Tea and Sowmee White Tea.

There are some really beautiful gift boxes containing genuinely good teas in this range, my favorites in this field being the Teavana offerings:

World Tea Collection Gift Set (Teavana Teas) $59.95– This worldly collection has been compiled for the well traveled tea connoisseur with globally inspired flavors. Set includes 2oz each of White Ayurvedic Chai, Kuki Matcha, Emerald Bamboo Forest and Kamiya Papaya Oolong as well as four reusable Origami tea tins. A great gift set for a tea lover!

Tea Lovers Tea Gift Collection (Teavana Teas) $59.95 - The Tea Lovers Collection includes 2oz each of four premium teas: rare Frutto Bianco white tea pearls, a timeless Dragonwell green tea, the relaxing Tranquil Dream herbal tea blend and Six Summits, a handcrafted artisan oolong. Also includes four reusable Origami tea tins. Beautifully gift boxed.

Over $60and you’re getting into some really nice gifts and treats for yourself. Here’s another superior Teavana Tea gift box:

Emperor’s Collection Tea Gift Set (Teavana Teas) $79.99– Honor yourself or a loved one with this luxurious collection of fine teas. It includes six gold embossed tea tins containing the finest teas from ancient gardens in China: Jasmine Phoenix Eye, Lung Ching, White Mao Feng, Mao Jian, Da Hong Pao, and Tai Ping Kui. Four green teas, one white and one oolong. They come in a beautiful gift box as well.

For sheer quality of tea, my overall favorite loose leaf tea sampler is from the company we buy a lot of our personal tea from, Generation Tea. If anyone wants to buy me a tea sampler, please make it this one

Royal Tea Collection (Generation Tea) $106– This is a showcase of some of Generation’s finest teas. Each tea delivers distinct flavors and subtleties that only the highest grades can offer. This is great gift even for the advanced tea fan. Nine amazing teas: 2 oz Royal Organic Longjing Tea, 2 oz Jasmine Pearls Green Tea, 2 oz Royal Tieguanyin Oolong Tea, 2 oz Organic Winter Leaf Oolong Tea, 2 oz Royal Loose Leaf Pu-erh Tea, 100g Pu-erh Tuocha, 2 oz Royal Formosa Baozhong Tea, 2 oz Keemun Black Tea, 2 oz Formosa Green Jade Oolong.

And if you want to really push the boat out, take the Tazo Deluze Tour:

Tazo® Deluxe 3 Month Tea Tour $125– Each month, your hand-selected whole leaf teas arrive in a signature gift box accompanied by tasting notes to help you enjoy the month’s selections. Shipping is included, and the first month you also receive Bodum’s Assam Tea Press, a practical and easy-to-use tea maker that infuses the most delicious aromas, and a set of two Bodum Pavina Double Wall Tea Glasses.

In all, we’ve listed 66 different loose leaf tea samplers and gift sets on Buy Tea Online so you should be able to find one to suit your needs. Whether it’s a gift for a loved one or a treat for yourself, tea gift samplers are fun and practical for tea lovers everywhere.

Enjoy!