I love my monthly Degustabox deliveries: large, cardboard boxes packed with between 10 and 15 different food and drink products each month, both from well-known brands and lesser known companies. The products that the boxes from this subscription service contain are always pretty varied, including drinks, snacks, cooking ingredients and more, with both sweet and savoury options included.
Degustabox subscriptions are available for £12.99 per month (which includes the £3 delivery charge), but scroll down to the bottom of this post and you’ll find a code that’ll give you a discount on your first order. They’re a great way of discovering new things, and would make a fantastic gift for foodies!
The contents of the box are a surprise each month, and it’s always good fun unwrapping the packaging to find out what’s inside…
In the May box, there was a pretty wide range: snacks, cooking ingredients, various drinks and more.
One of the first things we used was the Supercirio tomato puree and the Cirio passata. The puree is incredibly intense in its flavour – far superior to the budget brands on the market. And as for the passata, I love the fact that it’s in a resealable plastic bottle, meaning that it can be stored in the fridge if the whole bottle isn’t used in one go.
I used these two to make DIY pizzas – the recipe for which you can see here.
In a previous Degustabox, we tried the Cawston Press apple and rhubarb drink, which was out of this world. In the May box, we were sent a can of their sparkling cloudy apple variety, which also went down very well. It’s crisp and refreshing and not overly sweet – the perfect choice of soft drink for a sunny summer’s day.
These Elizabeth Shaw dark chocolate cocoa crunch flutes are ridiculously moreish! The long, thin matchsticks are crafted from a beautifully rich dark chocolate, and contain crunchy cocoa nibs for an interesting texture. Definitely a hit in our household.
We get through a lot of pasta at home, so the Garofalo inclusion was appreciated! We’ve tried other pastas from the Garofalo range as part of the Degustabox subscription before, and love the quality. This penne is a little pricier than other brands (£1.89 for 500g) but it’s worth the money – we used it with a simple tomato and nduja-based sauce.
I’d never seen the Kettle Chips sweet potato crisps before, and the sweet chilli flavour that we were sent certainly sounded intriguing. They’re not something I’d buy in the future, though – although they tasted fantastic and the oven baking means that they have 50% less fat than regular crisps. I don’t know whether it’s because of the baking process, but the crispness just wasn’t quite there – I may be alone in this opinion, though!
The box of Finn Crisp sourdough rye crispbreads that I received was a great inclusion. At only 22 calories per slice, they’re great for dieters – and unlike many such diet-friendly foods, they don’t just taste of cardboard. They’re also a lot thinner than most, meaning that the flavour of any toppings you choose doesn’t get lost. Tasty.
Sadly, the next inclusion really wasn’t for me. Those of you who know me will know that I’m a bit of a cider snob…and this Hornsby’s Cider just didn’t do it for me. One of the leading cider brands in the States, it was created by a Brit who moved out there.
The pear cider (there’s no such thing as pear cider…) with strawberry and lime was ridiculously sweet, more like drinking an alcopop and with no discernible alcohol flavour. It also had a bit of an artificial aftertaste, so as yet, I’ve not opened the apple one…
The box also featured a box of Taylors of Harrogate Blackberry & Elderflower tea, created in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. I’m not normally a massive fan of fruit teas, as many of them promise so much with their aroma and fall short when it comes to actual flavour. On pouring boiling water into the mug, you really do get a delicious waft of blackberries. Flavour-wise, it’s actually pretty good – far more blackberry than elderflower, but still really enjoyable. I think this would work really well as an iced tea too, which I’ll be trying this week…
I haven’t yet used the Cake Release Spray from Dr Oetker, but it sounds like a great idea! You simply spray your tin or tray before adding what you’re about to bake, which saves lining with parchment. Dr Oetker also claim that it’s great for irregularly-shaped tins that are hard to line – I’m looking forward to giving this a try.
The two packets of Raw energy chewing gum that were included in May’s Degustabox were something else that’s new to me, and an interesting idea. Each packet contains 18 pieces, which are sugar-free and packed with taurine and vitamin B for energy. Flavour-wise, they’re reminiscent of a big brand of energy drink and did seem to perk me up a little, but the flavour disappeared quite quickly. Good for a quick boost, though.
If you’re interested in signing up for a Degustabox subscription of your own (or as a gift), then be sure to use code TINTE at checkout: it’ll give you a £3 discount on your first box. For more information about Degustabox, visit their website, follow them on Twitter or find them on Facebook, where they often run giveaways and post further discount codes.
Please note: this box was received free of charge, but in no way impacted on our opinion. We were not obliged to write a positive review, and the company did not see this review before it was put up on the site.