Package from Portland is a new, quarterly subscription box that focuses on themed dry grocery items direct from Portland purveyors.
This box was sent for review - for more information about how we review boxes, please read this post!
The box: Package from Portland
The cost: $49.00 every three months
Ships to: US only
The products: Specialty dry grocery items from Portland
This was my first Package from Portland, so I was excited to receive it! This package's theme was Hot Cocoa on the Homestead - I think they stuck to the theme very well, and enjoyed all of the products! The blurb on their website about this box says this: "Package No. 1 features the Portland Bitters Project. Other items contained within the package will allow for a warm evening by the fire with you and three of your compeers." (And the million dollar word for today is: compeer(s) means a person of equal rank, status, or ability - had to look that one up.)
Treehouse Chocolate Co. Camp Hot Cocoa - $3.00
Treehouse Chocolate Co. Nectar Hot Cocoa - $3.00
Treehouse Chocolate Co. Original Hot Cocoa - $3.00
Treehouse Chocolate Co. Cherrywood Hot Cocoa - $3.00
First up is the hot cocoa. This is Treehouse Chocolate Company's hot cocoa, and if it looks familiar - there's a reason! This hot cocoa was included in one of Bespoke Post's recent box offerings, (my favorite Bespoke Post box ever, The Butcher, and it's still available!). This hot cocoa is definitely not the Swiss Miss hot cocoa you may be used to. This is serious, chocolatey, almost unsweetened hot cocoa. It's delicious, but don't expect a sugar bomb here.
One of the recipes in the Portland Bitters Project booklet included (see below) uses the Nectar hot cocoa (which is vegan), the bitters, and the optional bourbon or rum. I took this as kind of an inspiration and made the Nectar hot cocoa with coffee, the bitters, and a tad bit of creamer since it was a bit harsh tasting as is. It was very good! I want to underscore, though, this is dark chocolate hot cocoa, so it may not be your thing if you're a milk chocolate girl/guy!
Portland Bitters Project SuperSpice 2 oz - $15.00
Portland Spice Bitters Project Recipe Booklet - $5.00
Package from Portland featured the Portland Bitters Project in this box. The bitters included were very aptly chosen for the holidays! The first thing I thought after trying a bit in my sparkling water was: "This would be excellent in apple cider!"
The included recipe book was also very helpful. This was my first experience with bitters, and so I didn't have a lot to draw on to use them. The Portland Bitters Project has covered all bases and written a short little recipe book that includes drink recipes along with food recipes. They have a recipe in here for pickled chanterelles that sounds particularly delicious!
Quin's Vanilla Bean Marshmallow - $8.00?
When I was on Quin's website to find the marshmallows, I became intrigued with their "What We Do" section. There is a picture of one of the candy makers (The owner, Jami Curl, maybe?) piping out suckers. These people do it all - from beginning to end! These are the types of businesses that I love to support, and so I see myself ordering candy from Quin in the near future.
Now, on to the marshmallow - I couldn't find these on their website, so I don't have a solid value for it. These marshmallows are impossibly soft, sweet, and you can see the vanilla bean flecks!
Albina City Nuts - Sweet & Salty Hazelnuts - $4.00
Abina City Nuts - Candied Pecans - $4.00
The first thing that struck me about these nuts when I started writing this review was the fact that these are so inexpensively priced! I can't even get 2.5 ounces of plain pecans at my grocery store for $4.00. If you like candied nuts, this is the place to buy them, if only because they're so reasonably priced!
Now, on to the taste. As regular readers will know, nuts are not my favorite food, but I took one for the team and tried these! And what do you know, I'm glad I did. These are delicious. The pecans are sweeter than the hazelnuts, but they're both very, very good. The hazelnuts almost have a smoky flavor, which I am crazy about. I highly recommend these!
The verdict: I really enjoyed this shipment. The value I calculated is $48.00, which is spot on the price charged for this box. I have a feeling that the value with this box is going to weigh heavily on the curation, with their target market valuing the things they value. Everything sent fit within their theme for this month, and I can see how it would be really fun to throw the items from this box into a small dinner party to experiment with. I am looking forward to the next few shipments of this box to see where it goes!
What did you think of this Package from Portland?
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