Well, it would help if you have a general idea what types of tea the person likes. For example, I love a good, dark, strong, black tea, and while I like chai, I don't like some of the other extra flavoring that some companies put into tea (and I don't like the bergamot in Earl Grey). So you'd get a different type of tea for me than for someone who really likes green tea, or Earl Grey, or lightly-flavored teas. You know? But that's where some of those box sets can come in handy. The only one I have direct experience with (from the Tao of Tea) is the Chai box set, which came with 500 mile Chai, a green tea chai, and the red rooibos chai that I ended up buying in a separate cannister because I liked it so much (and it's not even caffeinated!). It was a wonderful sampler, and I'm betting the other samplers would be great, too.

There is such a variety of tea out there--even for people who like herbal tea, there's stuff that's more fruit-based (which I don't tend to care for as much) and stuff like rooibos (which is closer to black tea in flavor) and stuff like mint teas (which I love), and it's just really helpful to have a general idea what kind of tea taste the person has. Which is not very helpful to you right now, I'm guessing!