DIY tea advent calendar: 24 days, your own picks
FindMeTea Editorial Team · Published 2026-10-09
A DIY tea advent calendar is 24 small portions of loose-leaf tea, one for each day from December 1 to Christmas Eve, each packed with a card that says what it is and how to brew it. You choose the teas, weigh one or two cups of leaf per day using the gram figure on each tea page in our catalog, seal every portion in a small envelope or jar, number it, and set the order so that the strong black teas land on busy mornings and the caffeine-free cups on the nights you will open the pocket late. It costs less than most boxed tea calendars, and every pocket holds something the person will actually drink.
Where the countdown comes from
The advent countdown began in German Protestant homes in the nineteenth century, where families marked the days before Christmas with chalk lines, a candle or a small picture a day. The printed calendar came later: the first commercial versions appeared in Germany in the early 1900s, and the little doors you open arrived some years after that. Tea calendars are a recent twist on the same idea, and the home-made version keeps what made the original work: one small thing, once a day, and no peeking ahead.
Choose a shape before you choose teas
Twenty-four different teas is a lot to buy, so start with a shape. A balanced month looks like this: six black teas, five greens, three oolongs, two whites, one pu-erh or other dark tea, and seven caffeine-free infusions. That mirrors the families in our beginner's guide to tea types, and it gives the calendar a rhythm instead of 24 cups that all taste like dessert. If you would rather buy less, pick twelve teas and let each one appear twice: once early in the month, served plain, and once later with milk, over ice or as a second steeping, so the repeat still feels like a new day.
Twelve picks that work in any calendar
From our catalog, with the brew we list for each: Earl Grey at 203°F (95°C) for 3½ minutes with 2.5 g; Sencha at 167°F (75°C) for 90 seconds with 2 g; Tieguanyin at 194°F (90°C) for 2½ minutes with 3 g; Pai Mu Tan at 176°F (80°C) for 3 minutes with 2.5 g; Shou pu-erh at 208°F (98°C) for 4 minutes with 3 g; and Hojicha at 203°F (95°C) for 45 seconds with 3 g. For the season: Apple Cinnamon Black Tea at 203°F (95°C) for 3½ minutes with 2.5 g, Masala Chai at 203°F (95°C) for 5 minutes with 3 g, and Lapsang Souchong at 203°F (95°C) for 4 minutes with 2.5 g for one smoky day. For the caffeine-free pockets: Vanilla Rooibos at 203°F (95°C) for 5 minutes with 2.5 g, Cinnamon at 212°F (100°C) for 8 minutes with 3 g, and Chamomile at 203°F (95°C) for 5 minutes with 2 g.
Decide the order by caffeine, not by flavor
Most people open the pocket in the morning, but not every day. Put the breakfast-strength blacks, level 3 on our caffeine ladder, on weekday mornings; the greens and oolongs, level 2, on days you will open it mid-morning; and keep the caffeine-free infusions for Sundays and for the evenings of the last week, when the calendar tends to get opened late. The pocket for Christmas Eve should be something that works at night: a rooibos, a chamomile or a cinnamon infusion. Each tea page in our catalog shows its caffeine level and the times of day we list it for, so checking a doubtful pick takes a few seconds.
How much tea goes in each pocket
Take the grams-per-cup figure from each tea page and double it, so every pocket holds two cups: a second steeping, or one cup to share. For most teas that is 4 to 6 g a day; for bulky whites like Moonlight White, at 4 g per cup, it is 8 g. Across 24 days that adds up to roughly 120 to 150 g of tea, which is also why twelve teas appearing twice each is the cheaper build: 10 g of each tea covers its two pockets. One tea does not fit the format: mate has no steeping time in our catalog, and its amount is a gourd filled to taste rather than a grams-per-cup figure, topped up with water through the day. If you want it in the month, give a small bag alongside the calendar rather than a 5 g pocket.
Pack it so it still tastes like tea on day 24
The pockets fight the same five enemies as any tea tin: air, light, moisture, heat and strong smells. Small kraft envelopes with a fold-over flap, glassine bags or small screw-top jars all work; what matters is that each portion is sealed and the whole calendar stays away from the spice shelf. Give the smoky lapsang and the spiced chai a second bag each, because they will scent their neighbors otherwise. Fill the calendar in the last week of November, not in October: the aromas of flavored and roasted teas are at their best when fresh, and a calendar is already 24 days of waiting.
The card inside each pocket
Write four things on each card: the day, the tea name, the water temperature with the time, and the amount of leaf. Add one line about why you chose it, which is what turns a portion into a present. The temperature matters more than people expect: a green at 167°F (75°C) or a white at 176°F (80°C) will taste harsh with boiling water, while a black or a rooibos wants it close to the boil. Our brewing chart has every family on one page if you want to copy the numbers in a batch, and every tea page in the catalog shows the same three figures next to its caffeine level.
When the calendar is a gift
If you are building it for someone else, the cards do the work the box usually does, and the order can follow their week instead of yours: their late mornings, their slow Sundays, the tea they already love on December 1 so the first pocket feels safe. The Tea Gifting Kit is our printable kit for exactly this: first-steep cards already filled in for each tea family, including a mate card with no steeping time, printable tags and note cards, and five ways to wrap with things already at home. Use it for the 24 cards, or just for the day-24 pocket, which is the one they will remember.
FAQ
How many teas do you need for a tea advent calendar?
Twenty-four pockets, but not necessarily twenty-four teas. Twelve teas that each appear twice, once plain and once with milk, iced or as a second steeping, is cheaper and still reads as a new day each time. A balanced shape for the month is six blacks, five greens, three oolongs, two whites, one dark tea and seven caffeine-free infusions.
How much tea goes in each pocket?
Double the grams-per-cup figure on the tea page in our catalog, so each pocket makes two cups. That is 4 to 6 g a day for most teas and about 8 g for bulky whites listed at 4 g per cup. Mate is the exception: our catalog gives it no steep time, and its amount is a gourd filled to taste rather than grams per cup, so it is better given as a separate small bag.
Can I make a tea advent calendar with tea bags?
Yes. Put one or two bags in each pocket and keep the card: the day, the tea, the water temperature and the time. You lose the choice of leaf amount, and most bagged ranges lean toward black teas and herbal infusions, so the month will have less variety than a loose-leaf build.
When should I fill the calendar?
In the last week of November. Sealed pockets keep well for a few weeks, but the aromas of flavored and roasted teas fade with time, and the calendar itself already adds up to 24 days of storage. Keep the finished calendar away from the spice shelf, and bag smoky or spiced teas separately so they do not scent the rest.