handmade gift: homemade teabags

who will find them.....what will they think ?, originally uploaded by gadjoboy.

last year, i had a ton of fun making all sorts of homemade teabags for the holidays. i drink a LOT of tea--i grew up in a tea-based culture--and even though i lived in italy and had all sorts of delicious coffee drinks there, i'll always be a teagirl.

materials:
teabags
teas
spices, if using
tins for packaging
ribbon, for decorating tins

simply buy loose leaf teas, herbal teas, spices and herbs and create delicious combinations.

i'd recommend packaging each type of tea separately, so the aromas don't get too confusing.

here are some suggestions to get you started:

--green tea with cardamom
--chai teabags with black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and cloves
--green tea with mint
--chamomile and lemon verbena
--green tea with jasmine
--green tea with ginger

sources:
frontier for spices and herbs
far leaves for tea
imperial tea court for tea
there is actually a decent selection of bulk loose-leaf tea at berkeley bowl, and also spices
indian shops like vik's usually have a good selection of loose leaf teas
whole foods also sells bulk teas and spices
and don't forget about the good old country cheese shop!
tins from sks
ribbon from tail of the yak, paper source, or any fabric shop
last year, i used these key tags to label the packages
i found my teabags at ichiban kan (there's now one in el cerrito!), but i've also seen them at daiso. you can also try the t-sac, which they use at tartine, and which i've seen for sale at elephant pharmacy.

p.s. you can also use the teabags to make pouches of mulling spices for mulled cider or wine....