Simple Loose Leaf is a monthly loose leaf tea subscription box. Choose from the Classic Tea Box (which contains some caffeinated teas and some herbal teas) or the Decaf Tea Box.
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.)
This is a review of the Classic Tea, $9 a month, box.
About Simple Loose Leaf
The Subscription Box: Simple Loose Leaf
The Cost: $9/month + shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
The Products: four different hand-packaged loose leaf teas; this is a review of the standard (caffeinated) 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 May 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.
African Purple – Buy 2 oz for $9.80
I have had African Purple tea (grown in Kenya at high elevations) before, and I’ve found that it can get bitter if steeped too long. However, this is actually a tea blend with lemon peel, rosehips, calendula, and vanilla, and those elements add some sweetness that really works to overcome the bitterness. Especially the vanilla, which doesn’t get too strong, which is another point in this teas favor. I’ve actually already run out of this one.
Guranse Estate Green – Buy 2 oz for $9.50
This is a green tea from Nepal (not a huge tea-growing region and I think this is my first Nepalese tea, ever, actually). This is a little milder than a Chinese green tea and is supposed to be more comparable to Indian green teas (from Darjeeling, for example). Anyway, this is nice as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up at work – I’ve been very busy lately and it helps keep me going.
Organic Monk’s Morning – Buy 2 oz for $10.50
This one is fun. It’s a blend of four different black teas, two of which are more familiar to Western palates (i.e., Darjeeling and Assam) and two of which may not be (i.e., Keemun and Nilgiri). This is a happy medium between Asian-style and Western-style black teas and the Darjeeling and Assam kind of mediate the smokiness of the Keemun. I am always up for an unflavored black tea so I was a fan.
Turmeric Comfort – Buy 2 oz for $7.35
Please note, this one contains bee pollen so it is not vegan. Anyway, think of this kind of like an herbal chai. It has a base of honeybush and rooibos and then lots of spices like turmeric, cinnamon, pepper, and ginger. I drank this plain but I think you could also do the full chai treatment with milk and sweetener and it would be pretty good. Turmeric is known for its anti-inflammatory properties and this is a much better alternative than swallowing some pills.
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. The teas appealed to me quite a bit this month (truthfully, I rarely run into a tea blend I don’t care for, but it can happen) and I’ve already run out of one and am making my way through the others pretty quickly.
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 June's.
Coupon - Use code SUBADDICT to get $2 off any Simple Loose Leaf order!
Value Breakdown: At $11.99 per month (including shipping), 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!
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What did you think of Simple Loose Leaf? Do you get any tea subscriptions?
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