Simple Loose Leaf Tea Box Review + Coupon – January 2019

Simple Loose Leaf is a loose leaf tea subscription box.  Choose from the standard box (which contains some caffeinated teas and some herbal teas) and a decaf tea box.

Simple Loose Leaf provided us this box at no cost for review purposes. (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)

LIMITED TIME DEAL: Use code 3B1TEA to save 33% off your first month!

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 January 2019 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:

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.

Bitaco Green – Buy 2 oz for $10

The website and information booklet says this is from “Columbia” and I am just going to assume they mean the country “Colombia,” and I did not know this before now, but there is actually quite a tea-growing tradition there. Anyway, this reminds me of a Chinese-style green tea (so a bit more intense than a Western supermarket brand). The booklet suggests brewing this multiple times (presumably from the same bag), which I have not tried yet, but my suggestion, especially if you are newer to Asian-style teas, is to brew this for only maybe 3 minutes the first time to get a milder cup.

Cranberry Orange Herbal – Buy 2 oz for $8

You’ll get one herbal tea each month with the standard subscription; it is often something seasonal. This one is really, really tart, and could probably do with some kind of sweetener. The hibiscus gives it a lovely deep red, almost purple color. Although I am really glad this does not contain licorice (which is sometimes used to sweeten teas without adding calories, but which has a distinctive flavor), I think a bit of vanilla might help tone this down to a slightly less tart level. Or you could stir in some honey.

Ebony Osmanthus – Buy 2 oz for $13

This is described as a classic Indian black tea but it’s a bit earthier than some other Indian (and Ceylon) black teas that I’m used to.  It’s a different experience from Assam, for sure. I am not sure whether that’s the osmanthus flowers’ contribution or whether this is just really strong. If you like drinking tea with milk, this may be one to try that with, but I think I’m just going to try steeping it for a little less time, or re-steeping leaves that have already been used once, and see if I can make it somewhat milder that way.

Purple Jasmine – Buy 2 oz for $12

I’ve had Kenyan purple tea several times before and I am a fan (if you steep it too long, it loses the purple color, though). Plus, I have always liked jasmine green. And what do you know, but this really does seem like an excellent blend between the two, where you can easily pick out both flavors but also enjoy how they come together. Purple tea is especially high in antioxidants, which are produced by the tea plants as a protective measure since they are grown at high altitudes and have more UV exposure.

Verdict: This subscription is only $11.99 (including shipping to the US), 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. Since some of the teas can be re-steeped, you are getting even more cups out of the package. 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 this month’s selections. I think I am going to say the purple jasmine was my favorite this month, but I enjoyed trying all of them and there wasn’t anything I disliked.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? 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 February’s.

LIMITED TIME DEAL: Use code 3B1TEA to save 33% off your first month!

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?