British Tea

I'm a British tea drinker and I can tell you that almost every popular brand of British tea is available in the U.S. (In some areas you may have to get it by mail, but it is available.)

Does your friend make tea with bags or loose leaves?

She uses tea bags primarily. I live in a small town...Tetley rules, so I was looking for something "British", whatever that would be.

I brought back tea as a gift from England. Rather than bring back tea bags, I brought back tins of loose tea along with immersers(?) you put loose tea leaves in.

The most popular tea in Britain is PGTips. It can be found at any supermarket. Very inexpensive.

However, for a gift, I'd suggest something from either Fortnum & Mason or Harrod's. Perhaps a sampler package. Both are high end.

If your friend likes a full flavoured tea (eg a breakfast blend), why not buy her some "Yorkshire Tea". The company is one of the few remaining independent tea suppliers in England. Most of the others belong to international conglomerates.

It is available in most larger supermarkets.

http://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/

Whittards do nice gift sets and I know someone who fills their suitcase with English Breakfast tea whenever they visit the UK! I think you have Whittards in America though.

I'd second the English Breakfast tea. Whittards often has a sample brewed that you can taste- I once tried their Christmas blend. It was very good- citrus and spice. Darjeeling and Earl Grey are of course classics, too. You can find cute teapots, cups or cute canisters packed with tea bags at lots of shops.

If you are down by the Strand, stop in the Twinings store. They may have something that isn't readily available in the U.S. And that is a historic location; not just a new branch of their shop. Otherwise, Fortnum and Mason's, as another writer suggested.

I agree with Linda. Yorkshire Gold is a excellent tea. I usually buy gift teas and Harrods or F&M. For my own personal stash tho, besides PG Tips, I go to the market (Tescos or Somerfield or M&S etc) and buy what my family calls "cheap tea".

Barry's Tea is Irish ,not too expensive , very good and not very easy to get here [ at least where I live].Also look for small jars of clotted cream and powdered scone mix to bring back and enjoy with the tea!

I'm with Valerie, I liked the Twinings shop because of the history. They have wooden boxes with their logo, and you can choose your own assortment of teas you want to fill it with.