Sips by is a monthly box of tea selected just for you. Rather than everyone receiving the same box each month, you fill out a profile to get customized selections.
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 Sips by
The Subscription Box: Sips by
The Cost: $16.00 per month + free U.S. shipping
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 50% off your first box!
CODE: SUBSCRIPTIONADDICTION
The Products: 15+ servings of tea distributed among four different varieties selected according to your profile.
Ships to: the U.S. for free, Canada for $9.50, and Western Europe for $13.50-$17.00
Sips by April 2021 Review
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The box arrived with the information card you see here. My teas were selected based on a pretty extensive profile I filled out. This isn't an exhaustive list, but here are some of the choices I made:
- Caffeinated or herbal - OK
- Black, green, white, and oolong - OK
- Licorice (this is often used to sweeten teas but I don't care for the flavor) - No
- Loose or bagged - OK
- Coffee flavors (I do not like the taste or smell of coffee) - No
- Guarana and yerba mate - OK
- Guayusa (this is in Runa Tea and it makes my throat tingle until I take Benadryl...) - No
- Chocolate - OK (encouraged, really)
- Flavored and unflavored - OK
- Stevia (I'm not a fan of stevia in drinks) - No
- You also had the option of picking vegan, which I did not choose, as some teas may include honey or dairy ingredients and I am OK with those, but then I selected not to receive anything meat/shellfish/etc. derived (might be easier for them to offer "vegetarian" as a selection as well)
- No mushrooms (there are mushroom teas and I have tried a few in other subscription boxes and I do not like them)
I thought the profile covered most things well. I'd add "vegetarian" as an option and perhaps also "no lemongrass" because I really don't care for lemongrass. But overall, the profile survey was pretty comprehensive. (There was also a specific allergy section where you could pick items from a list not to get.)
Let's see what I received this month:
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Zest Tea Energy Tea, Earl Grey (4 bags) – Buy 20 Bags for $14.00
I have mixed feelings about high-caffeine teas, but this is one of the good ones... as long as I drink it first thing in the morning (when it can really help if I’ve slept poorly the night before). Another nice thing about this one is, it is actually really good if you overstep it; it develops a lovely flavor that I think is mostly from the tea itself (an orange pekoe), and the bergamot doesn’t get too strong. I am pretty sure I have received this from fitness subscription boxes in the past, but for some reason I appreciate it more now? Anyway, this was the first tea from this month’s shipment to get completely used up and I would consider buying it again for sure.
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Walter’s Bay Rose Blossom Ceylon White Tea (4 bags) – Buy 15 Bags for $9.00
This one, however, can get super bitter if you brew it for too long, which is weird for a white tea. But anyway, take the tea bag out after 3 minutes like the instructions say (do as I say, not as I do…) and you will get a nice, light tea that has caffeine but not too much for an early afternoon. The rose flavor is strong here and there’s some vitamin C from the rosehips. This is a new brand for me and I am always happy to discover new brands.
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Tea Fiori Amalfi Lavender Limoncello (loose leaf) – Buy 4 oz for $16.00
This is a green tea with several different fruits and fruit flavors, and is colored reddish-purple due to beets (i.e., the color is natural). Unfortunately, what I first picked out here, and what I will always remember this one for is LEMONGRASS. I do not like lemongrass (but that was not an option to exclude in the profile). I can kind of look beyond that and notice some other fruity notes; the lavender is much less obvious to me. I do think it’s fun that this has both fruits and flowers and if this company makes teas that do not have lemongrass I would be happy to try them in the future.
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Steep Society, A Woman’s Woman Breakfast Tea (loose leaf) – Buy 4 oz for $14.00
This is listed as a Chinese black tea, and it has no added flavors. Sometimes all I really want is a plain black tea, though! This is definitely a Chinese-style tea (as opposed to Indian-style) but milder than some I’ve tried, so might be a good way to get yourself used to Chinese teas, which can be a little strong or unusual to a Western palate. This one did not get bitter with oversteeping (I tend to throw a tea bag into my cup and leave it for a long time as I get busy with other things).
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Biodegradabble Tea Filters – Buy 100 for $11.00
Whenever you get loose leaf tea, you will receive some of these as well. I am a fan; there’s no clean up because you can just toss them but they won’t stick around in a landfill forever. It solves the problem of what to do if you’re new to tea drinking and don’t have a mesh tea strainer, which is something you don’t want to receive every month (I have like a dozen from subscription boxes now).
Verdict: I didn’t calculate a total value for Sips by this month since the items aren’t sold online in the provided quantities and/or configurations. This was a pretty good month for me from Sips By. Although I do not care for lemongrass, the three non-lemongrass teas I received were great, and I can appreciate some things about the tea that did contain lemongrass even if it wasn’t my favorite. I learned about a couple of new brands, as well. I was really in the right place to enjoy the energy tea and plain black teas are always welcome, as well.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, your subscription would start in April, and at any rate, depending on your profile quiz answers, your selections may be different from mine. From Sips by:
Allow up to 3 weeks for your first box to arrive. Subsequent boxes will arrive within 2 weeks of your original order anniversary date on a monthly basis until you cancel your subscription.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 50% off your first box!
CODE: SUBSCRIPTIONADDICTION
Value Breakdown: This box is $16.00 per month, so you are paying less than $1.00 per serving of tea, or about half that if you like to steep each serving twice.
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