2025 Holiday Tea Gift Guide

Looking for the perfect holiday gift for a tea lover? This holiday tea gift guide breaks down the different types of tea drinkers and offers specific recommendations from our Hoboken shop—whether they love bold black teas, calming herbal blends, or unique single-origin teas.

We all have that one tea-loving friend who it seems impossible to shop for. They may already have a ton of tea in their cupboard, or maybe they are very particular about the tea that they drink. After all, you want to get them something they’ll actually use! But that doesn’t mean that you should avoid buying them tea altogether. The key is determining what kind of tea lover so you can give them something they’ll be excited about.

What you’ll find in this Holiday Tea Gift Guide:

• Gift ideas for every type of tea drinker

• Recommendations from Hoboken Tea Company’s most-loved blends & single-origin teas

• Tips for choosing tea gifts that feel personal and thoughtful

• What to avoid when gifting tea

Best Holiday Gifts for the Morning Buzz Tea Drinker

This type of tea drinker likes to start the day with a large mug of strong black tea. They rarely drink coffee, opting instead for an English Breakfast or Earl Grey to get that morning caffeine jolt. 

They will likely appreciate a good quality black tea blend like our Hoboken Breakfast ($20 for an 80g bag). Hoboken Breakfast is one of our most popular tea gifts for New Jersey tea drinkers because it’s smooth, bold, and universally loved. Even though I love to try new and rare teas, as a morning buzz tea drinker myself I still reach for Hoboken Breakfast more days than not!

You could also opt for something extra special with a full-bodied single-origin, small-batch black tea like our Premium Nepali Gold ($25 for an 80 g bag) or the unique hand-crafted Peach Orchard.($34 for a 30 g bag). Can’t decide? We also have a Black Tea Sampler Pack ($30).

If you want to get them something other than tea, consider a travel mug designed specifically for tea. Look for one that comes with a built-in infuser so they can even brew their morning loose-leaf tea on the go. For example, this Pure Zen Tea Tumbler is a great option since you don’t even need to remove the infused leaves in order to drink straight from the flask.

Top Gifts for Evening Tea Drinkers (Caffeine-Free Options)

In contrast to the morning buzz tea drinker, the evening tea drinker prefers calming herbal teas to help them unwind before bed. Look for herbal teas that are labeled caffeine-free—these make wonderful evening tea gifts and are always appreciated during the holiday season. A special holiday-themed herbal tea makes a great festive gift. Or opt for crowd-pleasing popular blends like our best-selling Sunrise on the Hudson hibiscus tea blend or Lavender Fields chamomile-lavender tea (each $20 for 80 g). All of our herbal blends are 100% organic, hand-crafted, and made with no artificial ingredients or flavorings.

A gift box or herbal tea sampler that comes with a variety of herbal blends always makes a great holiday gift. We offer both an herbal tea sampler ($25) with a small taste of 5 different organic herbal blends and a larger Relax + Unwind Gift Box ($50) that comes with enough of each of 5 herbal teas to make 8 - 10 cups.

I also recommend including a set of our popular reusable tea sachets or an infuser to help make brewing your gifted tea just as easy as using a tea bag (with the bonus of being more eco-friendly). Other ideas for evening tea drinkers include things that support a relaxing tea session, like a scented candle or locally-produced artisanal honey.

Gift Ideas for Wellness-Focused Tea Drinkers

If you’re trying to find a gift for someone who loves yoga, pilates, or is simply trying to live a healthier, more intentional lifestyle, tea is a perfect gift to support their goals while also encouraging relaxation (maybe after a workout!).

Herbal teas are always a good bet for this type of tea drinker, especially if you know that they like to avoid caffeine. One very popular option at the local Hoboken markets I’ve been at recently is Mile Square Spice ($18, 80 g). This organic blend of lemongrass, ginger, cinnamon leaf, cardamom and orange has inflammation-fighting ingredients rich in antioxidants, but also tastes great.

But if you know they are more of a daytime tea drinker, don’t forget about caffeinated teas. All tea made from the tea plant Camellia sinensis is naturally caffeinated, but at much lower levels than coffee and with different effects on the body and brain (I’ll write a separate post about this soon!). True tea made from the tea plant is one of the healthiest beverages around. In fact, last year the FDA updated a rule for the first time since the 1990s, allowing tea products to include the “healthy” claim on packaging. Tea has been linked to multiple health benefits, including antioxidant properties and promoting relaxation, and is great for hydration.

Green tea in particular is well-loved by health-conscious tea drinkers. Consider our Signature Blend Garden Street ($20, 80 g) - an organic green tea blended with lemon verbena (also known as vervain), an herb believed to reduce inflammation and improve sleep. If you want to splurge a little, our Green Tea Explorers bundle ($70) is a great option that includes three premium green teas and the green-style Monkey-Picked Oolong. 

A travel mug made for tea would also be a good gift for the health-conscious tea drinker, allowing them to bring their favorite tea with them to yoga or even just on a walk. 

Beginner Tea Gifts & Tea Samplers

Do you know someone who recently discovered their love of tea? This type of tea drinker can be the most fun to shop for because they are excited to try new things and learn as much as they can about the fascinating world of tea. 

Look for sampler packs or tea bundles that include a variety of tea types—these are some of the best tea gifts for beginners because it allows them to try several new teas without taking up too much space. For example, our Tea Discovery Sampler ($40) or Green Tea Sampler ($32). Each of these sets include distinctive, unique teas that will help the new tea enthusiast expand their horizons and further their understanding of the different varieties of tea available even within a single category like green tea.

You can also create your own tasting set by choosing a few different samples yourself. Nearly all of the teas in our Hoboken online shop are available in sample sizes for $5 - $8 each. 

You may also want to look for books that will support their continued education. One of my favorites is the Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook by Mary Lou and Robert J. Heiss. If you want something more unique, a personalized tea tasting journal would be a particularly thoughtful gift.

Premium Tea Gifts for Tea Connoisseurs

Do they have a collection of exotic tea tools, pots, and cups? Can they talk for hours about the difference between sheng and shu pu-er, or educate random passersby about what makes a Chinese pan-fired Long Jing different from a steamed Japanese sencha? You may have a tea connoisseur on your gift list. 

Avoid mass-produced tea or any tea that comes in very large quantities. A high-quality, small-batch tea is always a welcome gift for a tea connoisseur. Since they likely have a lot of tea already, you don’t want to take up a ton of space in their cupboard with one type of tea – in this case, less is more. The best tea gifts for the serious tea drinker are ones that come with a lot of information about the tea’s source and the methods used for crafting it. The tea connoisseur loves to know the story behind the tea. 

Some suggestions include our Heirloom Green Tea ($28 for 30 g) or Peach Orchard ($34 for 30 g). Both are highly unique, hand-crafted teas from some of the best tea makers in the world. If you really want to treat the person, the Rare Teas Bundle ($100) is an amazing gift, including our most treasured Premium teas. For something more budget-friendly, a 40 g bag of Monkey-Picked Oolong ($14) or the unique Nepali Gold black tea ($25 for 80 g) is sure to delight.

If you want to include an accessory with your tea gift, one thing I have always appreciated is a nice tea canister for storing more luxury teas. These are not only decorative, but they also protect the tea for longer-term storage. I have several washi tea canisters from Teazumi (priced around $30) but you can also find many beautiful handmade options on Etsy.

I especially love this little ceramic canister painted with a cat motif that I bought last year (currently on sale for $19.99). Perfect for a cat lover!

Worst Tea Gifts to Avoid

Let me preface this by saying all tea has its time and place and I wouldn’t call any type of tea necessarily “bad”. That said, when it comes to gift-giving, there are a few things to avoid when purchasing tea.

• Very large tins of standard black or green tea.

• Generic boxes of tea bags – especially mint or lemon-ginger blends that tend to be overly strong when manufactured in tea bags.

• Tea from brands that don’t specialize in tea. They often create novelty tea gifts for the holidays and generally use lower quality tea.

• Tea that is advertised as being for a specific condition or purpose (think Sleepy Time Tea, Upset Tummy Tea, or Menopause Tea). You don’t want the person receiving your gift to think you’re making some kind of statement about their health.

Other tea-themed gifts that are best avoided, unless the person has specifically mentioned them:

• Specialized tea tools, like gaiwans or wooden tea scoops.

• Very expensive decorative tea pots (you’re assuming they have somewhere to display it and that it fits their style of decor).

• Tea pots in general - unless they’ve asked for one, it’s a bulky item that they may not have space (or use) for.

Final Tips for Choosing the Perfect Tea Gift

Tea drinkers love to explore new teas - the key is to match the tea to the person.

• Make the gift extra special by including things like tea sachets, honey, or candles.

• Avoid buying teaware unless you are especially close to the person and know that it’s something they will definitely use.

• Keep the amount of tea relatively small so that it doesn’t go to waste.

And when in doubt, a gift card to a tea shop is a great way to show them that you care while giving them the gift of choosing their favorite tea for themselves.