Bring out your inner good or bad wizard with a box of wizarding-world-themed tea goodies. Riddle’s Tea Shoppe offers quarterly boxes alternating between the Death Eaters Tea Club (canonically, the bad guys) and the Auror Tea Society (the good guys). The 2018 spring Death Eaters box was my first hands-on experience with Riddle’s Tea Shoppe, though I’ve long admired photos from afar.
This box was jam-packed with well-designed surprises. My box featured a canister of Basilisk Egg tea bags (spicy, earthy chai with lemongrass and peppercorns), a bag of loose Devil’s Snare tea (rich black tea with dark berry and cocoa flavors), and a bag of loose Venomous Tentacula tea (a decaf blend of black tea and rooibos with strawberry marzipan flavors). To pair with my tea was a vial of shimmery Unicorn Blood (simple syrup). Each treat featured original artwork or uniquely designed labels to make them feel extra magical and make them suitable to display in your tea shelf.
Beyond tea, the box included a laser cut wood bookmark and enamel pin, featuring stylish typography of favorite evil wizard spell words. There was also a print of an original watercolor painting of the Chamber of Secrets from Riddle’s Tea Shoppe’s creator. Of course, the Death Eaters Tea Club cute-and-creepy skull logo is on the box itself and various stickers and labels.
This box gave a lot of experience and beauty for a modest price. The one challenge is ordering before the pre-orders sell out, and waiting while the materials are assembled and shipped. To keep up-to-date on the next box, check out Death Eaters Tea Club (@deatheatersteaclub), Auror Tea Society (@aurorteasociety), and Riddle’s Tea Shoppe (@riddlesteashoppe) on Instagram. Also check on Riddle’s Tea Shoppe on Etsy for non-box goods related to tea and fantasy fandoms. The shop updates randomly, so check back often.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: various
Where to Buy: RTS Quarterly
Description: Each box contains:
– 1 canister of tea [Caffeinated]
– 2 small tea samples (10g each) [1 decaf / 1 caffeinated]
– 1 enamel pin
– 4 additional surprise items!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Who doesn’t love TeaMail? A List of My Tea Subscriptions
Monthly subscription boxes are so popular anymore. It seems like you can get just about anything in some form of a monthly box delivered to your house. From dog treats and toys, to clothes, to jewelry, to vegan boxes, you name it, you can find a subscription for it most likely. This is especially true with tea. Tea sub boxes seem to be growing in popular and I have to say, I’m ok with that. There is something so alluring about getting a box in the mail with surprise flavors or blends that you might not necessarily pick out yourself. I personally subscribe to 5 tea boxes a monthly. Sounds like a lot, but I also only drink tea so it works for me.
So with the holiday shopping season just around the corner and people starting to think about gift giving, I’d thought I’d run down a few of my favorite tea subscription plans to maybe give you ideas on what to give the tea enthusiasts on your list.
(1) Plum Deluxe
Plum Deluxe is the one that started it all. When I first started looking at subscription plans, I wanted something that was affordable and was hand blended. I instantly fell in love with Plum Deluxe. From the bright purple envelopes you receive in the mail, to their unique and soul soothing tea blends, to the amazing community that surrounds Plum Deluxe. This company is all about taking a moment and enjoying life. Their motto is Making Moments Matter and the exude this in every uplifting post, tea blend, and note they include in their shipments.
A quick side note: When you sign up with Plum Deluxe, you are invited to join the Plum Deluxe Facebook community-which is incredibly active and even has fun holiday swaps. On a daily basis you see the members of this community encouraging each other through their love of tea.
Cost: 2 options starting at $10 a month (includes shipping)
(2) 52Teas
Probably no surprise this lovely tea company is on my list. I have been a customer of 52Teas for years but only recently pulled the trigger on signing up for a monthly subscription plan. I actually figured up how much I was spending on stand alone orders with 52Teas and realized I would save money just by signing up. I have to say I’m very glad I did.
Each month, I receive all of the different uniquely hand blended teas that will be offered for the month. The fact that I get a chance to try the blends out before they are released has some great advantages. When the teas are official released on the site, I have a head start on whether or not I want to order more of a tea or not.
Besides that, who wouldn’t want a monthly tea box sent to them full of delicious teas like Blueberry Honeybush Muffin or Bananas Foster Black Tea or Earl Grey Cider Black Tea?
Cost: Options start at $18 (includes shipping)
(3) BlendBee
BlendBee is one I can’t recommend enough. I love the customer service and delicious fresh teas that are delivered to my door each month.
Every month I receive an email from the amazing Jamah asking me what blends I would like. You have the option to choose from any blend that are currently being offered in the store or choose from one of the new teas she may be releasing that month. I’ve even asked for her to tweak a blend here or there and she has happily obliged. This plan is one of the more custom friendly plans perfect for anybody’s tastes.
Have to love a company that offers amazing customer service and fabulous fresh teas!
Cost: Options starting at $15 (includes shipping)
(4) Tea Box Express
Maybe one of the more expensive boxes out there, Tea Box Express is a box that I can always bank on getting some really unique and quality tea and/or tea related goodies. And completely worth every penny!
I have only received two boxes so far from Tea Box Express but i have to say these boxes are worth it. Each month you are sent quality fresh teas from companies that you may not have necessarily tried yet or even heard of. Last month’s box had JusTea’s Mount Kenya Black Tea and that tea has memorized. Also included was an adorable wooden tea spoon (also from JusTea), a herbal tea that you can either drink or use as a facial, and a box of sea salt caramels that were sinful. Here is my post about my unboxing of the October Tea Box Express.
Cost: Options start at $25.50 (plus shipping)
(5) A Quarter To Tea
My newest subscription plan is to A Quarter To Tea. I have always adored their blends and drink them down quite quickly. So when I saw they offered a monthly subscription plan, I quickly emailed Lauren, asked her a few questions, and promptly signed up.
This particular plan is similar to 52Teas were you are sent 4 different teas each month. I’ve had experienced so many amazing rich and decadent blends from A Quarter to Tea recently that I had to sign up. To be completely transparent, I am drinking their Eggnog Pound Cake while I write this post up.
What I’m really excited about is this box is A Quarter to Tea’s limited edition teas, the ones that aren’t available in their sampler packs. Such delicious flavors and so incredibly unique, I had to jump on the chance to get a monthly box!
Cost: Options start at $16– you can sign up on their Etsy site or their site. (Just a note, if you order through the Etsy site, you will need to sign up every month. If you sign up through their site, there is the option to have recurring billing.)
There are many many other wonderful tea subscription plans out there and I”m sure I’ll sign up for a few more here and there. Handmade Tea for instance is one that I subscribed to for some time and I know there are several tea subscriptions that deliver more straight teas. So many wonderful tea plans and so little time!
Let us know which subscription plans you currently subscribe to tea related or not and we will randomly draw a winner who will receive a lovely tea care package from The SororiTea Sisters!
