The ultimate AA+PI holiday gift guide for the foodie in your life
Support AA+PI-owned businesses and get your holiday shopping done at the same time
Whether your loved ones have a sweet tooth or need more spice in their life, this guide has it all.
Photo illustration by Ryan Quan
Words by Aleenah Ansari
Food can often be a love language, especially in the ways that we share it with our community. If you’re looking for a gift for the foodie in your life, or someone who just wants to switch it up in the kitchen, here are some products to check out this holiday season. These products from AA+PI-owned businesses will add a caffeine kick to their morning with chai and Vietnamese coffee; flavor to their meals with hot garlic, turmeric, and jam; and satisfy their sweet tooth with chocolate and globally inspired syrup flavors for their beverages.
For the coffee and tea lover:
Kola Goodies
Kola Goodies works directly with farmer collectives in Sri Lanka to offer tea and latte products.
Courtesy of Kola Goodies
Founder Sajani Amarasiri started Kola Goodies as an homage to her upbringing in Sri Lanka through chai, milk tea, and superfood lattes that can be easily made at home. She also wanted to highlight South Asian wellness rituals and ingredients—a lot of which inspire their products such as their super green latte and Sri Lankan milk tea, which use ingredients sourced from farmer collectives in Sri Lanka. And if you’re in need of a plant-based caffeine alternative, the Sri Lankan oat mylk latte is the perfect option, made with loose-leaf ceylon tea and without any dairy. Kola Goodies products are all-in-one blends that are quick and easy to prepare for the person in your life who is always on the go.
Nguyen Coffee Supply
Nguyen Coffee Supply is a specialty Vietnamese coffee company.
Courtesy of Nguyen Coffee Supply
Nguyen Coffee Supply is the United States’ first specialty Vietnamese coffee company, partnering with a fourth-generation farmer in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Their blends range from sweet and fruity to bold and nutty, and the trio of their first three blends makes for a great sampler gift. Or you can take it a step further with the Powered by Robusta kit, which comes with 100 percent robusta medium and dark roast bins, three Vietnamese coffee cans, and a traditional Phin filter so your recipient can brew Vietnamese coffee at home.
The Qi Floral Teas
The flora teas from The Qi are as beautiful as they are delicious. Founder Lisa Li grew up drinking tea with her grandma in Beijing, and she wanted to create teas that offered a bit of nourishment and drew inspiration from ancient Eastern healing philosophies. The Qi teas are organically grown and hand-picked from small family owned farms across Asia. They have everything from single-origin butterfly pea to rosebud and chrysanthemum. Their blooming teas are best brewed in a clear pot or cup so you can see the flowers bloom, so consider adding one to your gift to round out the theme.
For those who want a little extra flavor:
Mama Teav’s
Founders Christina and Anthony Teav cherished their mother’s cooking, and created Mama Teav’s as a love letter to their Cambodian American family. If you’re looking to spice up your dishes, Mama Teav’s offers hot garlic made from a family recipe. Their OG heat hot garlic is made with Cambodian chilies and organic California garlic that are soaked in a cold-pressed grapeseed oil, or try the mild option if you want to cut the heat.
Ayako & Family
Ayako & Family is owned, farmed, operated by the Japanese diaspora.
Sako Gordon
Ayako & Family was started by two Japanese immigrants who bonded over their love of conscientiously farmed produce, and each jar of fruit preserves is meant to remind you of Pacific Northwest Japanese farm-to-table dishes. You can’t go wrong with their Signature Trio Set, which is available year round, and includes three flagship jam flavors that vary depending on what’s in season.
Diaspora Co. Spices
If someone in your life wants to add a little bit of spice to their cooking, Diaspora Co. offers a family of flavorful spices from family farms in India and Sri Lanka. The founder Sana Javeri Kadri started with sourcing turmeric, and now they have 30 single-origin spices and pay farm partners an average of six times above the commodity price. You can get a bundle of their six top-selling spaces, which includes turmeric, chili, black pepper, cumin, pink garlic, and cinnamon, or customize a bundle based on your loved one’s tastes. They also have a whole library of recipes, which can be filtered by spice, making this a great gift for seasoned chiefs and newcomers alike.
For the sweet tooth in your life:
Madhu Chocolate
Madhu Chocolate creates sweets inspired by South Asian flavors, like mango lassi and masala chai.
Courtesy of Madhu Chocolate
Madhu Chocolate is a queer-owned business that brings together rich chocolate with South Asian-inspired flavors such as saffron, rose pistachio, masala chai, mango chili, and more. In addition, the colorful packaging makes each product an even more special gift. They also have drink-inspired flavors like Masala Chai, the same blend used by founder Harshit Gupta’s mother, as well as Mango Lassi White, their first white chocolate flavor that’s made with alphonso mangoes and yogurt powder. Their chocolate is inspired by Gupta’s mother, whose recipes and chai fueled their passion and inspired the name of the business, which means “honey” or “sweet” in Hindi. Plus, these bars are made using ethically sourced ingredients from single-origin farms in the Tumaco region of Colombia, where farmers are paid fair wages for their work.
Wildwonder
Take care of your gut health with sparkling drinks from Wildwonder.
Courtesy of Wildwonder
For a sparkling beverage pick-me-up, Wildwonder offers prebiotic and probiotic drinks that are inspired by founder and CEO Rosa Li’s Chinese heritage and a goal to create drinks with fruit flavors and gut-supporting superfoods. If you’re not sure what flavor to gift, the variety pack includes all of their flavors, including raspberry lychee, strawberry, mango, guava, and peach ginger.
Issei Mochi Gummies
Issei Mochi Gummies make perfect stocking stuffers for anyone who likes a sweet treat.
Courtesy of Issei Mochi Gummies
If you want to gift a new candy to try, Issei Mochi Gummies are plant based, gluten free, and available in a number of fruit flavors, including mango, yuzu, strawberry, and more. These make for great stocking stuffers. The company name means “first star” or “one life,” in Japanese—a nod to first-generation Japanese immigrants in the United States and the founder’s Japanese American roots.
Transcendence Coffee
Transcendence Coffee will make your morning coffee even more flavorful, not only because their syrups use all-natural ingredients, but also because they offer a range of globally inspired flavors, including Persian pistachio, Dutch speculaas cookie, French lavender madeleine, and more. If you’re unsure where to start, the mini founder’s flavors bundle with four-ounce bottles of Indian gulab jamun and Algerian baklava is the perfect starting point. You can also go back to the basics with their trio of vanilla bean, pistachio, and miso salted caramel.
Published on December 2, 2024
Words by Aleenah Ansari
Aleenah Ansari (she/her) is equal parts storyteller, creative problem solver, and journalist at heart who's rooted in the stories of people behind products, companies, and initiatives. She’s written about travel, entrepreneurship, mental health and wellness, and representation in media for Insider, CNBC, The Seattle Times, Kulfi, and more. You can usually find her searching for murals in Seattle and beyond, reading a book by a BIPOC author, and planning her next trip to New York. Learn more at www.aleenahansari.com.
Art by Ryan Quan
Ryan Quan is the Social Media Editor for JoySauce. This queer, half-Chinese, half-Filipino writer and graphic designer loves everything related to music, creative nonfiction, and art. Based in Brooklyn, he spends most of his time dancing to hyperpop and accidentally falling asleep on the subway. Follow him on Instagram at @ryanquans.