Holiday Gift Idea: Tea Forte Warming Joy Gift Set (and a giveaway!)

Still searching for the perfect gift for your food-enthusiast friends? We’ve got some ideas!
Through Christmas, we’ll be sharing our favorite picks for holiday gift ideas for food-lovers, home cooks (both novice and all-star) and those who love to entertain. Check out details below for a new holiday gift idea… and scroll down for a giveaway!

Holiday Gift Idea: Tea Forte Warming Joy Gift Set

Since having to step away from coffee for awhile, I’ve become a big tea drinker… especially of rooibos and herbal teas. After first sipping Tea Forte’s blends at the Arizona Biltmore during Afternoon Tea, I’m very partial to the brand. I remember raving about the teas to the ‘tea sommelier’ and he went on and on about why he would never drink any other brand. Their teas are highly fragrant, which also means highly flavored! I have memories of sipping tea with my cousin that afternoon and our cups of Tea Forte blends were so fragrant, that they seemed to scent the entire room around us. The luxury tea brand is known for their variety and quality of their handcrafted teas and gorgeous packaging and design. You’ll find their teas inside leading hotels, restaurants, prestige resorts and luxury retailers and they’ve been selected as the exclusive House Purveyor of premium teas for the James Beard Foundation.

If you’re looking for a holiday gift packed with all the flavors of Christmas, check out this Tea Forte Warming Joy Gift Set.

Retailing at $45, this is THE set for the tea-lover. Inside a beautiful wooden keepsake box is everything you need for a warm cup of holiday cheer. Your recipient will enjoy their Petite Ribbon Box of ‘Warming Joy’ filled with ten festive tea blends (5 different flavors), a charming double-wall porcelain Infinity 8oz. cup with lid and a glass tea tray, the perfect size to set aside your used infuser after steeping.

I had the chance to check out the gift set for myself and sip all of the included teas. The gift box is really pretty and perfect for storing all of my tea goodies on my kitchen counter. As soon as I opened the box, I could smell all of those warm spices that fill Christmas time. I opened the Petite Ribbon Box and took in a deep breath as I went through all of the infusers… savoring every Christmas scent.

Included, you get two of  the following:

• Rum Raisin Biscotti—a fine black tea blend infused with the sweetness of rum-soaked raisins. This one is great for after dinner or even alongside your morning muffin in the A.M. It actually smells like a pastry with a bit of spice and maybe some sweet molasses. Very indulgent!
• Sweet Orange Spice–another black tea blend with fruity notes of citrus and cinnamon. This one definitely has some spice to help wake you up in the morning.
• Harvest Apple Spice—an herbal blend of crisp, ripe red apples and zesty spice. This one was clean and indulgent all at the same time. You can really taste the crispness of the apples which helped ‘freshen up’ those holiday spices that I tend to associate with more indulgent goodies… like cinnamon buns and apple pie. Definitely one of the standouts!
• Sweet Ginger Plum—an herbal tea combining the sweetness of ripe plum with the warmth of ginger. This one smells sooo good. It has a natural sweetness that didn’t require any sweetener (at least for my taste) and I loved the spiciness of the ginger on the back of my throat. Great for a cold morning.
• Winter Chai—a rich South African rooibos with exotic chai spices. Another favorite, this one was very festive and the perfect combo of fruity and spicy.

Each tea is packed in a single-serve silken infuser with an adorable green leaf at the end of the string that peeks out of the cup while you’re steeping. I really loved the curve of the red Infinity cup as it fits perfectly in my hand. All in all, a GREAT gift idea for a tea drinker.

For a budget-friendly option, you can purchase just the Petite Ribbon Warming Joy Box that is the same as above with two infusers of each of the five holiday teas. The Petite Warming Joy Box retails for $15 and makes a great gift as well… or even an impressive stocking stuffer.

Aside from holiday teas, one of my favorite year-round blends is the African Solstice Rooibos Tea and I was ecstatic when I saw that they included a canister of it with my samples. Hands down, it’s the best tea I’ve ever had. With its blend of berries, blossoms and a touch of vanilla, it has a beautiful sniff and tastes exactly as you would imagine.

I love the raspberry notes with the warm sweetness of the vanilla, but it’s not quite as fruity as other fruit-based blends. If they made this scent into a perfume, I’d buy as many bottles as my wallet could afford. It’s THAT good. The tea is naturally sweet, but if you’d like to add a sweetener, just try a bit of honey as it plays nicely with the vanilla. I love this tea especially at bedtime. Although it doesn’t make any claims, I feel that it helps calm my nerves a bit and relaxes me in the evenings. A cup of this warm, red tea and all is right in my world!

You can purchase a canister of the African Solstice for $15 (it’ll last you between 35-50 servings), or in pouches or infusers here.

Shop these products and Tea Forte’s entire line at teaforte.com.

Giveaway Details

Wanna win some Tea Forte for yourself? We’re excited to announce that one lucky reader will win their very own Petite Warming Joy Box. Enter below!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. CONGRATS TO OUR WINNER, BARBARA C.

^{We received complimentary samples to facilitate the writeup; however, our opinions are wholly our own. View our Disclosure Policy for more info.}