Tea Box Express Subscription Review + Coupon – July 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 a month + $6.49 shipping. Save with 3 and 6-month subscriptions. 

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 July 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.

Please note: usually this subscription comes in a box. I think the envelopes were used this month because one of the items wouldn’t have fit in the standard box used by Tea Box Express. While I appreciate this type of flexibility, there was one casualty, which you will see below.

Adagio Teas Peach Iced Tea (2.1 oz, 6 bags) – Estimated Value $7

I didn't see this particular black tea version of the peach iced tea on the Adagio site so I've linked to an oolong version. This was a perfect, summery combination of flavors - the black tea doesn't get too strong and the peach adds a nice fruitiness that isn't overpowering. This is designed for cold brew but I don't have the patience for that so I steeped it in hot water and poured over ice to test out (it's very concentrated in the photo, hence the cloudiness). I go through a lot of iced tea on weekends and this will make a nice change of pace from my usual Irish Breakfast tea.

Story of My Tea Hello! Iced Tea in “You’re My Berry Pie” (1 quart) – Retail Value $3

You don’t get to see pictures of the tea bits in this brand because the pouches aren’t really see-through and cutting them open would sort of defeat the point. This is another cold brew iced tea but I did it hot, as well. We go through a lot of iced tea in our house, especially herbal varieties, and this was a nice change of pace from the Celestial Seasonings blends we are used to. I do find it odd that this is called “You’re My Berry Pie” and seems to have mostly pineapple and citrus with no berries in the name. (It does have a berry flavor, though, and thankfully the licorice and lemongrass were not too strong since I don’t care for either of those ingredients.)

Story of My Tea Hello! Iced Tea in “Strawberry Sencha” (1 quart) – Retail Value $3

I have to make a request here to tea manufacturers: Please stop including lemongrass. It is NOT citrus and it does not taste like citrus. It reminds me of bug repellent (it contains citronella, which is a bug repellent).

That being said, if you can overlook the lemongrass (aka citronella), this one is light and refreshing. Once again there is a disconnect between the ingredients on the package (i.e., raspberry pieces) and the flavor, which is definitely more of a strawberry flavor. It makes me wonder if this brand uses a lot of natural flavors, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I wish they’d be more upfront about it. (Sencha is green tea so this one is lightly caffeinated.)

Story of My Tea Hello! Iced Tea in “Sunrise Sunrise” (1 quart) – Retail Value $3

Yay, one without lemongrass. I am not sure which ingredient is responsible for the color, which I have been calling “fluorescein yellow” but this actually tastes like the listed ingredients, which are primarily dried tropical fruits (papaya, pineapple, mango). This is another decaf/herbal tea that would be good for summer evenings.

Thumbs Cookies in Lime Sea Salt – Buy 3 Boxes for $25

Here we have the casualty of shipping in an envelope instead of a box. You don’t see these out of the package because they are mostly crumbs. Tasty crumbs, yes, but crumbs. These are inspired by margaritas, according to the manufacturer’s website. (I wouldn’t be able to compare as I don’t drink, but you don’t need to be an actual margarita fan to like the flavor of these. And if you ordered on your own, they’d come in a box with a little more structural support.)

Fred “Have An Ice Day” Silicone Ice Tray – Retail Value $9.50

It makes perfect sense that this month’s accessory is a novelty ice tray since all the teas are iced teas. This is probably also the item that didn’t fit in the standard box. I do appreciate the folks at Tea Box Express leaving the original packaging instead of removing the packaging and stuffing the flexible silicone tray into the box.

I usually find novelty ice cubes more trouble than they’re worth (I’d have to clear space in the freezer where this could be flat), but because this is silicone, it is heat stable and can be used for other purposes like making smiley-faced chocolates or small soaps.

Hammond’s Candies Orange Stirrers (3.75 oz) – Retail Value $5.99

This seems more like an item to be used with hot tea. I tried it with some chocolate hazelnut tea from Stash and it was very nice, but then I am a fan of chocolate and orange together. You could honestly just eat these like candy canes if you wanted, instead. One was broken in half but the other eight were in fine shape.

Verdict: I calculated a value of $31.49 for this month’s Tea Box Express, excluding the cookies, for which there wasn’t a package weight but which weren’t available in a sample size online. I thought the overall iced tea theme of the box this month was great for summer and all the tropical and fruity flavors were nice (though I will probably always complain about lemongrass). I do appreciate the effort that goes into coming up with different accessories each month, too. It would be very easy for them to send an endless stream of tea strainers but they don’t do that!

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today?  No, your subscription would start with the September 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 $25.50 + $5.49shipping, which means that each of the 7 items in the box has an average cost of $4.57.

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

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