Degustabox | October box

If you’ve not heard of Degustabox, then where have you been? It’s a food & drink monthly subscription box – bringing you 9-14 surprise products, many which are new to the market. When you sign up, you get to fill in your very own profile, meaning a couple of the products may differ. It’s actually the highlight of my week when this little beauty arrives on my doorstep – so what was in October’s box?

·         A pouch of Geeta’s curry paste

·         A jar of Geeta’s lime chutney

·         A bottle of Lonna carbonated drink

·         A pouch of The Snack Organisation freeze-dried fruit

·         A packet of The Snack Organisation rice crackers

·         A packet of 9-Bar original bars

·         A bottle of Cirio classic passata

·         A tin of Cirio chopped tomatoes

·         A packet of Liberation Foods nuts & corn

·         Two packets of Nudie coconut chips

·         A cup of Kabuto noodles

·         Two packets of Chip Sticks

·         A voucher for President butter

Cirio is a brand that has appeared in Degustabox before (read my International Box post from April here) and their products then were a hit with my family. The passata was rich in flavour and made a great (and quick) bolognaise sauce; while the chopped tomatoes are a staple in our cupboard.

The Geeta’s products were part of the Degustabox Discoveries, a new concept they’ve introduced. I can’t comment on either product yet as I’m yet to use the Korma paste and I don’t like lime pickle – it’s far too hot for me! The pouch of sauce serves two and looks easy to use, so I’m sure I’ll use it for a quick midweek meal soon.

The Chip Strips were my favourite products of the month and I received the sweet paprika and sour cream & onion flavours. They were both incredibly moreish and reminded me a lot of Pringles – they’re also a light potato snack, in a different shape. These too were a hit with the family, but I cannot believe I shared. Another winner were the rice cracker by a company I’d not heard of, The Snack Organisation. Although these were lightly salted, they had a really nice sweet and soy flavour, which I can’t quite put my finger on. They make a great alternative to crisps because they’re light and crunchy – I’d certainly purchase these again.

Nudie Snacks coconut chips are a product I’ve seen before (we received them in our Suffolk Blogger Meet goodie bags), but still yet to try. I have to admit, I feel pretty sceptical about them. I like coconut but I’m unsure what to expect of these, or if I’ll even like them – can anyone share any light? A product I didn’t need to look twice at to demolish was the nut & corn mix by Liberation. This product is very similar to some of the savoury snack mixes available in Graze boxes and the chilli & lime flavour was potent. I liked the mix of peanuts, cashew and roasted corn for a naughty evening snack.

There’s been a lot of brand repetition recently by Degustabox and the 9-Bar health bars are back, after being included in the May box. I wasn’t a fan then – and I’m still not a fan now. There really needs to be an option so you don’t receive previous products you don’t like, I mean there are the questionnaires every month, but clearly those opinions aren’t considered. I just find them such a chore to chew on, boring, bland and dry. On the other end of spectrum, I absolutely loved the freeze-dried strawberries by The Snack Organisation and destroyed the pouch in one sitting at work. I imagine they’d be even better dipped in chocolate, but less healthy of course.

*sigh* Another repeated product is the Kabuto noodle cup (found in the Healthy Box – January). The chicken ramen flavour was better than the one in my previous box, although the sauce mix contained far too much coriander for my liking, and I love coriander! The pot is easy to make and is great for a quick working lunch or dinner when you’re short on time. I bulked mine out with chicken and mixed leaves and ate it as a broth. And finally the carbonated drink by Lorina was beautiful. It made other sparkling drinks on the market taste and look boring. I loved the coconut & lime flavour, as well as how typically French the bottle was. It went well with the noodles too. I would definitely buy this in shops.

Did you know you could try a box for half price by clicking this link?

What were your thoughts on the October box?

Love, Lucy xx