Tea Runners Original Subscription Box
I was recently gifted the April Tea Runners Subscription box. This box is completely new to me and I think pretty darn unique.
Each box contains 4 different teas, each one contains 1 ounce of tea. In total each box has enough tea to make 40 cups of tea.
What makes Tea Runners especially different to me is that they have four different options for box types and each month they let you know exactly what is going to be in the boxes ahead of time so you can choose which one you like the best before hand. Plus they let you customize your box, meaning you can swap any or all your teas for other flavours if you like.
These are the four different types of boxes you can choose from each month: Original Box (all types of tteas), Pure Tea Box (high-grade pure teas only, no blends or flavours), All Black Tea Box (all types of black teas), and Herbal Tea Box (all herbal teas)
I was gifted a box of Original Box so let us take a look inside.
First off I love the flat but super adorable shipping box, it is detailed and very esthetically pleasing. Inside tissue paper wraps the teas up and a card gives a bit of details about Aprils box. Each tea is in a foil bag with a clear back and a resealable top. 
This is what I got in my April Original Box:
The Nilgiri tea-growing region in southern India is mostly known for producing strong, bold black teas, similar to the Ceylon black teas of neighboring Sri Lanka, but with their own unique flavors. At up to 8000 ft above sea level, it is one of the highest-elevation tea growing regions in the world, and one of the most beautiful.Blue Mountain Black is an exquisite treat with a unique and worldly flavor profile, sure to become a favorite.Ingredients: Black teaOrigin: Nigiri, Sri LankaCaffeine: HIGH
This is a straight black tea, strong and bold with a wonderful flavour. I brewed it exactly 5 minutes and found it wonderful, not too strong and without too much tannin, but could see if you made it stronger or let it steep too long it could got extremely strong and the tannins would really pop. But as I said, I brewed it to the instructions and thought it was well rounded and bold without bitterness. 
Here we have a welcomingly different twist on a classic. With citrusy bergamot pressed from real fruit and flowers, and the intoxicating fragrance of organic lavender blossoms, the Earl Grey Lavender is an elegant wake-me-up tea in the morning.One of our most popular teas!Ingredients: Organic black tea, organic lavender flowers, essential bergamot oil, natural lavender oil extract.Origin: Multiple Origin BlendCaffeine: HIGH
The Nilgiri tea-growing region in southern India is mostly known for producing strong, bold black teas, similar to the Ceylon black teas of neighboring Sri Lanka, but with their own unique flavors. At up to 8000 ft above sea level, it is one of the highest-elevation tea growing regions in the world, and one of the most beautiful.Blue Mountain Black is an exquisite treat with a unique and worldly flavor profile, sure to become a favorite.Ingredients: Black teaOrigin: Nigiri, Sri LankaCaffeine: HIGH
This is a straight black tea, strong and bold with a wonderful flavour. I brewed it exactly 5 minutes and found it wonderful, not too strong and without too much tannin, but could see if you made it stronger or let it steep too long it could got extremely strong and the tannins would really pop. But as I said, I brewed it to the instructions and thought it was well rounded and bold without bitterness.
Here we have a welcomingly different twist on a classic. With citrusy bergamot pressed from real fruit and flowers, and the intoxicating fragrance of organic lavender blossoms, the Earl Grey Lavender is an elegant wake-me-up tea in the morning.One of our most popular teas!Ingredients: Organic black tea, organic lavender flowers, essential bergamot oil, natural lavender oil extract.Origin: Multiple Origin BlendCaffeine: HIGH
This is a wonderful Earl Grey tea that has the traditional bergamot notes layered with black tea and then lavender. The lavender isn't overwhelming, but a welcoming addition. The flavours balance each other out in a wonderful dance in the mouth. This would make a fantastic London Fog.
This delightful caffeine-free treat is rich in good-for-you antioxidants. Its sweetness is pleasantly cut with tart raspberry, creating a perfect balance on the palate.
Fragrant and calming lavender adds a sophistication to this tea, further enhancing its place as part of the ideal bed time ritual.
Ingredients: Honeybush, lavender petals, & natural flavoring.
Origin: Multiple Origin Blend
Caffine: CAFFEINE-FREE
I was a little surprised to find a second lavender option in this box but honestly do love to consume food and drinks with lavender in it (but for others this would be a great time to take advantage of the swap option).
Honeybush is otherwise known as red tea and is herbal and caffeine-free.
This one is fruity with the raspberry and herbal with the lavender and redbush. I really like the blend and how well balanced it is. It honestly barley could tell it was not a black tea, it really reminded me of flavoured black teas of the 90s. Either way it was really nice, slightly sweet and something I can enjoy at night without the caffeine.
Yellow tea is the rarest of the six classes of tea and only produced in China. It is not commonly found in the North American market.
It is produced in a similar manner to black tea, with sun withering, rolling, oxidation and drying, but the main difference is the sun withering and oxidation stages are much shorter. The result is a lovely tea with a sweet, clean, bright, and floral taste - like a green tea without the grassiness.
Ingredients: Yellow tea.
Origin: Simao, Yunnan, China
Caffeine: MED
I am going to be honest here, I have never heard of yellow tea before. It sounds a lot like white tea in the fact it is harvested early and very delicate. The big difference is yellow tea is mildly fermented where as white is not.
This was a real treat for me, I enjoyed it more than I do white tea. The flavour was quite mild and pleasant. I did make a point to make sure the water was exactly 175f and that I only brewed it for 3 minutes. I fear that it would be very bitter or burnt if I did otherwise. So this is a tea you really should use a thermometer and timer for.
The boxes are just top notch quality and as a true tea lover I really appreciate that.
You can sign up for Tea Runners box on their website, Original, Black Tea and Herbal boxes are $25 USA each and the Pure box is $30 USA each with free shipping to the USA and Canada. You can also buy their teas individually there too.
*Products were sent for review purposes all opinions are my own.
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