Teabox is a monthly themed box filled with loose-leaf selections and easily-digestible, expert notes that provide background information and help compare flavor profiling with your own tasting experiences.
This gift-wrapped option would make such a perfect gift for any tea lover!
December’s theme is the “The Advent Box” From Teabox:
It’s that special time of the year. With the final month of the year the anticipation builds for celebrations and Christmas. The cold is truly here and the preparation for the big celebrations need fuel. And a lot of it. So, this December we’ve made you the Advent Box, an exclusive tea box of unforgettable teas including our all new Xmas blends - Sparkling Choco Black, Merry Marshmallow Black, Fruit Strudel Black. And what’s even more special is it includes not the usual 5 but 12 exciting blends for each of the twelve days of Christmas. Yes, ‘cause we want your Christmas to be as fun-filled and lively as never before. So, steep along and Merry Xmas!masters to sail you through. Or sip these strong brews in between your work routine and find your spirit energised and refreshed anew. And with these we also have for you a set of 5 special Finum paper tea bags to steep your tea perfectly. Happy Sipping!
This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About the Teabox
The Subscription Box: Teabox
The Cost: $29.99 a month + free shipping. $85.50 for a 3-month subscription, or $161.90 for a 6-month subscription
The Products: High-quality, loose-leaf teas and expert notes about each one.
Ships to: Worldwide
Teabox “The Advent Box” December 2018 Review
Each Teabox comes with a little booklet describing the theme of the month and listing the sampled teas with a brief description of each one. This month’s box is an advent box sampling 12 teas! At first glance this box seems like it is going to be a sweet, flavorful dream with teas like Merry Marshmallow Black and Mango Tumeric Tang - stay tuned!
Each blend in this box weighed 10 grams, and if you go by the serving recommendations, you can get up to 4 cups with each sample.
Spice Sparkler Chai, 10g – Retail Value $3
This tea was crazy! This spicy tea includes black and red pepper, and it left my tongue feeling a little tingly. I enjoyed a few sips of this, but after that, I really lost interest. I prefer non-spicy chai teas, but this was pretty interesting to test out.
Indie Spice Tea, 10g– Retail Value $3
When I opened this pouch, it smelled overwhelmingly like anise and fennel, but this blend ended up being a subtle and enjoyable earthy tea. I was actually surprised by how smooth and easy to drink this was since it seemed so overladen with spice, but it was one of my favorites this month.
Ember Spice Chai, 10g– Retail Value $3
Chai is one of my favorite teas, and this rendition was quite woody and spicy. I love it! What made this chai special was its persistent smokiness, which I typically don’t go for, but loved after adding a splash of milk.
Mango-Turmeric Tang, 10g– Retail Value $3
The look and taste of Mango-Tumeric Tang took me back to when I first started experimenting with loose leaf. This blend is so similar to one I loved from Teavana, and it fills a void I did not realize existed. I love the subtle ginger spice mixed into the bold juiciness of mango and pineapple, and it tastes great hot and cold.
Lavender Earl Grey, 10g– Retail Value $3
Going into this tea, I wasn’t excited because floral teas can be so intense and overwhelming, but after a quick 5 minute steep, this tea brewed into a very lovely, fragrant cuppa tea. This easy to drink blend also features bergamot oil, which I think enhances the lavender taste.
Ginger Taffy Tea, 10g– Retail Value $3
I am loving ginger teas more and more every single day, this blend included. This bright, pineapple blend became an instant favorite after my first sip. It is perfectly citrusy and subtly sweet, making this the most perfect iced tea.
Sparkling Choco Black, 10g - Retail Value $3
What a fun concoction! I love the color in this loose leaf, and the almond, natural vanilla plus the chocolate candies make this a great dessert tea, curbing my need for chocolate after a mediocre lunch.
Merry Marshmallow Black, 10g– Estimated Value $3, buy a 100 gram pouch for $12.99 here
Every time I open a pouch of loose leaf, I always take a sniff to see what I am in for, and this does not smell like the marshmallow I love; it smells like a Miller Lite… haha! I am not a light beer fan, and I knew this was supposed to be a sweet, lightly spiced mellow blend--imagine my surprise! I don’t know where the disconnect starts between the expected notes and my experience, but what I tasted in this mixture was a bitter brew with a tinge of cinnamon. Unfortunately, I was most excited for this blend because I love marshmallows, but at least I got a laugh out of it. I’d like to note that I didn’t add anything to sweeten this tea, so maybe with a little honey, this tea would be a little less astringent, but it is not the marshmallow goodness I was expecting.
Fruit Strudel Black, 10g – Retail Value $3
Unlike the tea above, all of the notes I picked up were present in Teabox’s description. This sticky black tea is ripe with apples, pineapples, blueberries, cherries, and pomegranate, so it embodies a well-rounded blend with flavors like citrus, sweet fruit, and a subtle tartness to offset the sweet. I prefer this tea hot, but it is also great iced.
Kolkata Street Chai, 10g– Retail Value $3
This herby chai was a bit strong, so adding milk and a drop of honey really mellowed it out. I like the ginger infusion, which added a little bit of interest to this blend.
Caramel Spice Chai, 10g – Retail Value $3
This is a repeat tea from the October Diwali Box (see that review here), and it remains my favorite dessert chai. The butterscotch and caramel notes make this tea the best after lunch treat, filling that tea-for-dessert role perfectly.
Winter Spice, 10g– Estimated Value $3 (buy an undisclosed sized pouch here for $9.99)
The description of this tea from the Teabox website is absolutely their best (and most accurate) yet: “the deconstruction of vanilla nut pudding”. I love that. Notes of almond and cinnamon come through this black tea, and after the first sip, I detected a little spice from the red pepper and a hint of ginger. I love the spice of this tea, and a little bit of milk made this a perfect treat on a cold day.
Verdict: Teabox really impressed me with the variety of teas they included for their special advent box this month! I was thrilled to sample 12 different teas, instead of the usual 5 pouches. This month I found a few staples, the Mango-Tumeric Tang, Ginger Taffy, Indie Spice and Caramel Chai are my absolute favorites! This box adds up to $36 retail, which is above the usual retail value of a Teabox. I like the theme and the curation each month, and I think the way they describe their teas and the thought that goes into each blend makes the experience much more meaningful to me. I also have a hard time shopping for new, different teas, so this monthly box is the perfect solution.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Yes, as of publication, this box is still available!
Coupon – Use code TBMSA10 to save 10% off your first box!
Value Breakdown: This box costs $29.99 (including shipping) and you receive 12 10g pouches of tea, which adds up to around 48 cups, depending on your preferences. That gives an average value of about $2.49 per tea or about $.62 per cup, a great value!
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What did you think of the December Teabox?
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