Tea subscriptions

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Tea subscriptions

1lesmel
mayo 30, 2020, 8:15 pm

I thought some might find this interesting: https://www.reviewgeek.com/43402/8-tea-subscription-boxes-worth-your-tea-time/

I've tried the Sips By box. It was interesting; but I didn't think it was worth subscribing for longer than 3 months. I did like the process to figure out what my box should have. Also liked that after each box you can rate all the teas and make some adjustments. I'd be willing to try other boxes.

2tardis
mayo 30, 2020, 9:01 pm

I get the Tea Runners All Black Tea box, but on their least frequent distribution (every 3 months) because I was afraid of being overwhelmed and not keeping up. I haven't loved all the teas, but I have enjoyed trying them all. The only one I really disliked was the Lapsang Souchong (which I've never liked anyway), but I even used that one up, albeit not for drinking. It was perfect for adding the smoky flavour to my baked beans :)

3Kanarthi
mayo 30, 2020, 9:40 pm

For loose leaf lovers, I recommend the subscription options by the Tea Table. I've gotten the single estate option for me and the flavored black tea option as a gift for someone else, and we were both fairly happy with what we received.

4aratiel
Editado: Nov 13, 2020, 1:13 am

I just got my first Sipsby box, and I was underwhelmed. Half of the teas seemed like a cheap brand, and half of the teas didn't fit my profile quiz. As you said, it sounds like you can fine-tune this as you go along, but now that I think of it $25/month seems steep when I could just buy a bunch of tea I actually like for that price. Oh well, at least my first box was only $5.

Kanarthi, I was happy to hear that The Tea Table has a subscription! I'll have to try that - I love their tea!

5WeeTurtle
Editado: Nov 13, 2020, 3:27 am

I keep thinking about trying something like one of these, also since I like getting things in the mail. I've yet to find one that I like though. I have seen Tea Sparrow at a tea festival though it was a while ago and I can't remember what I thought of them at the time.

6lesmel
Nov 13, 2020, 11:59 am

>4 aratiel: What did you get in your Sipsby box? I'm curious what what brands they are offering now.

7aratiel
Nov 15, 2020, 2:45 pm

>6 lesmel: I got an Ahmad Tea (English Tea No. 1), Davidson's Organics (Earl Grey), Steep Echo (Hush), and The Republic of Tea (Ginger Peach Green Tea). I changed my mind about the Hush - even though I don't usually like peppermint and ginger, it wasn't bad. The black tea and earl grey weren't bad, just unexciting. And to be fair to them, the only brand of these I'd tried before was The Republic of Tea. So I guess points for brand variety.

8lesmel
Nov 15, 2020, 9:05 pm

>7 aratiel: Sipsby turned me on to TeaPigs; and I love their lemon ginger tea. I bought a 50 count of lemon ginger, a mix-your-own sampler, and then small boxes of chocolate orange and glugg-something-or-other (my brain is too tired to remember right now). I don't think anything else from Sipsby stuck.

9aratiel
Nov 15, 2020, 10:12 pm

>8 lesmel: I'm glad you found a brand you like out of the mix!

10macsbrains
Nov 24, 2020, 1:24 pm

I just got my second box from Sipsby after discovering tea subscriptions from the OP. Thanks, Lesmel! Also, I've never posted to this group before: Hi everyone! I've recently had to give up sugar/soda, so here I am.

I chose Sipsby because they offered bagged teas and I wanted small quantities. I've always had a troubling relationship with food because almost everything tastes bad to me and I didn't want to risk a lot of unused product. I have to agree that the brands don't seem to be high-end, but I'm fine with that since my palate is broken anyway and I'm heating my water in a microwave like a heathen.

When I first made my switch from soda to tea a few months ago I had ordered a 90-tea sampler pack from Amazon (40 Twinings and 50 Stash, each flavor unique) But I'm so picky that from that 90 I could narrow my likes to fewer than 8, all of which were Twinings. Aside from that I tried a sampler pack from Numi, and my sister gave me samples from her Tazo collection, but all of those tended to be too floral for me, which she likes, but me less so. My objective is to taste around enough that I will be able to create a core library of 10-12 teas of various caffeine levels that I can rotate through regularly.

Note: I prefer black teas esp Assam, fruity teas, and spiced teas. Dislike footy, earthy, and vegetal teas. And I'm having all of these sweetened with monk fruit extract and no milk.

What I got in my first Sipsby box was:
*Davidson's Organics (Earl Grey) -- this was fine, but I prefer the Twinings Earl Grey

*Steep Echo (Tend) -- Ok, but much too floral/vegetal for me. I did drink all of it.

*The Tea Can Company (Orange Almond) -- I would love to find the perfect orange tea, but the rose overpowered it for me. I liked it enough to drink it all but I won't get any more.

*Miracle Tree (Original Moringa) -- I didn't like this. It tasted like I was drinking my lawn clippings with the dirt included, but at least it wasn't overly strong. I drank 1 cup and saved the remainder for my sister who tends to have completely opposite tea tastes than I do.

And this month I've gotten:
*Teeccino (Mango Lemon Balm) - which I HATED. It both tastes and smells like rotting compost, though that might actually be the point. The mango did peek through nicely except for the rotting compost part. I didn't get past the first sip, and it was tough to take that sip because of the smell.

*Shantea Thyme (Raspberry Oolong) - This is generally right up my alley with apple and cranberry and hibiscus, but it reads floral to me rather than fruity. It was still pretty good and I'm going to enjoy the rest of the sample. I could see perhaps buying this one again one day. It comes as sachets in a cute tin.

*Vahdam Teas (Sweet Cinnamon) -- I haven't tried this yet, but am looking forward to it. I have recently made my own spice mix of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and allspice which I sometimes add to plain black tea, but I'm still trying to get the mix exactly right. I hope this is as good or better as what I've created. Can't really go wrong with cinnamon. I mean, I typically put 4 tablespoons of cinnamon in a single cup of oatmeal...

*Ahmad Tea (Peach & Passion Fruit) -- Haven't tried this yet either. I'd previously bought a box of their Apple Delight tea, which I thought was ok on its own, but I usually ended up putting a ton of my spice mix into it. I'm not a fan of peach, so I expect it will be pleasant enough, but not something I'm going to get again.

So I'm happier with my second box, even though one flavor was a big dud, and I didn't try two of them yet, but the two I didn't try definitely fit my profile well and I do expect to like them, if not love them.

11lesmel
Nov 24, 2020, 3:18 pm

>10 macsbrains: lawn clippings and rotting compost don't sound fun at all. I have nearly no sense of smell. It makes for interesting times (like drinking swigs of spoiled milk or munching on just turned cold cuts). It also makes it really hard to explain to people that what they find delicate is non-existent to me and what is overpowering to them is just registering on my taste scale (this is usually related to sweetness levels). Do you like Harney & Sons? I like their Hot Cinnamon Spice tea. I have to be careful with it because it can upset my stomach; but I love to put two bags in a cup of hot milk and steep it forever.

12macsbrains
Nov 24, 2020, 9:22 pm

>11 lesmel: it seems just like how the grilled sneakers taste of Lapsong Souchong can be considered either a feature or a bug, YMMV on stinky lawn compost. When it comes to food I generally don't like much.

It doesn't sound fun at all to find spoiled milk the hard way. In my childhood I picked up the habit of always pouring the milk into my cereal bowl first because I was (still am) unwilling to smell it before potentially ruining the Cheerios.

I haven't tried Harney & Sons, but you make the cinnamon one sound enticing. I have a digestive system of steel; my problem is my taste buds. Thankfully tea is something I like, because coffee is not.

13WeeTurtle
Nov 25, 2020, 5:47 am

>11 lesmel: Oh, I'll mention that to a friend I have! He's got no sense of smell, and mentioned once he would drink peppermint tea because of the mouth feel it has. I never thought of the Harney & Sons.

The local Waves coffee chain has Harney & Sons tea, and Indigo (Canadian books etc. store) stocks it as well. I like the hot cinnamon but it is "hotter" than some of the other cinnamon tea I've had. It's up there with hot cinnamon candies, for an idea of strength, but of course, less sugar. ;)

I've found that Lapsang Suchong will taste different from brand to brand, but it's an acquired thing. I can't remember what I had previously that I didn't much like but so far the Murchies one I have now, and David's "Lapsang Suchong Star" was good.

14lesmel
Nov 25, 2020, 11:33 am

>13 WeeTurtle: That mouth feel is one of the reasons I love peppermint! I love actually being able to smell that.

Earlier this year, I ordered tea from Market Spice -- cinnamon orange. It's their signature tea. I hated it. I couldn't even blend it with anything to make it palatable. Not to mention whatever was mixed with the tea caused all the tea bags to ooze. I'm assuming it was orange oil because every mouthful of tea was like taking a spray in the face from a squeeze of juicy orange peel. I find that strong orange oil flavor extremely unappealing.

>12 macsbrains: You make Lapsong Souchong sound so appealing! lol

15WeeTurtle
Nov 26, 2020, 2:23 am

>14 lesmel: I had a pu'erh tea with orange oil in it. I wouldn't describe it like that myself, but it was more of a bitter orange flavour over a sweet one. That I did notice.