A few weeks ago, I took advantage of a half price offer code that I had found for Degustabox UK. Their June box arrived shortly afterwards, and I've managed to try everything included (with the help of some hungry friends!) so I can give you a proper review.
Degustabox arrived in the UK at the end of last year and I've seen a handful of reviews for it here and there across the blogosphere. The company derives its name from the Italian 'Degusta' meaning 'tasting' and offers subscribers a monthly food and drink box packed full of new products. Most food subscription boxes I've come across are mainly tailored towards the higher end or niche corner of the market (either luxury, organic, vegan/vegetarian, gastro inspired etc). Degustabox on the other hand is much more budget friendly and includes mainly brands that are either well known or easily available at your local supermarket. To reflect this, they only charge £12.99 per month (which includes courier postage) and promise to always include a range of 9-14 products that exceed that, so you essentially get more than you pay for. You can also cancel your subscription at any time.
Upon opening the huge, well packaged box, I pulled out the A4 menu listing the products and had a quick read. To be honest, I was a little disappointed because nothing immediately jumped out at me at first and it didn't look as good as last month's offering (check out Hayley's review here). However, once I started taking a closer look it didn't seem so bad. So let's get stuck in!
For my June Degustabox I received the following:-
1. Estrella Damn (£4)
I don't personally drink beer or lager so one of my housemates snapped this Spanish beer up. He said it was pretty good, but was surprised by how expensive it was and said he wouldn't buy it at that price. I'm not too familiar with beer prices but it does seem rather pricey?
2. Elizabeth Shaw Milk Chocolate Amaretto Flutes (£2.59)
Now these are INCREDIBLE. Oh, my, days. I love amaretto anyway, but these are so delicious. Very rich and indulgent, you only need one or two to be satisfied but they are so moreish and addictive. Needless to say these are now all gone! Would definitely buy again.
3. Urban Fruit Pineapple (£1.09)
Gently baked pineapple pieces with no nasties or sugar added. Great to pop in your bag or lunchbox for a healthy snack. Enjoyed these and would pick up a pack or two again. Interested to see what the mango and strawberry ones are like.
4. Bear Alphabites (£2.69)
Cute multigrain cereal shaped into letters with no added salt or sugar. They're sweetened instead with coconut blossom nectar which gives them a delicious taste. Very yummy and would purchase again, especially as a 50p off voucher was also included.
5. Veetee Egg Fried Rice (£1.49)
I
generally don't eat microwavable rice as there's a rice cooker in
our kitchen, so I just always use it that instead and make up a batch from
fresh. However, one of my housemates ate this after a night out and she said it tasted OK but not as good as my egg fried rice!
6. Dr Oetker Madagascan Vanilla Grinder (£4.99)
I
love baking so I was really happy to see this. This grinds the vanilla
either finely or coarsely and tastes delicious. I know I'll get a lot
of use out of this as I won't have to buy anymore vanilla extract for a
long time and tastes so much better than the liquid stuff.
7. Lambrini Strawberry (£3.29)
Lambrini
- really?! Maybe because I have some terrible teenage memories
associated with this drink, but I wasn't all that eager to try it.
Eventually, I tried it when some friends came over and it tasted very
artifical and overly sugary sweet. Not the kind of drink I would buy
again.
8. Be Fast Banana and Vanilla (£1 each)
These
are 'breakfast on the go' drinks - I don't really use products like these so I
gave them to one of my housemates to take to work. He said that the
Banana was good, but he didn't like the Vanilla one much.
9. Clearspring Organic Miso Soup
As it was my first box I received an extra product which was an instant White Miso with Tofu Soup. I like miso but this one didn't have a lot of taste to it and was rather bland sadly.
9. Clearspring Organic Miso Soup
As it was my first box I received an extra product which was an instant White Miso with Tofu Soup. I like miso but this one didn't have a lot of taste to it and was rather bland sadly.
To recap - I loved the Elizabeth Shaw Amaretto Chocolate Flutes, Urban Fruit, Bear Alphabites and the Dr Oetker Vanilla Grinder. I really didn't like the Lambrini Strawberry or Clearspring Miso Soup, and my housemates had the Estrella Damn, Veetee Egg Fried Rice and Be Fast drinks - all of which yielded general OK comments. A mixed box overall I'd say! I'm not sure whether to keep the subscription or not but may be tempted too as my housemates are happy to split the cost and I enjoy trying new things. Is it worth it though?!
To subscribe to Degustabox or for more info click here.
Do you receive a Degustabox?
What do you think of monthly food subscription boxes -any that you sign up to?
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Some hits and misses there! Just like a beauty box I suppose! x
ReplyDeleteI'm subscribed to Graze! I have gotten about 5 boxes so far and most of them are usually real good snacks! (: I might wanna check this one out! (: It's so much easier when healthy snacks/food get delivered to your place! (:
ReplyDeleteI love the Graze boxes, they're a lovely healthy treat! x
DeleteHaha, I had the same reaction on seeing the Lambrini in there, I used to buy big bottles as a teenager to get me drunk even though it tasted horrendous. The rest of the box looks quite good, if they could do ones tailored for diets I'd probably sign up, but I think I'll be sticking with my vegan kind box :)
ReplyDeleteCatherine, xo // Lady Liquor & Femme et Vie
Lol t's awful stuff! Yeah, I do think they would get a lot more customers if they were able to cater to different diets - there's a 'preferences' questionnaire that you fill out when you sign up, but it doesn't take into consideration vegetarians / vegans / gluten free diets etc which is disappointing x
DeleteI signed up for one last week. Took advantage of the £4.99 offer they had. One thing I noticed was, they have a "free from" option. So it looks like they may have added what you ladies are looking for. For £4.99 for your first box you can't go wrong either way. If you don't like it, cancel and give the undesirables as a Christmas gift. Win win.
DeleteThanks for your comment, I'll have to take another look at them, sounds good that they now have a free from option :)
DeleteI always enjoy seeing what bloggers got in their degustabox cause it all looks yummy!
ReplyDeletexx
http://felishmichelle.blogspot.com
My housemates and I had a lot of fun trying it all out! xx
DeleteI've been getting Degustabox for about 4 months now, I had codes for the first couple of boxes so it seemed really good value, however I'm not so sure now - especially with this box. I definitely don't believe the beer is worth £4!
ReplyDeleteMe & my boyfriend actually quite enjoyed the Lambrini I'm ashamed to say! :) Though it wouldn't be a repurchase! The only item I was really impressed by was the vanilla grinder. I'll probably get another couple of boxes and then give up - a bit like beauty boxes I've had in the past x
Yeah I think that's the problem with the subscription boxes, after a while they don't seem so good! x
DeleteI love your blog. I recently got my first Degustabox but it's the August one. It enjoyed mine but had so many duplicated products which was a bit annoying to be honest as i would preferred a variation like the July box! We ended up having six, yes SIX Maggi cooking sachets!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah! :)
DeleteI can't believe that they sent you six of the same kind of product, that's crazy! I would have been annoyed too, their boxes do seem very hit and miss. I haven't ordered anymore yet x