Kuration Nº 05 · Week of Oct 9, 2026
Gifts for parents who have everything (and say they want nothing)
Take them at their word, mostly: these get used up, get used every day, or get them talking. Our first pick is Té Company’s Formosa Collection, six Taiwanese teas with a card for each. Every pick is from Kurate’s brand book.
The five picks
The One
Formosa Collection
Six Taiwanese teas, from Canyon Green to Iron Goddess, each with an illustrated card on the step of tea making it shows, and a surprise seventh; a serving or two of each, so it is finished long before it could gather dust.
The Safe Choice
Linen Dinner Napkin (set of 4)
Four 21-inch squares of linen made in Linoto's own workshop in Westchester County, New York, machine washable and offered in fifteen colours; they will be on the table every night, which is the point.
The Unexpected Choice
Backgammon
A 13-inch board of Baltic birch with thirty pieces, four dice and a booklet on a game nearly 5,000 years old; it keeps two people at the table after the plates are cleared.
The Upgrade
Good Harvest Wool Blanket – Gold Label Series
A double-knit merino blanket made in Eighth Generation's Seattle studio to a design by Anishinaabe/Ojibwe artist Giizh Agaton Howes, with strawberries, squash and wild rice in burnt orange and cream; at 4.3 pounds it stays on their chair.
Under budget
Pierre Poivre
La Boîte's signature blend of eight coarsely ground peppercorns, citrusy and floral with some heat; 2.25 ounces that go on steak, roast vegetables and fresh ricotta until the jar is empty.
Also worth a look
- Maple Syrup Duo Gift Set | Amber & Dark
Two 375 ml bottles of maple syrup, Amber Rich and Dark Robust, tapped, wood-fired and bottled by hand in the Hudson Valley and boxed with a herringbone bow; it will be finished by spring.
- Amaryllis 'Alfresco,' one bulb in light green ceramic cachepot
One bulb in a 7.5-inch ceramic cachepot that opens into double white flowers eight to ten weeks after it arrives; it ships from mid-November, to the contiguous 48 states only, and asks for nothing but a bright window.
- Wild Comfort Puzzle
A 1,000-piece puzzle of Ana Jaren's woman lounging with a tiger: a slow afternoon, not another thing on a shelf.
From the Kurate team. Kurate began with a hard task: choosing a gift for someone, and always ending up with a big designer name or something generic. We set out to find the brands worth knowing instead, with pieces that feel chosen for the person who receives them.
Prices checked on Oct 6, 2026. Prices and stock change, so check with the maker before you buy. No brand pays for a place in the book or a pick: how Kurate chooses gifts.
