Our 2024 Christmas Gift Guide

December 09, 2024

OUR CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE IS BELOW

Please excuse the formatting - this content is taken directly from our newsletter!

Hello Tea Friends.

We hope that you are doing well! At Comins it is time once again for us to send you our Christmas Gift Guide. It's been a wonderful year working with partners old & new & we hope you like browsing some of our top picks. We are also sharing our opening hours over the festive period [including the last two weeks of our Shatwell Tea House] and hope you may be able to join us to share some tea together. We realise this time of year means many different things for different people. Perhaps you are browsing for a friend or relative or perhaps for yourself - many of our community tell us they just enjoy treating themselves to a small tea indulgence which will allow them some time out at this busy time of year. We are no different. Choosing the teas & teaware for our Christmas break is always a hotly contested topic!  As always we are on hand to offer assistance - please do call or email us at any time. Please also do join Michelle this Saturday morning at our Bath Tea House for a morning of Chinese tea & teaware.

As we approach the end of the year we would like to extend our thanks always for being part of our community.  Please enjoy 10% off tea with code TEA10 until midnight on Thursday 12th December.

We appreciate you all.  Rob & Michelle Comins x

Every Tea Has a Story

Interested to learn more about tea and taste along while you do so? In this gift set we are delighted to invite you to taste along as you read with 5 single serving sachets of tea (all teas are re-infusable) & a corresponding tea tasting guide directing you to the pages in the book where you can read their story

Enjoy time out over tea

A gift Set focused on taking a little time for yourself containing three beautiful teas, incense, a simple travel gaiwan set & a meditation mat from our partners Niraamaya whose fabrics/yarns are embedded with aruvedic herbal formulations

Take a little time out!

Travel the world through tea

No need to leave the country to travel the world [which is lucky right now!] you can do it from the comfort of your own home through this selection of our carefully sourced teas

Tea Selection Box

Many of our tea visitors tell us that they would like to explore the world of tea more widely- but how to do this in an affordable and simple way? Introducing our Tea Selection Box inviting you to enjoy 10 teas over 10 days.

For someone new to loose tea

The best advice [in our opinion] for someone new to tea is to look to 'upgrade' the teas they are used to with some of our most accessible teas. So we recommend :-
* For the morning : First Flush Darjeeling
* Green 'Upgrade' : Sencha Karigane
* Calm & comforting : Moonshine
* Our tea starter kit

For green tea lovers

* If you love it grassy : try Irie Sencha, Sencha Fukamushi or Tamarayokucha
* If savoury tones are more your thing then try this delicious Long Jing, Wild Mountain Green or Qi Hao Green
* For something different : Genmaicha or blends of Sencha Matcha & Genmaicha Matcha
* Super special deliciousness from Jun in Hadong with this incredible Jungjak Green tea

For oolong obsessives

What you choose depends on what type of tea experience you are looking to enjoy!

* Floral & Uplifting : Bao Zhong
* Nutty Tones : Dong Ding
* Full & Fruity : Hong Shui
* Sweet : Spring GABA

Perfect Puer

Winter is the perfect time to stay inside & explore this complex category of tea. Choose from :

* Conventional Shu : rich smooth & earthy
* Imperial Ancient Tree Shu : Beautfully deep
* A ball of Sheng Puer : A light zingy cup bringing centre & balance

Wonderful white teas

The calming tones of white tea are an absolute tonic at this time of year. Our top picks & ideas for this season are:

* Buddika's Silver Tip Tea : Light floral cup
* Compare & Contrast : Mr Zheng's 2020, 2022 & 2024 Shou Mei : delicate evolving fruit tones
* The extraordinary profile of T-18 White tea

For 'hard to impress' tea lovers

We all know people who love tea but have perhaps tried so many different types that its hard to choose. Here are our top recommendations!

* Mr Zheng's compressed Shou Mei
* M s Chen's Big Yellow
* Tokuya's Puer
* Buddika's Tea Rods

Back in stock before Christmas

Stay tuned for new arrivals from Nuxalbari, our friends in Nepal [Ruby Black & some exciting new additions] & teas from Malawi including Zomba pearls. Send us an email if you are waiting for these teas & we will let you know when they come back into stock

Brilliant Basics

Getting started in tea can be really simple. Here are our recommendations for brilliant basics:

* Everyday Teapot with infuser
* Travel Gaiwan for oolong tea
* Chakoshi Deep Tea Infuser
* Simple Porcelain cups
* Houhin with porcelain cups

Show stopping teapots

We have a number of one off unique pieces from the studio of Seong Il Hong as well as Handpainted Jingdezhen pieces & Jianzhan pots

* 130 ml stoneware pot with black glaze
* 120ml terra sigillata with silver paint
* H andpainted Jingdezhen Bird Teapot
* R ed Rust Jianzhan Teapot

Gorgeous Gaiwan

Some exquisite gaiwan in stock this year!

Lu Dan Cheng's : Sand, Red & Maroon
Tao's Grey Swirl Gaiwan
Huang Xiaokang's Fish Gaiwan
Huang Xiaokang's Bird Gaiwan

Perfect for all your chinese teas such as Long Jing & of course Mr Zhengs gorgeous white tea

Classic Kyusu

Always popular there is simply is no better way to prepare & enjoy Japanese tea. Here are two of our favourites still in stock
* 240ml red Kyusu as used at Shatwell
* 200ml Cat & Paw Kyusu

Another option for Japanese tea is this simple Houhin set or Shiboridashi set

Matcha Time!

Interest in Matcha continues to grow & whether you are just starting out or looking to upgrade your set up here are our recommendations!

Quality Matcha : Matcha Superior
Matcha Chasen : Whisk
Matcha Chawan : Grey/Green, White or Black
Matcha Chashaku : Scoop
Matcha Sifter : Either in a tin or as a hand sifter
Matcha Set : Starter or Premium

Cups, Cups, Cups

From simple to elaborate these tea cups will enhance any tea time. From basic to ornate these are our favourites this season

* Flower shaped porcelain teacup
* Hand Painted Comins Sipping cup
* Tao's Rose Cup
* Mixed Porcelain with matt glaze cup

Unique Tea Sets

From one of our favourite teaware makers these very cute handpainted Gaiwan sets come in a beautiful case & represent the playful spirit of Lai Mi Mi and Jingdezhen. One to treasure.

* Bird Gaiwan Set
* Rabbit Gaiwan Set
* Dog Gaiwan Set

Tea drip trays & drainage

Simply perfect combinations of ceramic and copper work - we are very proud to have a small number of pieces from Zhao Hui's studio

* C ircular ceramic / copper tea tray
* R ectangular ceramic / copper tea tray
* C ircular ceramic/copper waste bowl

Top notch Tea trays

Having a place to put your teaset or enjoy your tea from adds to the tea experience. We have four different trays to choose from

* Red Shaker Tea Tray
* Japanese Red Tea Tray
* Akebono Rectangle Tray
* Nerai Round Tea Tray

Tea travel bags

From our partners in Jingdezhen we LOVE these travel bags made especially for tea. Here are a few ideas for all budgets!

* Blue & White Drawstring Tea Bag
* Rabbit Tea Bag
* Black Sheen Tea Bag
* Brown with flower motif Tea Bag

Plates & Tea Pets

We stock a number of beautiful plates that can be used for your teapot or for your cakes! Or how about a tea pet to keep your teapot company!

* P entagon ceramic plate
* C ool panda plate
* Diamond Tea Plate
* C at & Hamster Tea Pets

Scoops, Spoons & Tins

Beautiful scoops to serve up your tea! Perfect for helping tease the tea leaves out of your packet and into your pot!

* J apanese Clay scoop
* H ammered Copper Tea Scoop
* Matcha Scoop
* Brown with flower motif Tea Bag
* Small & Large Silver Tins

Why not make up your own gift set? Get in touch with us and we can wrap it and print a personalised message for you. Here are a few of our favourite mix & match tea gift ideas for the festive season