Simple Loose Leaf Tea Box Review + Coupon – November 2018

Simple Loose Leaf is a loose leaf tea subscription box. Choose from the Original Sampler Box (which contains some caffeinated teas and some herbal teas), Herbal Decaf Box, Green Tea Box, or Black Tea Box.

This is a review of the Original Sampler Box, which costs $9.00 a month plus $2.99 US shipping. 

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

About Simple Loose Leaf

The Subscription Box: Simple Loose Leaf

The Cost: $9/month (save with longer subscriptions)

The Products: four different hand-packaged loose leaf teas; this is a review of the Original Sampler Box and includes a black tea, a green tea, an oolong, and an herbal tea (the types received per month may vary a little – you won’t always get an oolong, for example)

Ships to: The United States for $2.99 and Canada for $9.49

Simple Loose Leaf November 2018 Review

There isn’t a monthly theme, and there is already brewing information on each pouch of tea (as you will see below), but there was a simple brochure this month. (As an aside, I am a fan of the new, smaller box – less cardboard waste.)

Here is the booklet that came with this shipment.

4 Reusable Linen Tea Filters

If you are new to drinking loose leaf tea, not to worry. Simple Loose Leaf has you covered with these reusable tea filter bags. I used these to brew this month’s teas and they worked quite well. You’ll get a new set of 4 bags every month, too. I am happy to see that these are unbleached.

Apple Cinnamon Herbal, 0.35 oz. – Buy 2 oz for $8

This month, there are two herbal teas. Here is the first one. I always worry a little about teas with cinnamon in them, as I do like it but know from experience that it can get pretty strong, pretty fast, and start to overpower other flavors. I didn’t notice that here – it was actually at a really good level. Perhaps that’s because this also has rooibos, which has a little sweetness that nicely counterbalances the cinnamon. The apple wasn’t quite as noticeable. This is good on its own, or one thing I’ve also tried is brewing it alongside a bag of simple black tea.

White Monkey, 0.35 oz. – Buy 2 oz for $13

This is actually a green tea, and although it is a Chinese-style green tea, it isn’t quite as bitter or astringent as some others I’ve tried. I drank this plain as I am a fan of Chinese-style green teas. It is actually all gone now as I took it into my office and finished it off (although blends and flavored teas are fun, I find myself reaching for the unflavored varieties a little more often).

Pumpkin Spice Herbal, 0.35 oz. – Buy 2 oz for $7

Here is the second herbal tea for the month. This is also a rooibos blend and although it sounds kind of similar to the apple cinnamon one, they definitely have different flavor profiles (really obvious if you try one right after the other as I did). I suspect that if you like one, you will like the other as well, though. I have seen some controversial takes on pumpkin spice lately but it has always been a flavor combination I enjoy, so I was happy to give this a try.

Yunnan First Grade, 0.35 oz. – Buy 2 oz. for $6

Here is this month’s black tea. This is a Chinese-style black tea but it is not quite as bitter or astringent as other Chinese black teas (but nor is it quite as “normal” to the Western palate as some Indian teas and/or supermarket brands would be). It would actually be a good introduction to Asian-style teas (I think). This one is also all gone for much the same reasons as the White Monkey.

Verdict: Simple Loose Leaf is only $11.99 ($9 a month plus $2.99 shipping), so you can think of this as getting four teas for $3 each. There’s enough in each bag to brew about 5 cups (if you measure, which I admittedly usually don’t), which works out to about 60 cents per cup, with the bags thrown in as a nice extra. These are often exclusive blends and/or hard-to-find cultivars, often not available in retail packaging at these small sample sizes, and it’s a great way to try some new blends before committing to a full-size purchase. As usual, I was a fan of most this month’s selections.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, boxes ship on the first of the month so your first box would be December’s.

Coupon - Use code SUBADDICT to get $2 off!

Value Breakdown: At $11.99 per month you are paying about $3 per tea.

Check out all of our Simple Loose Leaf Team Box reviews and the Drinks Subscription Box List for more tea subscription boxes!

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

What did you think of Simple Loose Leaf? Do you get any tea subscriptions?