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 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
Sips by February 2021 Review
1 of 2
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 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 this month:
1 of 4
Pink Citrus Magik by Tea Kitten (4 servings) – Buy 4 oz for $16
True to form, colored teas never behave as described for me - I never saw pink with this one! It went straight to purple. Not that that’s a problem, it’s just that apparently this does more than my tap water permits. It looks really cool on the product page if you click the link. (If you get blue you’re supposed to add lemon to change it to purple but mine started as purple and anyway, I don’t regularly have lemon at home.)
This is a fruity green tea; the citrus flavor works really well and I don’t really even notice the lemongrass, which is good because I typically don’t like lemongrass in tea. (Lemongrass is *not* citrus.) I drank this hot, as you can see because that is the easiest way for me to brew up a single serving, but it looks like this one works iced as well (and I think that would be really compatible with the flavor profile, even without any kind of sweetener). For what it’s worth, the actual citrus here is from pomelo and lemon peel and the color comes from flowers.
1 of 4
Organic Rooibos Tea by Ceterbos (4 bags) – Buy 20 Bags for $12
I think this is the first caffeine-free tea I’ve received from Sips By (I said both caffeinated and caffeine-free teas were OK). It is just rooibos with nothing else added and it is a pretty good one. Even though there are no extra flavors like vanilla or orange or chocolate (common rooibos add-ins), it still has some sweetness and works well as a dessert tea or just something to enjoy while winding down in the evening.
If you have had rooibos you have a pretty good idea of what this tastes like and I am failing to come up with any other way to describe it if you’re unfamiliar with rooibos. Definitely worth a try at least once if you like herbal teas, though.
1 of 4
Apricot Sunrise by Ahmad Tea (4 bags) - Buy 20 Bags for $6
Awhile back, I bought some Ahmad Tea samplers from Amazon so I’ve tried this before and it happens to be a tea I really enjoy. This is a black tea and I enjoyed it in the morning since it is caffeinated. I find the apricot flavor works quite well here and is identifiable (not just a generic fruitiness). The apricots used here must be ripe as this is not at all tart like some stone fruits can be. This was the least expensive item in the box but I think also the one I finished off first.
I’m willing to try quite a lot of different teas but black teas will probably always be my favorites.
1 of 4
Fujian Oolong by Bare Leaves (~4 servings) – Buy 4 oz for $14
This is a light oolong that stands up to oversteeping, which is good because I habitually forget to remove my tea bags when I get involved in work projects. I think this tea might be a good introduction to oolongs if you haven’t tried them before, or if you’ve had one that was too strong for you. This one says it can be steeped 4-6 times but I have not tried that as I tend not to re-steep my teas (but then I imagine some of the value in that is reduced by the fact that I leave tea bags in for 10-15 minutes or longer when brewing for 30 seconds is advised).
Anyway, the re-steeping greatly adds to the value of this one as you can get 20+ cups of tea out of this if you are so inclined.
1 of 3
Disposable Filter Bags – Buy 100 for $12
I am terrible at cleaning up reusable mesh filters so I really do like these single-use filter bags. You will get a few if you opt to receive loose leaf teas (you can choose to do all bags if you want, though). I personally like the large ones for single cups but apparently, they are recommended for entire pots of tea? Anyway, they are just easier to fill with less mess. These are not bleached and they’re biodegradable so they’re relatively benign from an environmental standpoint.
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. I feel like a broken record (if anyone even remembers what that means? or am I just showing my age here) but this was another good month for me from Sips by. I can tell that they are actually listening to my preferences, and I know from reader comments that I get a completely different package from other subscribers. So individual curation is spot-on. I never feel like the boxes are repetitive, I truly get a mix of black, green, white, oolong, and herbal, flavored and unflavored, and a wide variety of price ranges. (Sometimes you want something that won't break the bank to buy a whole box and sometimes you want to try something fancier that’s out of your normal price range!) I also discovered three new brands this month, which is fun.
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 $15 per month, so you are paying less than $1 per serving of tea, or about half that if you like to steep each serving twice.
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?
Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.