For someone who says they do not want anything

November, and the list is on the back of an envelope. Most of it is crossed through in biro. One name has nothing beside it but a question mark.

The gift that works here is the one that does not need a shelf. Steam rising off a glass pot. The smell of the leaves as a pouch is opened for the first time. A cup that is finished by the end of the morning, and another one tomorrow.

What do you buy someone who says they don't want anything?

Something they will use up. Tea is drunk, not displayed, so it never adds to what is already on the shelves. A named jar, a card that lets them choose, or three months of tea arriving through the door: three answers, from £20.

"My budget is only £30... I have exhausted every idea." That is how one asker put it, in a Christmas gift thread. It is the whole problem in a line, and two of the three answers below fit inside that budget exactly.

A jar with a name on it that only they have

The Boteane Bespoke Blend is £30. Choose a base of green, black or rooibos, add two botanical layers, and give it a name of up to 25 characters, printed exactly as you write it. It comes in a glass jar with a bamboo lid and an airtight seal, inside a ribboned gifting tube.

The bases are Grassy Green Hyson, an organic green tea; Sweet & Strong, a black tea; and Nutty & Biscuity, an organic rooibos with no caffeine. The two layers come from lavender, rose petals, calendula and marigold.

Then the name, which is the part they will read first. A word they always say. The road they grew up on. The year. Each jar is made to order, and there is more on building one in our Bespoke Blend guide.

A card that lets them choose

The Boteane Gift Card comes in £20, £30, £60 or £100. It is emailed to you or straight to them on the send date you choose, with a message of up to 200 characters, and it has no expiry. They spend it when they are ready.

For someone who insists they want nothing, choosing is half the present. The card can be spent across the eligible Boteane range, loose leaf teas and teaware alike. And because it never expires, there is no rush at all.

Three months of tea that keeps arriving

The Subscription Gift Experience is £25 a month, prepaid for three, six or twelve months and paid once, so three months is £75. Every delivery is five loose leaf teas, about 75 cups, through the letterbox, with UK delivery included. When the months run out, it stops.

You choose the taste: Surprise them!, Green Tea, Caffeine-Free or Fruity Tea. We choose the five teas each month. Add an Easy-peasy Teapot or an Ice Tea Cold Brew Bottle to the basket with it, and it comes free in the first delivery, worth £32.

Everything it includes, box by box, is in the £75 gift.

Or a box of five, opened on the day

Our curated boxes hold five loose leaf teas in a black letterbox box, from £28. THE FRUITY BOX is fruit-led, with Heirloom Orchard and Bombastic Blackcurrant inside. THE SWEET DREAMS BOX is made for the evening, with Kick Back Relax and Peace of Mind Passion Flower.

Every box can come with more inside: a Glass Infuser for £38, the Easy-peasy Teapot or the Cold Brew Bottle for £52, or both for £72. All ten boxes, and who each one suits, are in our guide to the boxes.

Used up, and remembered

The jar empties. The card gets spent. The last of the three boxes comes through the door.

Nothing went in a drawer. Every one of them was a cup they actually drank.

JoJo