Simple Loose Leaf is a monthly tea box, which delivers four hand selected, loose-leaf teas each month. Subscriptions are $10 and you can choose from 4 different tea types: Black, Green, Herbal, or Sampler. They send both single origin teas and blends and include linen bags for steeping. The teas are packed and shipped by employees with developmental disabilities so they can earn a paycheck and learn life skills. Boxes include:
- 4 new hand-selected premium loose leaf teas
- 10 grams (0.35oz) of each loose leaf tea
- 4 reusable linen tea filters Made in the USA
- Information on each of the teas with tasting notes
DEAL: Get $3 off on your first tea order! Use coupon code 3B1TEA. OR Get $5 off on your first box! Use coupon code 05BOX001.
This is a review of the Black Tea Box!
Black Tea Box
- Each month receive 4 new black loose leaf teas or 3 black teas and something that black tea drinkers will love
- The Black Tea Box is a great fit for the tea drinker that wants to experience the darker flavor profiles that black teas have to offer
- Explore teas from China, India, Sri Lanka, and more
I received a post card. Sometimes I prop the cards on my desk for art!
I love the quote featured on the back!
When so much keeps us apart today,
let a tea time bring us together.
Tea time across any distance is still tea time.
– Anonymous Tea Lover
I found four linen pouches in my box. Simple Loose Leaf sends, you guessed it, loose leaf teas. You will need a way to remove the leaves after steeping. I have a steeping system but you could use these bags, buy disposable paper bags, use a French Press, or strain your tea afterwards, whatever works for you.
The side of the box had some helpful tips for steeping times and water temps. For instance, green and white tea should never be steeped with boiling water or for longer than 3 minutes (they will turn bitter).
A reminder that employees are getting life skills through working is on the other side of the box. I am a special needs educator who happens to work in a life skills classroom so this is super awesome!
Everything in my box!
Simple Chai The front of the bags are very helpful and show how much tea to use, country of origin, steeping time, water temperature, and batch number. Simple Loose Leaf suggests using 2 teaspoons per serving but I use a “perfect teaspoon” to measure tea, and mine scoops out about 1.5 teaspoons.
The back of each tea has a description of what you are getting and how it should taste in your cup. It also sometimes has serving suggestions, like the latte shown here.
The blend was bolder than I was expecting so it would work well with a chai latte preparation. I steeped it like I do the other teas, then added sugar and a bit of milk since it was so strong and it was a perfect cup. I’m saving the rest of the sample for fall but you can steep it in half water/half milk and then pour it over ice for an iced latte. The spices were very warming, best chai ever!
Prickly Pear Black I never would have expected to receive a tea with prickly pear as the main flavor note!
It smells fruity sweet and has pretty orange safflower petals in the mix.
The tannins are higher in this one so I added sugar and milk to tame it for my taste buds. The flavor is unique, kind of tropical fruity and I finally decided the best way to describe it is like green apple. This would be excellent on ice.
Simple Yunnan What a delightful departure from my usual English Breakfast tea!
It is simply black tea from the Yunnan Province in China.
I steeped it for 5 minutes and the resulting cup was bold, with smokey hints that reminded me of pu-erh, but without the funkiness. I added a bit of sugar and milk and my tea had that same bold flavor and smokiness, but without those bitter tannins. I am ready to attack my day!
Tropical Black Looking for a flavorful iced tea? This flavor is perfect for summer!
I tend to drink hot tea in the morning, but in the summer I will switch to iced in the afternoon, it’s so refreshing, especially here in Texas.
I did try this hot, and it was a mild black tea, not too strong with the tannins. I liked the fruitiness from the mango, it was sweet and similar to peach.
Simple Loose Leaf has quickly become one of the subscriptions I look forward to finding in my mailbox, and this was only my second box ever from them! They tend to send a better-than-basic black tea, a fruity tea, a classic flavored tea, and a unique flavor (like Prickly Pear, who knew?). I have been excited and pleased with each one, and I love that these will add a fantastic twist to my usual iced black tea. The quality has been wonderful and I find myself reaching for them over my usual English Breakfast tea in the morning!
What do you think of this month’s box?
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