• "Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world."--T'ien YihengTea image by crazy.nataly from Fotolia.com
  
  "Tea...is a religion of the art of life,' wrote Kakuzo Okakura in "The Art of Tea." If you know someone who would readily echo this sentiment, give her a gift that indulges her taste for tea. Ask about your friend's favorite cup of tea: whether she prefers English teatime, serene Japanese tea ceremonies or healing herbal teas. Whatever your friend's preference, you can create a unique gift basket suited to her tea drinking inclinations.
  
  

British Tea

• "You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me," wrote C.S. Lewis, author of the "Chronicles of Narnia" series of books. If you have a bibliophile tea-drinking friend like Lewis, create a gift basket of his favorite reading material and tea. Pair a book or two by some of the greats of English literature with some organic Earl Grey tea . Your friend can sip his tea while he reads about characters from Jane Austen, Charles Dickens or Evelyn Waugh sitting down to teatime. Depending on your budget, you can add a teapot, tea kettle, or tea ball to the gift as well as some English teatime treats like "biscuits" (that's cookies to Americans) or clotted cream with scones.
  
  

Japanese Tea Ceremony

• Japanese tea ceremonies center around the ritualized preparation and drinking of a powdered green tea known as matcha. Although your friend may not have time for the full ritual, which can last as long as four hours, you can give her some of the central elements to this ritual designed to create a state of tranquility through mindful attention to small details. For a friend who meditates and enjoys green tea, some organic matcha, along with a Japanese style teapot and tea bowls (teacups that do not have handles) will make a lovely and thoughtful gift.
  
  

Healing Herbs

• For a friend who has delved into the study of herbalism, give some organic herbal teas. If you have an organic herb garden, pick and dry your own herbs, then put them in a jar with an attractive label rubber stamped with a plant picture. There are also an abundance of organic herbal teas on the market. You may want to select one related to a health concern your friend has confided in you about, such as menopause or insomnia. Make a gift basket combining the tea with a natural scented candle or an artisan-crafted ceramic mug.