January 31, 2008

The Best Packaging Ever!!!

Don't you love it when you get a Christmas gift a month after the holidays? I do. What better reminder of the joys of receiving than getting something really cool long after the tinsel and lights are put away and when Monday feels like just another Monday....


This year Madam Potts was gifted with the Tea Forte gift set!

Tea Forte is that gifty tea company that is often found in gift stores and kitchy card stores and the like. It's also one of those things that has always registered in my mind more as a gift to give, and not so much an item I might buy for myself.

Tea Forte is by far the most unique packaging, as they sell their teas in silken tea pyramids with a teeny signature green tea leaf on the end of the short, sturdy string that is attached to the tea pyramid (please, this haute couture is hardly a tea bag). Each one is indivdually wrapped in its own paper pyramid - surely an award must have gone to the designer of this packaging. It is fun just opening the tea!

The lack of steeping instructions indicates that this tea is not at all fussy, allowing it to be enjoyed by everyone. Tea Forte is accessible, not exclusive to all but the cognoscenti - thus its presence in card stores more than tea cafes. Note to self: easy way to share tea with my non-teaophyte friends...

I also received the Cafe Cup that is designed to go with the unique pyramid. I like that the cover can double as a saucer. It's larger and stronger than a proper tea cup - half way betrween tea cup and mug really...which suits me perfectly! :o)

The tea is so-so. I was not blown away by the Oasis (green blend) or the Citrus Mint (herbal blend), and found them to be rather weak actually. However, the Earl Grey had a delightful sweetness with the soft bergamot finish which I liked very much - I even steeped it twice!

The website offers a lot to look at and many of the blends sound tasty, in that way that any catalogue of tea blends makes one salivate just reading the alluring names such as African Solstice, Cocoa Truffle, or Orchid Vanilla...

Should I ever receive another variety pack or Tea Forte gift set, I will be equally excited - and as I have always felt, the best gifts are the ones that get used up, and the gift of tea is always top notch in my book!

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