Tea Box Express Subscription Review + Coupon – January 2018

Tea Box Express is a monthly box of tea goodies! Rather than just having tea and nothing else, you’ll get a few edible treats and accessories as well.

This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

About Tea Box Express

The Subscription Box: Tea Box Express

The Cost: $25.50 for month-to-month; save with 3 and 6-month subscriptions. Shipping is $6.49 per month.

The Products: Quality teas, edible goodies like cookies, and a couple of accessories

Ships to: U.S. around the 15th of each month

Tea Box Express January 2018 Review

You can usually expect one tea (sometimes more), one accessory, and one edible item (sometimes more) in this box. Occasionally there will be other tea-themed items as well:

There was a card asking you to share your box contents on social media. This subscription typically does not have an information card with it.

White Chocolate Covered Fortune Cookie with Rainbow Sprinkles – Retail Value $1.15

This was fun. It was so pretty to me that I just ate it immediately. It is a standard fortune cookie, flavor- and texture-wise, with some embellishment. (You can’t buy just one of these – it seems the minimum order quantity is 50 – but they do give a per-cookie value. You can order them with custom fortunes if you want.)

Here is the fortune that was inside.

Elloraw Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (2 oz) – Retail Value $4.99

These are gluten-free and raw (not vegan, as they do contain honey). I have had this brand before, but I am pretty sure this flavor is new to me. The name is an accurate-enough description of the flavor, though instead of actual chocolate chips, there are cacao nibs, so these have a few crunchy bits in them.

Malvi Marshmallow Confections in Raspberry Hibiscus (1.75 oz) – Buy 3, 2-Packs for $12

You will get a lot of marshmallow products with this subscription. Marshmallows always make me sad because they are taking the place of some other treat that I could actually eat. (Marshmallows are not vegetarian.) My husband was happy to try these out. He said they were a little tart, but that was balanced by the overall sweetness of the marshmallow.

Stamped Tea Spoon from Mountain Bird Banners – Estimated Value $15 (found here for $13.50)

I didn’t see this exact design in the Mountain Bird Banners shop, but there were lots of similar ones. This is a vintage spoon with a saying stamped into it; it was really hard to photograph because my reflection was always showing up in it. This is a cute idea. I am not sure if the chemical agent used to darken the impressions is food safe, though (I know the patinas and pastes and such that I have for jewelry-making purposes are NOT things I would want to come into contact with my food). Anyway, this is probably fine for measuring dry tea, but I don’t think I’ll be getting it wet, just to be safe. (Also it is not dishwasher safe, being silver-plated.)

Polar Tea Company Walnut Cake Green Tea (2 oz) – Buy 15g for $4 or 50g for $9

OK, so this definitely tasted like walnut cake, but it didn’t taste a whole lot like green tea (which could work for people who want to drink green tea but don’t like the flavor, I suppose). I suspect this was a case of adding enough flavoring ingredients that there weren’t many tea leaves left over! But, I did find this enjoyable and I expect I will use it up quickly during afternoons in the office when I don’t want a huge amount of caffeine.

Verdict: I calculated a value of about $19.99 for the two items from the December Tea Box Express that are sold individually. That leaves $11.50 of the $31.49 value (which includes the shipping cost) for the fortune cookie, marshmallows, and tea. The tea value is going to be a little over $9, the cookie is a little over $1, and the marshmallow 2-pack averages out to about $4, so you are getting a rough retail value that is a little better than the month-to-month cost of the subscription. I feel like that’s a good deal since a lot of the items are from small producers who have minimum order amounts and/or shipping costs that you would have to contend with.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today?  No, your subscription would start with the February box. From Tea Box Express:

Order by the 5th of the month to receive the same month's box. Order after the 5th of the month and receive your first box starting the next calendar month. If you make your purchase after the 5th but we have extra boxes, we'll let you know by email.

Coupon - Use coupon code MSA20 for 20% off your first month!

Value Breakdown: This box costs $31.49 (including shipping) and you receive five items, most of which are not available for individual purchase. That gives an average value of about $6.30 per item.  Since several of the items have retail values well above that, I think it averages out.

Check out all our Tea Box Express reviews and the Drinks Subscription Box Directory!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

What did you think of Tea Box Express? Do you get any tea subscriptions?