Canadian Gift Guide

It seems like David’s Tea is popping up all over the place – first in one city I lived in, now in the other. The bright, cheery decor and the spartan cleanliness of the shops are in great contrast to the dark, intimate feel of your local Starbucks or Second Cup. What is David’s Tea though you ask? Well, basically a young Canadian businessman opened up an online tea shop in Montreal in hopes of sparking a tea revolution. Within weeks of his online shop opening its virtual doors, the first tangible location opened in Toronto. The aim behind David’s Tea is to introduce tea aficionados and noobs to the joys of tea at an affordable price.

Since launching in 2008, David’s Teas now has 100 permanent teas on hand, as well as seasonal blends to spice things up. In just two short years, the company has expanded to over 35 stores that are either open or being built, and their online business is also booming with a shockingly huge range of teas and accessories available, plus you get three free samples with every online order.

For the sake of seasonality, my gift recommendation for today is the Fall sampler pack, consisting of 25g packs of their seven new limited edition blends. Considering that each cup of tea requires about 2-3 grams (a tea bag typically has 2 g), that’s a lot of tea to try out! And really, how could you not with delectable names like Pumpkin Chai, Geisha Plum, Lemon Cream Pie, Banana Nut Bread, Cafe Mocha, Cocoa Paradiso, and Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble? For only $29.50, this is a sweet gift for the in-laws, a favourite teacher or co-worker, a girlfriend, or anyone you know that just loves tea that much.

There are David’s Tea locations in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia – but if you can’t get out to one of those provinces (or their major cities), the David’s Tea online shop as I mentioned is quite extensive, offers free samples, and is priced in Canadian dollars.

If you happen to miss out on the aforementioned Fall sampler pack, David’s Tea has a number of other gift packs that can easily sub in. The Starter Kit is perfect for the friend that’s just starting to get their sip on, including filters, five variations of tea (black, white, green, roobios, and herbal), and a teaspoon, all cleverly packaged in a nice gift box for $29.50.

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Alternatively you can try out the ‘Tea Party’ kit with five caffeine-free varieties ($25), the chocolate trio ($15), or snap up the Summer 2010 sampler which is identical other than in flavours to the fall kit for $29.50. When you’re ready to commit to one single flavour, surprise your tea-crazy giftee with a full-size version of the tea of their choice, starting at $6.50 for a 50g bag up to an 82g tin for just $11.