Finding the perfect gift for someone special in our lives should be done with a lot of thought and consideration. Getting creative in gifting something that embraces the senses and soul of someone we care about is challenging.
We want to open a whole new world to you so you can share it with others. Let’s unwrap what awaits the recipient of a gift set with teas and accouterments.
Why Choose Tea As A Gift?
Tea has many physical, emotional, and social benefits. It’s so much more than a hot beverage in a drinking vessel. By understanding what goes into creating that beverage to what it does for someone drinking it, you develop a new appreciation for the art of tea.
We are living in a time where being able to visit a tea room is restricted. The next best thing to sharing a heart-warming encounter with tea is through a boxed tea gift set. Include a book about the history of tea, ritual significance in different cultures, how tea is grown and harvested, and the different taste profiles behind each type of tea.
When your gift recipient sits down to enjoy their tea, it will enrich their lives in unimaginable ways. This is something we all can benefit from because of the isolating effects we endure from the pandemic.
"Tea’s complex history changes every time someone…drinks a new tea, drinks tea for the first time, experiences an epiphany or feels a deeper understanding about himself, gifts tea to a friend...or feels the world slow down after drinking a cup."
A Glimpse Into The Rich History Of Tea
Tea is something almost every culture around the world enjoys, but that enjoyment does not come without controversy. Debate continues between China and India over the origination of tea and its use. Scientific research indicates two types of tea plants emerged and then split during the last ice age known as the “Last Glacial Maximum.” China and Assam tea types poked their heads up out and of the sheets of ice and managed to go their own separate ways.
The first record of any use of tea (Camellia sinensis) by researchers unveiled Yunnan, China, as the origin (2,770 years ago.) Since then, China and Assam tea types have been domesticated and hybridized with other wild teas to create numerous types of teas that we enjoy today.
The Art of Tea
Tea is not fully appreciated until you have experienced the formal service of tea. Mass-produced boxed teas lack the ability to heighten your senses and make a connection to your soul. We encourage you to visit a tea room to have your first encounter with tea. Tea rooms cover the globe offering cultural experiences. China, India, and England have tea venues that provide a more formal service of tea. Here in the U.S., tea rooms allow you to indulge in the same service but in a more casual manner.
Different Types of Teas
There are several main types of teas that help to know a little about. Teas do not taste the same, and because we all have unique palate preferences, the different teas offer different tastes.
- Green: caramel, coffee, toasted
- White: floral
- Black: brisk, stringent
- Oolong: mellow, mild
- Yellow: floral, sweet
- Dark: (fermented) earthy
Single-estate teas also offer handcrafted aromas, taste, and appearance, just as wineries do in wine-making.
"Sharing tea imparts a part of yourself to making someone else’s life better, if just for a few moments, but it also opens you up to receive that same edification from the one you are sharing with."
Beneficial Aspects Of Tea
Tea not only provides us with health benefits, but it also has other attributes that affect us spiritually and emotionally. When you give the gift of tea, you are extending a part of yourself to a person through that gift by providing a beneficial embracement. Getting a hug through a gift without any physical contact is very uplifting!
Health Benefits
Antioxidants are found in not only tea but numerous foods we eat. By drinking tea, you are adding preventatives through antioxidants that fight against cancer, heart disease, and high cholesterol.
Energy And Restoration
Caffeine in tea provides us with energy and the ability to power through our day. Afternoon tea is something other countries lean on to recharge and replenish themselves. Whether you partake in tea in the morning, afternoon, or evening, you gain a sense of relaxation through theanine that is present in the tea.
The Connection With Water
We embody over 70% of water within our physical bodies. Through our creation and connection with water, we must be vigilant to appreciate the presence of water. It is, after all, the element of life. A strong symbolism with water is woven into our world’s cultural beliefs and faiths.
Hindus believe that water is a gift of life, whereas Buddhists view water as a spiritual guide. Christians are baptized in water. Water provides wisdom for Islamists. The sharing of tea between different cultural beliefs and faiths creates a connection that bridges diversity.
"The outsider may indeed wonder at this seeming much ado about nothing. What a tempest in a teacup, he will say. But when we consider how small after all the cup of human enjoyment is, how soon overflowed with tears...we shall not blame ourselves for making so much of the teacup!"
Sharing, Caring, and Gifting
Now that you have a basic understanding of tea, you are able to see past a simple teacup filled with a warm beverage. You’ll never look at tea the same again because you are aware of the strong embodied connection that sharing a cup of tea has!
Hummingbird Tea Room has holiday tea gift sets as well as other gift sets that are perfect for any occasion. We are taking online orders as well as phone orders. Don’t wait until the mad dash for holiday shopping is on. Get your order in today!