Teapro Subscription Box: ‘Herbalism’ October 2019
Amid the mass of chai teas warming my toes every other day this October, my Teapro subscription box arrived. Instead of going the way of pumpkin lattes and a half tonne of cinnamon, this month we’re getting a selection of herbal teas.
It’s an interesting choice, that’s for sure. Here’s what I thought.
Quick Summary
A pleasant box with some unusual herbal teas you don’t normally come across in herbal blends. Like always, quality is great. But of all the boxes so far, this is the one I’d use least.
I’d recommend it for: those who enjoy blending their own herbal remedies.
Pros – high-quality and unusual teas.
- A large amount of tea in each package
- Awesome recipe included
- A great way to try some unusual herbs
Cons – I can’t see these teas being consumed much.
- Teas would be better in a blend
- Rose petal bonus tea is poorly packaged
What’s in the Box?
Delivery arrived early for me this month. Like always, the Herbalism box arrived with Royal Mail and everything was in perfect condition inside. In your box, you’ve got:
- 20g Elderflower
- 20g Hibiscus Flower
- 20g Damiana
- 13g Greek High Mountain Tea
- BONUS 10g Rose Petals
- Sticker booklet and 1x sticker for October subscription
- Herbalism 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.
Herbalism Booklet
This month, the herbalism booklet delves straight into the potential health benefits of each herbal drink, going with a wellness angle that personally I would have saved for the January box. October, for me, is a bit of an indulgent month with chai in full swing and Halloween candy. So, a very healthy herbalism box just didn’t feel seasonal.
There are no flavour descriptions of the teas in the booklet, so if you need to know how it will taste before you brew keep reading until you get to my reviews below.
Bonus Rose Petals
The second I opened the box I’m hit with the aroma of roses. It’s quite pungent! I know many people love roses, but for me, it’s quite the opposite. So many cleaning products are rose scented that the aroma is off-putting for me.
This is the fault of the porous bag the rose petals are held in. It’s beautiful, yes, but it’s just not practical at all. If you want to keep your rose petals fresh long enough to drink tea from them, move them into an airtight container. A washed-up jam jar will do. Otherwise, just leave your rose petals to act as potpourri.
Teapro Herbal Tea Reviews
This month we have a very reasonable amount of tea. You only need 1 teaspoon per cup and the tea material is very light so even just 20g is filling each packet to the top.
Herbal teas don’t re-steep as well (or at all) compared to traditional teas.
These teas also have quite strong personalities. I’d be happier if they were included in blends or there was a recipe to create a blend for each tea. On their own, they’re quite overpowering and not all that pleasant. But that’s just me.
Elderflower Tea
- Amount: 20g
- Flavour notes: Floral, musty, mellow, sweet, herby, citrus-fresh
- Brewing instructions: 1tsp, 100°C, 4 minutes
- Quality: Excellent
Izzy's Rating
4.2/5
Elderflower cordial is one of my favourites… but let’s be honest. It’s mostly just sugar! This is pure elderflower and while you can get a hint of the same cordial flavour, much of it tastes foreign.
Dry, it has a very strong floral aroma. It’s mellow and sweet, slightly musty and herby. When you drink it there’s an almost citrusy freshness to it which was unexpected!
Elderflower is best for drying up runny noses during flu season.
Hibiscus Flower Tea
- Amount: 20g
- Flavour notes: Sharp, tart, berries, citrus, rhubarb
- Brewing instructions: 1tsp, 100°C, 4 minutes
- Quality: Excellent
Izzy's Rating
4.6/5
I do love hibiscus tea and I find that out of all the teas included this is the best one if you’re not keen on herbs. It has an almost fruity flavour. Dry, it smells tart, citrusy and raspberry-like. It brews into a very dark burgundy magenta colour that’s quite pretty too.
It tastes almost like rhubarb and has a grapefruit sharpness to it. It tastes wonderful with a drop of honey or by following the Jamaican Sorrel Drink recipe in the leaflet (swap 1 stick of cinnamon for 1.5 teaspoons of ground cinnamon if you don’t have sticks).
Damiana Flower Tea
- Amount: 20g
- Flavour notes: Sweet, grassy, light yet rich
- Brewing instructions: 1tsp, 100°C, 4 minutes
- Quality: Excellent
Izzy's Rating
4.1/5
This is the first of the 2 obscure teas I’d not tried before. Opening the packet, the dry smell is herby, grassy and slightly sweet. It’s quite generic and my brain didn’t register it as a new aroma. It could be any herbal blend going by the aroma.
It brews into a slightly musty, herby tea. It’s sweet like fresh-cut grass and has a richness even though it’s quite light.
It felt incomplete. I could see this being used as a base tea for a more complex blend and I wish Teapro included a recipe!
Greek High Mountain Tea
- Amount: 13g
- Flavour notes: Nettle, daisies, cabbage, rice vinegar
- Brewing instructions: 1tsp, 100°C, 4 minutes
- Quality: Excellent
Izzy's Rating
3.6/5
Greek High Mountain tea, also known as ironwort, is interesting and not really my cup of tea. The flavour reminded me of nettle tea (check out my review of Bion Herbs Nettle Tea) with notes of cabbage and rice vinegar. It was soft and strangely refreshing in a vegetal way.
The only thing I liked was the aroma of the steeped leaves. It reminded me of fresh green leaves and daisies in the summer.
Another tea I think would be better in a blend.
Is This Teapro Box Worth the Cost?
This box is only worth it if you’re really into your herbal teas. I found the selection to be a bit too obscure in one half and slightly too generic in the other. You’re left with a box of teas you don’t know what to do with because they’re too odd or you already have a stash of them.
The cost is also not so great for this box. You can’t re-steep the teas as well as traditional tea and the cost of herbal teas is generally lower too. I’m certain you could buy these teas separately for a lot less money.
Final Verdict
It wasn’t my cup of tea but I’m glad I can say I tried it thoroughly. This was a weak box in the subscription, but I don’t feel like it was bad enough for me to cancel. After all, the tea included is of high quality and with a little effort on my part, I’m sure I can find some blend recipes to liven them up a bit!
Check out this box on Teapro or search for herbal teas on Amazon to find them yourself.