blooming tea

If the person you call "Mom" is a foodie at heart, here are some great gift ideas that will be sure to wow her this Mother's Day.

My favorite pick works well for moms who love to travel and eat out, or moms who like to stay in and cook. A new collection called 86 Recipes is a series of recipe boxes that contain (you got it) 86 recipes each. However these aren't just any recipes, these are recipes from some of the best restaurants in the country. Available in a New York or San Francisco edition (New Orleans is launching this summer), each box contains 86 recipes with tips on presentation, wine pairings, plus a photo, map and contact info of each restaurant. Where else can you get 86 practically-famous recipes (SF - Gary Danko, Tartine Bakery, Chez Panisse; NY - Daniel, Aquavit, Prune) in one place? Oh and why 86? That's restaurant slang to indicate that a popular item has been sold out. However each box also comes with a bunch of other origins for the name "86" - but you'll just have to get it to find out. SF edition is $19.99, NY edition is $24.99. Pick one up for mom, and pick up the other for yourself. Oh and if you're lucky, maybe you'll win a trip to NY or SF for mom too!

Two more great gift ideas for your mom, just read more

The last trend from the Fancy Food Show that I want to talk about is tea. Ice tea, hot tea, blooming tea, organic tea, chai tea, flavored teas, tea infused chocolate. Tea. Tea. Tea. Tea.

There were at least a billion and a half tea booths (that is not a completely accurate statement, I lost count at around 22 and just rounded up) and most of them had some pretty pleasant teas on hand. The big show crowd pleaser was the new "blooming" teas. These teas are made by hand-tying edible flowers (like roses, carnations, jasmine, etc.) into a ball that "blooms" when placed into hot water. It's pretty gimmicky, but definitely elegant. The only catch is, you'll now have to invest in a clear teapot as well. The one pictured here is either the Jasmine & Chrysanthemum or Jasmine & Marigold from Tzuni (just one of several companies promoting blooming teas). A box of 12 tea "pearls" will set you back $19.20.

Even though there were many normal teas to try, one of my favorites came from Ineeka. Their award winning teas are grown and shipped directly from founder Shashank Goel's family plantations in India. They only use whole leaves with no added flavorings or oils. The teas are treated with love much like a fine wine and their packaging even shows it. It's like loose leaf tea inside of an ingenious tea bag that opens up and allows the tea to unfurl completely. Founder Shashank Goel was kind enough to talk to us about their start, and show us how to brew the perfect cup of delicious tea. Check out the video below to see:

To see more tea coverage, read more