If you find yourself searching for a gift for a person who seemingly has no needs, remember the need for food. A gourmet food item will not only fill a need, but do so with style and excitement. And no gourmet food item is as exciting as live Maine lobsters.

The word gourmet is overused to the point that many people have strong dislike for the word "gourmet." This dislike can be alleviated by learning the actual meaning of it. A gourmet is merely a person with a detailed knowledge of the finest food and drink. The word originates came from the French word "groumet," which is a valet in charge of wine.

Gourmet lobster, therefore, is the finest lobsters. And the finest lobsters are those that are fresh from the ocean, not those taken out of a holding tank in a warehouse where they have been kept alive for weeks on end without food. Sending live Maine lobsters fresh from the ocean as a gift is a special and unique way of showing a person that you care immensely for them.

Gourmet lobsters can be a gift for a birthday, anniversary, graduation, Mother's Day, or any other significant milestone. They can also be given to customers, clients, and key employees. There are many companies that offer live lobster, or lobster tails. However, careful attention should be applied in order to make the best choice for your important customer.

Without question, the best lobster is lobster that is caught in the morning and shipped in the afternoon. Have you ever tasted a peach directly from a peach tree, or a carrot freshly plucked from the ground and rinsed? The flavor is exceptional. Compare the taste with a peach or carrot that has spent weeks in cross-country transport and sat on the supermarket shelf for a few more days before being consumed. Could you taste the difference in flavor?

Most foods experience a decrease in flavor as time passes, and lobster is no exception. Sending the gift of gourmet lobster is giving the gift of the prize of New England. Your employee or customer will be very pleased and delighted with the surprise of fresh, live lobsters arriving on their doorstep direct from the icy Gulf of Maine.

You should carefully consider which company you choose before placing an order for live Maine lobsters. Most firms store their lobster in tanks that re-circulate saltwater. Once placed in these tanks, lobsters are kept without feeding for days or weeks until being removed to be shipped. In the ocean, lobsters are loners. Placed close together, lobsters will fight, and will actually become cannibalistic. That is why lobsters claws are banded before being placed in the tank. The owner of the lobsters does not want to lose half or more of his inventory due to fighting.

Being held in a tank crowded with other lobsters is a stressful situation for a lobster. In this stressful tank environment, lobsters suffer from atrophy, whereby the meat or muscle of the lobster shrinks, and the flavor diminishes. While still good to eat, lobsters that are from a tank are not the most succulent, tastiest available. Until you've tasted a fresh lobster, you have no idea how sweet and flavorful they really are.

When ordering lobsters online, check the company literature. Find out if their lobsters are shipped directly from the ocean, or if they have been stored in tanks. The difference in taste is priceless. Be aware the Federal Express operates on Saturday for a premium price, and does not operate on Sunday at all. You can therefore expect lobsters to be shipped from Mondays to Fridays, meaning you have available the option to receive them any day from Tuesday to Saturday. You will not be able to receive them on Monday because Federal Express does not accept packages on Sunday, nor do they deliver on Sunday. Follow the suggestions in this article, and your gourmet lobster gift from Maine will be remembered for years to come.

Isn't that what gift giving is all about?