For those who celebrate Christmas, counting down the days is already exciting, but if you’re a tea lover, counting down the days + tasting a different tea each day surely makes it even more special. Nowadays, people get Advent calendars not only for religious purposes but also because they are so much fun! Because we should all try a new tea every day, here are my favorite tea advent calendars of 2020.
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Advent Calendars
Advent calendars are of German origin and its tradition started in the early nineteenth century. German Protestants began to mark the days of Advent by burning a candle or marking walls every day. Calendars filled with chocolate began to appear from the late 1950s and began to spread around the world. Nowadays, we see hundreds of different advent calendar types, from skincare to gourmet food, lego, and of course tea (which is what we’re all here for!).
Although it started as a religious tradition, in modern days many people enjoy advent calendars. Who wouldn’t be happy to be gifted a box of 24 days of tea/chocolate/socks/anything? I know I would!
For the 2020 holiday season, here are my top picks in random order:
1. Sips By
This is Sips By’s first-ever Advent Calendar. It is beautifully crafted and quite different from other companies’ offerings because it contains teas from different brands. If you don’t know Sips By, they’re a tea subscription service that offers customized boxes based on personal preferences.
RELATED: Best Tea Subscription Box Guide
This Advent Calendar offers 2 options, 12 or 24 days of teas featuring some of Sips by members’ all-time favorite teas, from a wide variety of brands, tea types, and flavors. If you buy this calendar and like it, next year you can buy the refills only since it’s made in fabric and it’s totally reusable (a more eco-friendly option). You can also choose from black and white fabric. The advent calendar folds into a tea travel clutch so you can take it anywhere.
Each day includes a pack that is good to make about 3 cups and a printed insert with steeping tips and exclusive discounts to each tea brand included.
Buy it here Holiday Tea Advent Calendar
2. Vahdam India
I love this brand, its story, and mission, how they help the tea garden’s workers by giving back in the form of education for their children and their teas! They have great quality teas, innovative products, and luxurious packaging. I often recommend Vahdam because it truly is one of my favorite tea brands.
The selection of their 24 days of tea includes some of their best-sellers like Original Masala Chai, High Mountain Oolong, Blooming Rose, various herbals and turmeric teas, and even some Darjeeling first and second flush teas. All loose leaf teas, definitely one of my favorites for this year!
Buy it here Holiday Tea Advent Calendar – 24 Teas in a box
+ BONUS
In case 24 days is too much of a commitment, you can try the 12 Chai Assortment Gift Set. This box contains 12 varieties of chai, including the original Masala chai, turmeric spice, tulsi Masala chai, Earl Grey Masala chai, among others. It is definitely a treat for the Masala Chai lovers and it makes a beautiful gift because of its packaging and detail.
Buy it here 12 Chai Assortment Gift Set
3. Adagio
They have great blends, straight teas, and single estate premium teas through their sister site Masters Teas. They’ve done an amazing job in building a tea community and one of my favorite features of Adagio is that you can create your own blends!
This year’s Advent calendar comes in 2 choices, loose leaf teas or tea bags (they have different teas each!). It is full of festive blends and other classic Adagio blends. Each sachet includes enough for a single cup. Some of the teas included are Gingerbread, Rooibos Nutcracker, and Candy cane. It is also one of the most affordable Advent calendars out there.
Buy it here Tea Advent Calendar
+ BONUS
Again, if you only want to do a 12-day countdown for Christmas this might be perfect for you. This set includes reusable tins that create a fun scene and can hang as ornaments until ready to be brewed. Each tin contains one single serving pouch of loose tea and some of the blends included are White Pear and Golden Monkey.
Buy it here 12 Days of Christmas
4 & 5. David’s Tea
David’s tea is well known for its fun blends, colorful vibe, and functional teaware. Their stores are beautiful, fun and welcoming and they launch limited edition teas every season!
This year’s Advent Calendar by David’s is very festive, they included throwback faves, bestselling blends, sneak peeks, and exclusive & limited-quantity teas. The box is very well made, with magnetic closure and tiny loose leaf tins under every day. Each day will have enough loose leaf to make 1-2 cups. Some of the flavors included in this calendar are Caramel Shortbread, Chocolate Covered Almond, Santa’s Secret, Winter Earl Grey, and many more.
Buy it here 24 Days of Tea
For the Matcha lovers and explorers out there, David’s Tea released their first Matcha Advent Calendar ever! They normally carry lots of flavored Matcha options but for this calendar, they included 24 high quality finely ground green tea & sweet treats. You’ll find straight matcha, blends, infused chocolates, vegan Matcha gummies & a 50 g jar of matcha honey.
Buy it here 24 Days of Matcha
+ BONUS
If 24 days of teas are too much for you, there’s also the option to do 12 days! This sampler set is not specifically made for a Christmas countdown but it fulfills the same purpose. This sampler set includes 12 of the top sellers, and you can also find a sweet indulgence sampler, organic teas sampler, feel-good tea sampler, and feel-good herbal tea sampler.
Buy it here David’s top 12 tea sampler
5. Palais des Thรฉs
This French tea company was founded in 1986 and currently has over 50+ stores in Europe and Asia, with its flagship store in Le Marais, in Paris. His founder is Franรงois-Xavier Delmas, author of The Tea Drinker’s Handbook and Tea Sommelier: A Step-by-Step Guide + others.
It includes a combination of single estate and flavored blends of tea and herbal infusions. Some of the teas in this Advent calendar are best selling Palais des Thรฉs classics like Thรฉ du Hammam, Chai imperial, and Grand Yunnan Impรฉrial between others. Every tea comes in a hand-sewn, natural cotton muslin tea bags that contain no staples, or plastic.
Buy it here 24 Days of Tea
6. T2 Tea
This Australian tea brand has many different blends and straight teas, but to me, its highlight is their teaware. T2 has the prettiest range of teaware. I was lucky to visit one of their stores in Sydney and they are stunning, you can’t simply get out of there without some tea and a piece of teaware!
They have a loose leaf tea option and a tea bag calendar too. Each tea or tisane is wrapped in individual saches and make 1 cup of tea. Some of the teas included in this tea Advent calendar are Christmas breakfast, lemongrass and ginger, green rose and many more.
Buy it here Loose Leaf Advent Calendar
I recommend you run and get yours before December (or if you’re late for that, then maybe enjoy the teas at your own pace at any time!). I’d love to know which one you got. Happy sipping!
