small box for holding loose tea.

A small container (often with lock and key) for tea, from catty, the Chinese or Malayan word for "pound", the quantity of tea originally contained in a caddy.

Tortoise shell or wooden box with a hinged lid and one or two compartments for holding tea. Tea was a valuable commodity during the 17th and 18th centuries, and, as evidence of this, many tea caddies from this period had locks.

A decorative box created for storing tea leaves. Many have two compartments; one for black tea and the other for green tea. Some of the finest tea caddies were created in England and crafted of exotic woods adorned with tortoise shell, ivory and mother of pearl.

A tea caddy is a box, jar, canister or other receptacle for tea.