Teapro Subscription Box: ‘Shades of Green’ November 2019
Hello cold weather, bare trees and runny noses. Yes, it’s November and this months Teapro subscription box is Shades of Green, including 4 delicious green teas. I was super excited for this one as I’d read about a couple of the green teas included but never got round to trying them.
As always, here are my honest thoughts on the November Teapro subscription box.
Quick Summary
A great box with 4 high quality teas. There’s enough variety here to keep me happy, but if you’re not a fan of that grassy flavour in green tea (or just prefer the warmer, golden notes some green teas have) you might be disappointed.
I’d recommend it for: anyone looking for more interesting green teas or who’s fed up with bitter supermarket green teas.
Pros – high-quality and famous teas.
- Really flavourful teas
- Famous blends included that you’ll have heard of
Cons – all very similar.
- Most teas described with the same flavours, e.g. nutty
- All quite grassy
What’s in the Box?
Teapro send out their boxes with Royal Mail, so I pick it up with the rest of the mail (and super early Christmas cards) sometime in the second week of the month. It usually falls around the 11th but sometimes it’s been as early as the 8th! In this months box:
- 20g Gyokuro
- 20g Ya’An Yun Wu
- 20g Dragon Well Spring
- 12g Monkey King
- Tea-mometer (dial thermometer)
- 1x sticker for November subscription
- Green tea booklet with details about the 4 specific teas included
If this is your first Teapro box, you’ll also receive a tasting wheel, sticker booklet and 3-piece glass infuser included. Read my review for those in the June 2019 teapro subscription review.
Green Tea Booklet
A good booklet this month! I like it when Teapro provide a few tasting notes for each tea so I can pick one that I know I’m in the mood for. They give you all the info you could want on what green tea is and the specific history of each tea included. It certainly ticks the educational box.
I did notice that several of the teas have the same flavour descriptions. Nutty, grassy, sweet and notes of green vegetables. Nonetheless, I did find all 4 teas to have distinct flavours. I’d just like to warn anyone who isn’t a fan of that fresh green bean note you often get with green teas – you really can’t avoid it with this box.
Tea-mometer
Up until now, I’ve been using an electric thermometer but since opening the November subscription box I’ve alternated with this dial one. It’s not as accurate, but it’s somehow more pleasant to use. It also gives me a better indication of how fast my water is cooling.
You can buy it from Teapro for £8 separately if you didn’t get this tea box. I think that’s a little steep – there are good dial thermometers on Amazon around the £5 or £6 mark.
Teapro Green Tea Reviews
20g of each tea besides Monkey King is very reasonable. You can definitely (and should) resteep each 2g service multiple times to get the most out of them. The Monkey King pouch only contains 12g, but that’s not bad at all considering the size and shape of the leaves and the quality of the actual tea.
20g of each tea besides Monkey King is very reasonable. You can definitely (and should) resteep each 2g service multiple times to get the most out of them. The Monkey King pouch only contains 12g, but that’s not bad at all considering the size and shape of the leaves and the quality of the actual tea.
I had some trouble working out how much Monkey King to use as it doesn’t exactly fit into a teaspoon – I’d just recommend you use a good amount. Don’t skimp. You won’t get as much flavour out and it won’t be very complex. You’ll enjoy it more if you use generous portions rather than trying to make it last longer.
Gyokuro Tea
Izzy's Rating
4.4/5
- Amount: 20g
- Flavour notes: Buttered corn, strong steamed greens
- Brewing instructions: 1tsp, 65°C, 2 minutes
- Quality: Excellent
So tasty! This was a good one. I didn’t get much of the buttered corn flavour but the steamed greens were very strong. I also found a seaweed type aroma when it brewed. Compared to the other green teas this one had less of that grassy sweetness and almost a savoury note that was very satisfying.
I don’t like mineral notes in tea which usually accompany savoury notes (think Wuyi rock teas) so this was a pleasant surprise for me. It’s very refreshing and I can really see this one becoming a regular tea for me.
Ya’An Yun Wu
Izzy's Rating
4.2/5
- Amount: 20g
- Flavour notes: Sweet, earthy, roasted artichoke, nutty, fresh beans, brussels sprouts
- Brewing instructions: 1tsp, 85°C, 2 minutes
- Quality: Excellent
This was an interesting one. Maybe it’s my taste buds but I really didn’t get any of the earthy, nutty and roasted notes. Instead, I found it to be really light with fresh bean notes and an almost cabbage-like note. I hesitated to call it pak choi (my first thought at the aroma) but finally settled on brussels sprouts. Yes, that sounds kind of off-putting but really, it’s quite tasty. The flavour is complex and that cabbagy greenness settles in as just a light high note.
It might not be your favourite but it’s worth trying nonetheless.
Dragon Well Spring Tea
Izzy's Rating
4.4/5
- Amount: 20g
- Flavour notes: Freshly cut grass, mellow, delicate, green beans, sweetness
- Brewing instructions: 1tsp, 85°C, 3 minutes
- Quality: Excellent
The classic that everyone has heard of. In numbers, this is one of the best in the box with that distinctive mellow grass flavour. It always reminds me of daisies for some reason. To me, it’s a bit old though. I’ve had many dragonwell teas in the past so I wasn’t looking forward to this one as much.
That being said, it’s a staple green tea and Teapro would be amiss to leave this one out of their green tea box.
Fresh, grassy and vibrant with a mellow sweetness that’s hard not to fall in love with.
Monkey King Green Tea
Izzy's Rating
4.7/5
- Amount: 12g
- Flavour notes: Orchid, fresh, mellow, sweet, warm hay, slightly sour
- Brewing instructions: 1tsp, 70°C, 3 minutes
- Quality: Excellent
I was so excited to try this one. Monkey King is so famous and is visually stunning as well as a taste explosion. This is the ‘warmest’ of all the green teas, swapping out the grassy notes for lighter notes of hay (although nowhere the level of hay you’d find in a chamomile tea) and mellow sweetness.
You should leap at the chance to try this tea. It’s almost worth buying the whole box just for this one.
It’s tempting to break the long leaves up to fit them in a tea infuser, but don’t. You’ll ruin the quality a little. Generally, the smaller the leaves are broken, the lower the quality until you end up with practically dust in teabags.
Is This Teapro Box Worth the Cost?
Yes. In the past there’s been a bit of a debate on whether the Teapro boxes are worth the subscription price (especially on the herbalism and tisane ones) but with these green teas, it’s definitely worth it. You’re getting 4 excellent quality green teas that everyone should try.
A little education on the staples of each tea category is the main reason you’d subscribe to Teapro and this box ticks that need perfectly.
Final Verdict
A good box to try. I recommend it to anyone but particularly those that don’t like green tea or have had a few bad experiences with supermarket green teabags in the past. This subscription box will set you on the right path and show you how great green teas can really be. Well done Teapro, you’ve done a really great job with this months box. Looking forward to the next one!
Check out this box on Teapro or search for green teas on Amazon to find them yourself.