I got mine from The Bombay Company, it's dark wood, lined with green felt and has gold handles. I did get it in Canada, not sure if that store exists in the US.

You can get one for $15 at Cost Plus/World Market with carvings of China, India or England. I'm not sure if they carry them in stores

One with Indian Carvings http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3764995

Link for all other carvings http://www.worldmarket.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3591731

There are three styles available at A Southern Season. I like the black, footed one: https://www.southernseason.com/ppf/cid/2/m/0/n/15/p/1/s/0/id/17775/prod.asp

I like the glass-top oak tea chest here:
http://www.displaygifts.com/product/item.php?category=24&item=99

..and here are some in a darker wood, still affordable, and velvet-lined:
http://www.teacupgallery.com/category/teaaccouterments.tea_chest/

These are really easy to find like others have suggested. The irony of the ceremony, though, is you are presenting bagged (vs loose) tea in a beautiful box. It's like having fine Italian coffee cups and asking if someone wants "Folgers or Maxwell House"?

I also searched for the perfect tea chest for almost a year before I found one among the holiday gifts at Bed, Bath, & Beyond in January. It was about $20, I just tossed the cheap tea out and kept the box.

For anyone looking for elegant display options for *loose* tea, there's this one from Twinnings:

http://www.twinings.co.uk/shop/gift-range/loose-tea-case/delux-leather-loose-tea-case.html

Here's one from Viva Terra:

http://www.vivaterra.com/pls/enetrixp/!stmenu_template.main?complex_id_in=482007.826941.1062184.1065548.page

And if you're ready to really splash out, T2 (my very favorite tea source) has a gorgeous gift set of 16 classics:

http://t2tea.com/gifts/t2-tin-collection/t2-sixteen-classic/

I have a smaller tea chest that I got from Crate & Barrel. They have a wide selection of tea accessories, for reasonable prices. Teavana also has some beautiful jars for loose tea, although they are much more pricey.

Some years ago I got a tea sampler gift box from Tazo. It was a bamboo box, containing six different kinds of tea, six bags for each flavor. They don't sell the same style of box any more but have replaced it with a similar product.
http://www.starbucksstore.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=259082#
I think it looks very nice and buy one myself.

i'm with sygyzy. go with nice jars of loose leaf tea instead. that's far more impressive!

My first thought was Bombay company as well. The mahogany ones are beautiful. I also have a Tazo one - it's nice but not close to the same quality.

Why not finding a local woodworker to make you something. Not only will you be supporting the community, and country, you will get something so personalized that nobody will have except you!!! This is something we all need to do.

I was just at Monticello - they have a nice one in their gift shop!

pricey but nice.

http://search.store.yahoo.net/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=monticellostore&vwcatalog=monticellostore&query=tea&x=0&y=0