Any tea experts out there? :)

[Annichen]

I'm a tea junkie and I tend to opt for French teas like Mariage Frères or even Ladurée. Celestial Seasonings is very good too, and that's cheap..and in bags. I'm not sure if you can get loose tea from CS.

[scarletjul]

I'm a big fan of loose leaf tea, usually black tea florals. 

I don't know if this is a possibility in your area, but could you also maybe give him a smaller sampler and a gift certificate/I.O.U to a tea shop?  Some place like Teavana or a smaller shop, where he can pick out his own tea?  I know at those type of shops, they'll let you see the leaves and pick out what you want (and sometimes have free samples.) 

[Thimble]

Asian markets are a great place to an assortment of teas--just do a little research so you know what to ask for, lol. Sencha, genmaicha, and oolong are all veerrrrry different things, lol.

Also, for green teas especially be sure to check the packing date if it's printed. That's different from a 'sell by' date, and fresher is always better. Anything more than six months old tends to have that yucky 'boxed' taste.

Stash is actually very good if you steep it correctly. I'm a total tea snob, and it's my favorite green tea now.

Oh and random tea trivia--did you know that tea plants will grow basically anywhere a camellia bush will? Being cousins and all. (Guess who has her own tea bushes, heheh.)

[ringwraith10]

I'm a tea junkie and I tend to opt for French teas like Mariage Frères or even Ladurée. Celestial Seasonings is very good too, and that's cheap..and in bags. I'm not sure if you can get loose tea from CS.

Be very careful with Celestial Seasonings -- there was a huge controversy about the pesticides in their tea a couple of years ago (here's an article: http://www.examiner.com/article/dangerously-high-pesticide-levels-found-celestial-seasonings-teas). I used to drink that brand occasionally, but I didn't really like it, so when I heard about the pesticides I stopped buying it entirely (I had only been drinking it because, ironically, a doctor had recommended their "sleepy time" variety).

[Bow Tie]

I love love LOVE loose leaf tea and get all my tea from Adagio. I'm very lucky to live close to all three of their stores here in the Chicagoland area. I'd also go with a sampler pack with various different teas. I'm sure they'll like whatever you get them though.

[Artemesia's Garden]

I'm in the UK and I love Postcard Teas

http://www.postcardteas.com/site/

For a treat, it's not as expensive ads you might think.  Not sure where you are and shipping etc. though.