Sips by Tea Subscription Review + 50% Off Coupon – September 2020
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: $15/ month + free US shipping
COUPON: Use code SUBSCRIPTIONADDICTION to save 50% off your first box!
The Products: 15+ servings of tea distributed among four different varieties selected according to your profile.
Ships to: the US for free, Canada for $9.50, and Western Europe for $13.50-$17
Sips by September 2020 Review
1 of 2 2 of 2 The box came with this information card. 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: I thought the profile covered most things well. I’d add “vegetarian” as an option and would also add “no lemongrass” as an option 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!
1 of 2 2 of 2 Loose Leaf Filter Bags – Buy a box of 100 for $11 You can choose loose or bagged tea or a mix. I am OK with both and regularly buy both. When you get loose leaf tea they will also send some disposable filter bags. (The cloth bag is a reusable filter bag, as well.) These are made from unbleached paper and are biodegradable and I do like the convenience of throwing them out instead of digging all the wet tea leaves out of a disposable strainer. I would assume you do not receive these if you opt for bagged tea only as it wouldn’t make much sense to get them then.
1 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 3 Republic of Tea Orange Blossom White (4 bags) – Buy 50 Bags for $16.50 I was familiar with this brand because they have tons of it in my Whole Foods and I do sometimes buy a tin (this is the brand that comes in the cylindrical metal tins). But I had not tried this particular tea before. It is a white tea with both orange flavoring and orange blossom flavoring (both are natural, not artificial). I found the orange flavoring more noticeable than the orange blossom. I liked this one a lot. I tend to leave my teabag in for a long time while I am working on projects (still working from home for the foreseeable future!) and it didn’t get bitter at all, even with overstepping, although that is probably normal for white teas. Anyway, this was an excellent selection and it’s nice to find an orange-flavored tea that’s not orange spice because, while I do like orange spice teas, that’s not *always* what I want.
1 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 3 Stash Tea Chocolate Mint Oolong (4 bags) – Buy 18 Bags for $3.95 I think I have tried this one before? It seemed familiar. I spent $50+ at Stash Tea a couple of months ago (I wanted like $4 worth of stuff but was determined not to pay for shipping) and I am pretty sure this was thrown in as a free sample. At any rate, it is really good. I used to think I didn’t care for oolong teas, but what I actually didn’t care for was Bigelow oolong teas, and I like all the others I’ve tried, including a few from Stash. Stash does chocolate mint teas very well. This has natural chocolate flavor as well as chocolate and carob powders and peppermint and it works together nicely to make a very chocolatey blend that is sweet or that feels sweet without having any sweeteners in it. If you are into putting milk in your tea this would be a great one to try that with, although it doesn’t need it.
1 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 3 Zest Tea Superberry Samba (4 sachets) – Buy 20 Sachets for $12.95 This brand shows up in fitness subscription boxes every now and then, I guess because it is caffeine-enhanced. However, I am pretty sure I have not tried this flavor before. You get about 135 mg of caffeine per cup, which is more than your typical cup of coffee. I allow myself to have only one of these per day because I’m on blood pressure medicine and it doesn’t seem to cause any trouble at that level. I would not drink all of these at the same time. I did think it helped me wake up and keep focused through a morning’s work. This is a green tea with the extra caffeine coming from tea extract, and it has natural acai, strawberry, and passionfruit flavors as well as some safflower petals for appearance. This does taste like it has strawberry but the acai and passionfruit make it a little more tropical or exotic, and it doesn’t get bitter with oversteeping.
1 of 3 2 of 3 3 of 3 Wight Tea Lavender Earl Grey (about 8 servings) – Retail Value $6 This was a totally new brand for me. I also used to think I didn’t care for Earl Grey, but it turned out to be a particular brand of Earl Grey I didn’t like (Bigelow again) and I have enjoyed all the others I’ve tried, including this one. This is a pretty simple lavender and bergamot blend with black tea. It has a really enticing, almost peppery aroma when you first pour hot water over it. It’s kind of hard to describe but it’s the kind of smell that makes me know it’ll be good. I did not measure this, just dumped some in the disposable filter bag, so I may or may not get 8 servings out of it, but you can weigh or measure if you are so inclined. 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. There were 20 servings of tea in my box so they are about 75 cents each, or a little less when you add in the filter bags. I think this is a fair value for a couple of reasons: Also, for what it’s worth, I liked that all the packaging was individually sealed and nothing was repackaged. In the end, I have to conclude that the profile quiz really works because I liked everything in the box and 3 of the 4 teas were completely new to me. To Wrap Up: Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, your subscription would start in October. From Sips by: Renews Automatically. 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. COUPON: Use code SUBSCRIPTIONADDICTION to save 50% off your first box! Value Breakdown: This box is $15 per month, so you are paying a little less than 75 cents per serving of tea. Check out all of our Sips by reviews and the best tea subscription boxes! Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist! What did you think of Sips by? Do you get any tea subscriptions? How do subscribers rate Sips by? get email alerts add to list Never miss a post: get email alerts about Sips by! Enable notifications (
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Written by Ragan Buckley
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Could you specify no mint? I really want to sub to this now. The weather is now cool enough for me to go back to drinking tea. This seems like a fun and enjoyable sub at a price I can afford and good value. I like my tea weak so I may get two cups out of every bag. I’ll give it a try.
I don’t remember but you can take the quiz without (or before) signing up.
Thank you Ragan!
Dea, I just took the quiz, and yes, you can specify yes/no to mint.
Great box! I absolutely love this subscription. They truly do work with your profile to try and customize the teas, as best possible. I’ve been subscribed to them since December of 2019. This month, I received Apricot Sunrise (from Ahmad Tea), Unwind (a spearmint tea, by Big T NYC), Chocolate Mint Oolong (by Stash Tea) and Morning Start (a moringa and lemongrass tea, by Akshar).
I hope I do not get moringa and lemongrass, as I do not care for either of those and I don’t think there was a way to specify those particular preferences. I had forgotten all about the existence of moringa, I suppose it’s not bad with fruit but lemongrass is a big no for me in any case. But the nice thing about this subscription is that you can bias it towards things you think you will like based on individual taste.
I don’t think there’s an option to be opted out of moringa or lemongrass, completely. However, each month, when you submit your rating for the box as a whole, you’re provided a commentary box. You could send them a message, asking them to not send you those specific flavors. I’ve sent messages to them about certain teas I did want to try and surely enough, the next month, those teas were in my box. Apparently, they really are reading our comments. They also say, if you ask them a question or have a concern, once they read the comments, they will reach out to you, via email messaging. 🙂