The best gift ideas for people who love food, from Washington state. We've rounded up the most famous foods Washington is known for so you can easily browse the best food gift ideas and pick your favorite! Everything listed below is easily ordered online and delivered anywhere.
- Coffee
- Smoked Salmon
- Famous Local Chocolates
- Beecher's Cheese
- Big bag of locally made snacks
- Apples
- Cherries
- Fresh Dungeness Crab or other seafood
- Washington Wine
- Sea Salt from the Pacific Ocean
- Market Spice Tea from Pike's Place Market
1. Coffee
This one is so obvious! Seattle, specifically, is famous for coffee. Have you ever wondered why? This article, A Brief History of Coffee in Seattle, is so interesting! It starts with Washington's typical gloomy climate paired with some early pioneers of our modern day coffee culture. But let's talk about coffee as a gift! Instead of Starbucks, check out Mr. West, Olympia Coffee, Stamp Act, Real Good Coffee Co, and Fulcrum Coffee.
We also stock Fidalgo Coffee out of Burlington WA, so don't miss that! Shop Fidalgo Coffee here.
You can even build a custom gift box, hand picking your favorite Washington made products...one of which could be Fidalgo coffee!
2. Smoked Salmon
Salmon is another one of those classic Washington state foods that you'll find in abundance up and down the coast. We are fans of Seabear brand - it's brined and smoked in small batches in the coastal town of Anacortes. Find it here.
We carry Ekone smoked salmon (in a tin) as well as Alaska Smokehouse Smoked Salmon (in a foil pouch) - so if you'd like to try out our Build A Box page you can add those items right in to create the perfect Washington gift!
Last but not least, there's a new product on the market that's along the lines of smoked salmon but is more sustainable and very unique! Have you ever tried fish jerky? Seattle-based Neptune Snacks has a whole line, and we always recommend it. It's made from responsibly caught rockfish that supports undervalued local Washington fisheries. Shop Fish Jerky here, or in the Seattle Local Gift Tote.
3. Famous Local Chocolates
Sampling a region's locally made chocolates is one of the pleasures of life! Chocolate is one of the most popular food gifts out there, and we think everyone should be sampling their way across every state and region possible. So for chocolates made in Washington worth trying, we love Seattle Chocolates (including JCOCO), Theo, Spinnaker, Chocolate Covered Cherries by Chukar, and Fran's.
Shop our selection of chocolates here. You can hand pick your favorites to create a custom gift!
4. Beecher's Cheese
Straight from the heart of Seattle's Pike Place Market comes Beecher's cheese. We love their fresh squeaky cheese curds and their "World's Best" Mac & Cheese. If you can't make the visit, it's all available online. Find it here.
5. Big bag of locally made snacks
Sampling locally made snacks is right up there with chocolate - honestly it's hard to pick which one is more fun. So if you've got a snack loving foodie in your life, we think a big tote bag stuffed with unique snacks made by local small businesses is one of the best food gifts you can buy. We're partial to using our Build A Box feature to create your own custom tote filled with snacks! Shop our snacks here.
6. Apples
Washington state is known for growing lots of delicious apples! Did you know Washington is the #1 apple producing state in the US, and has been since the 1920s? Chelan Ranch grows delicious fresh apples and will ship them straight to your door. Check the out here.
If you'll settled for dried apple crisps, we love these dried honeycrisp apples by Sauk Farms out of Washington, too! Shop dried honeycrisp apples here.
7. Cherries
Washington leads the US in sweet cherry production (but if you want to talk about ALL cherries, as cherry connoisseur might want to do, Michigan is actually the #1 producer). Details aside, Washington cherries had to be on our foodie gift list too.
Find them fresh at Pak it Rite, out of Wenatchee WA. The cherry season isn't long, so you'll need to snap these up when you can. Shop fresh Washington cherries here.
Or if you don't want to wait for the fleeting fresh cherries, check out Chukar's selection of dried cherries. Shop dried Cherries here.
8. Fresh Dungeness Crab or other seafood
Dungeness crab is another famous seafood option from Washington state! It's a local to the area and has been commercially harvested in Washington since 1948. You can order it fresh from Seattle Fish Company; it's price fluctuates with availability and season. Shop Dungeness Crab here.
9. Washington Wine
Washington state grows a wide variety of grapes, in the Columbia Valley, Walla Walla, and beyond. It's known for Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Syrah, and more. Washington is in fact the 2nd largest wine producer in the US with over 800 wineries...but it's often overshadowed by CA and OR. You can support Washington wines by shopping for them online, we like locally owned Compass Wines. Shop Washington Wines here.
10. Sea salt from the Pacific Ocean
Sunshine and seawater--the only ingredients in this mineral rich sea salt. Substantial in its flavor, this salt is mineral rich and created using only solar evaporation! The perfect Washington food gift, you won't be finding this salt anywhere else. Shop San Juan sea salt here.
11. Market Spice Tea from Pike's Place Market
If you've ever walked into a certain corner of Pike's Place Market, you'll remember the amazing smell of this famous cinnamon orange tea. MarketSpice has been a local institution for many years, and their flagship tea is the perfect food gift from Washington. Shop MarketSpice tea here.
Looking for more Washington gift ideas?
Check out some of our other gift oriented blog posts!
- Gifts for Someone Living in Seattle
- Teacher Appreciation Gift Guide from Washington State
- Care Packages from Washington
- Hostess Gifts from Washington
- 15 best Mother's Day gifts from Washington