Giving tea to a beginner: four profiles, safe choices

Which tea to give someone who is just starting out?

When giving tea to a beginner, start from their habits rather than the rarity of the tea: how they will drink their cup, at what time of day, and what they already enjoy. A flavoured tea, easy to love from the very first cup, with its preparation written on a card, makes a safer gift than a grand cru that calls for experience. We have sorted our ideas into four profiles, all available online, with two ideas per profile.

• They have no teapot: cotton muslin tea sachets, which steep directly in the cup.
• They love fragrances: Marco Polo loose leaf, with a tea measure.
• They drink their tea in the evening: a rooibos, naturally caffeine-free.
• They say they don't like tea: the fragrance of Marco Polo, on a base that is not tea.

They have no teapot: choose cotton muslin tea sachets

The cotton muslin sachet is the simplest gift for someone with neither teapot nor filter: a cotton sachet filled with leaves, dipped into the cup and then removed. As our guide to choosing your tea points out, the muslin holds whole leaves, not dust, and lets the leaf unfurl. It also slips easily into a bag for the office or for travel.

The Coffret · Tea Break brings together, in a matt black gift set, a white porcelain mug bearing the Mariage Frères logo and a box of 30 cotton muslin tea sachets of Marco Polo: everything needed for the first cup, with nothing else to buy. If the recipient already has mugs, Marco Polo is also available on its own in a case of 30 round cotton muslin tea sachets (75 g). One sachet per 200 ml of water at 95 °C, five minutes' steeping: the instructions fit on a label.

They love fragrances: Marco Polo loose leaf, with a tea measure

For someone who enjoys fruit desserts, flowers or rounded fragrances, Marco Polo is an easy introduction. Its product page describes it as a black tea flavoured with notes of flowers and fruits from China and Tibet, with a round, amber liquor whose sweetness owes nothing to sugar. Its caffeine is moderate, and it is enjoyed from mid-morning through to afternoon tea, plain or with a dash of milk.

As loose leaf, it comes in an airtight 100 g black metal tin, in its gift case: the parcel is ready to give. Add a round silver tea measure, engraved with the Mariage Frères signature, which gives just the right amount of leaves before steeping. To steep by the cup, a round stainless steel tea infuser is filled, closed and lifted out when the tea is ready; other models await in our filters and infusers section.

They drink their tea in the evening: a caffeine-free rooibos

For a cup after dinner, give a rooibos: its product pages present it as naturally caffeine-free. Rouge Earl Grey brings the bergamot fragrance of Earl Grey to a red rooibos from South Africa. The bergamot opens, zesty, then the rooibos takes over with a woody, honeyed note, without astringency. It is prepared like Marco Polo, 2.5 g per 200 ml of water at 95 °C for five minutes, and can be left to steep longer without turning harsh.

From Ombelle, Rooibos Pomme d'Hiver Vanillée Bio brings together apple, Ceylon cinnamon and vanilla on an organic rooibos. It steeps in boiling water, 100 °C, for seven to ten minutes, with 3 to 4 g per cup. Both rooibos are enjoyed plain or with a dash of warm milk. Our rooibos guide presents the whole family.

They say they don't like tea: start with a flavoured rooibos

For someone who claims not to like tea, give a cup that contains none. Rooibos comes from a South African shrub, Aspalathus linearis, and not from the tea plant: it contains no tea leaves, and few tannins. Marco Polo Rouge adds the fragrance of Marco Polo, led by red berries, with a hint of honey and vanilla on the finish.

It is available as loose leaf, in a 100 g metal tin, and in a case of 30 cotton muslin tea sachets, so it can be given to someone with no accessories at all. Its product page gives the same instructions as Marco Polo, 2.5 g or one sachet per 200 ml of water at 95 °C, five minutes. If the cup is a success, the step to Marco Polo as a black tea comes naturally: it is the same fragrance.

The instructions to tuck in with the parcel

A beginner has no reference points yet: a small card with the measure, temperature and time avoids a cup that is too strong or too pale. Here are the instructions given on the product pages of the teas in this guide. To go further, our guide to steeping times and temperatures covers each family.

Which teas to save for later?

A plain grand cru, a Pu-erh or a smoked tea make fine gifts for a tea lover who already has their bearings: their flavours are best discovered when you know what you are looking for in a cup. For a first tea, choose a fragrance the recipient recognises, then let them progress at their own pace. Our guide which tea to give for Christmas offers ideas for connoisseurs, and our Pu-erh guide presents this family apart.

Still undecided: the gift card

If you know nothing of the recipient's tastes, the gift card leaves the choice to them, for the amount you set. It is digital and sent by email to the recipient on the date you specify. It remains valid for twelve months after activation and can be used in one or several purchases, in our shops in Bordeaux and Nice as well as on the website. For a parcel to be sent, methods and timescales are detailed on our Delivery page.