Japanese Tea Gifts

A lovely tea friend from Japan recently sent me some fantastic tea-related gifts! I thought I'd share a few with you here.






Lupicia Teas -- Outer Packaging
















Lupicia Teas -- Inner Packaging






(Clockwise from Bottom Left) Tea Stickers, Kaishi (Japanese tea ceremony napkin-type papers), matcha sweets (pictured last), paper crane paper (How Postmodern!), a teapot/teacup cloth napkin, kyusu (teapot) chopstick rests (bottom) and a teacup-covered napkin (center)



Tea candies, a geisha postcard and youkan (delicious red bean/agar-agar sweets -- Oishi! (Delicious!))



A tasty matcha-based desert. I paired it with sencha. Yum!

Tea Caddy

My very dear friend and fellow blogger Tajee just sent me a gorgeous tea caddy from Japan! It was wrapped on the diagonal, which is how many gifts are wrapped in Japan. (This is a tradition which comes from the use of ornate pieces of cloth ("gift cloths") to wrap gifts.) The caddy itself is laquered (a traditional Japanese technique) and has a lid in the style of shibori (resist-dyed) kimono fabric. (Can you tell I have a background in textile design? Tajee knows my tastes all too well!) I'll use it next time I'm enjoying matcha with friends. Thanks, Tajee!!!

PS--I'll be away on Monday, but check back on Vee Tea for more tea news (including a World Tea Expo forecast, info on a new tisane made from hops, what's up at P.S.1 in NYC, and the current hype on caffeine during pregnancy) later on next week. In the meantime, have a great weekend!

Chic Tea Gifts

Looking for a chic tea gift? San Francicso-based Violet has some cute items including a flowering tea set, an American honey flight, and (my personal fave) The Teastick. Eco-minded folk will also love their sustainable gifts. Cool.