Degustabox is a subscription box that sends out a variety of shelf-stable food items, some which are new to the market. You won't always be able to find these items in stores yet!
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: Degustabox
The Cost: $19.99 per month or $18.99 if you purchase the box bi-annually. Both prices include shipping to the Contiguous United States
LIMITED TIME DEAL: Now through 4/30/2017, use coupon code MSABONUS2017 to get your first month of Degustabox for only $9.99. (Regularly $19.99). Your first month will also include a free gift!
The Products: "...a variety of exciting food products, the items in the box will be a surprise but we can say one thing, you will always find something new and delicious!"
Ships to: Continental United States. There is also a Great Britain website and they ship to mainland United Kingdom
Good to know: You can earn points by reviewing the products you receive or by referring a friend. Points are redeemable for a complimentary box.
Check out all of our Degustabox reviews and the Food Subscription Box Directory!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
Each box has a large format info card with some info and pricing for the items included. Since many of these items are available in grocery stores, the pricing listed here may vary from online stores or prices in your local market. (We're including both the suggested values and the values we could find online in this review.)
This month, the reverse side also had a recipe for mug brownies using one of the included products, Wilton's Candy Melts.
This box is pretty heavy and packed full - let's dig in!
Better Oats Steel Cut Instant Oatmeal with Flax Seeds, 10 individual packets - Listed Value $3.99 (Buy a two-pack on Amazon for $12.69)
I thought the suggested value on this one seemed low; products similar to this in my local grocery stores are closer to $6, which is on par with Amazon's price.
I am a bit of an oatmeal snob, so I prefer steel cut oats made on the stove above garden variety instant oatmeal... but I almost never have time for that. I was very interested in trying this and I was thrilled that it was a full-size package of 10 individual servings, too!
You need to heat this oatmeal in the microwave or stove instead of just mixing with boiling water, but it was still pretty painless. I really liked the flavor (maple and brown sugar is my jam!) and am happy to report that it wasn't overly sweet like some instant oatmeal can be. The texture wasn't as great as making steel-cut oats on the stove, but for something I can be happily eating within three minutes, I have no complaints.
I was pretty enamored with the way the packaging turned into a measuring cup, too. Simple and effective design!
Mutti Double Concentrated Tomato Paste, 4.5 oz - Suggested Value $2.99 (Available on Amazon for $6.44)
Today I learned that I am the kind of person who gets excited to receive tomato paste in a subscription box! It's useful, it's shelf-stable, and I almost always forget to buy it at the store. Plus I hate cans of tomato paste because you can never use the whole thing at once, and I forget about the leftovers if I remember to freeze them for later use. This paste in a tube is a small thing, but it's a win for me!
Nando's Peri Peri Sauce, 4.7 oz - Suggested Value $5.99 (Available on Amazon in a pack of 4 for $11.48)
I think I've seen this brand in stores before, but I've never tried it. From the packaging, it sounds like this can be used both as a kind of hot sauce to add after food is cooked or as a marinade. I tried it on a fried egg and found that it was too tangy for me, so I'm saving the rest to try as a marinade with chicken.
Zenify Stress Relief Drink, 12 oz - Suggested Value $2 (Available on Amazon in a case of 12 for $22.64)
I'm not into soda or energy drinks - I stick to coffee/tea, water, and La Croix for the most part. But in the interest of science, I chilled this in the office fridge and sipped on it on my way home from work on Friday afternoon. Zenify claims it has the antioxidants found in 25 cups of green tea, without any of the caffeine, to reduce stress without drowsiness.
I couldn't quite put my finger on the flavor at first, but after a few minutes, it hit me: it tastes like Red Bull! Or at least my memory of Red Bull, since I probably haven't had one since college. It does have some of the same vitamins too, like Niacin and B Vitamins.
I am a total skeptic about these kinds of products, but after sipping on this during my commute home, I had a really chill and enjoyable Friday night. I feel like I felt less anxious than normal and more "present", but it was also a beautiful spring day and a Friday before a holiday weekend, so who knows how much was actually due to this beverage. I'm curious enough to try it again, though.
Felix Lingonberry Jam, 10 oz - Value $10.99 on Amazon
This item wasn't on the April Box brochure in my box for some reason.
As a frequent IKEA shopper, I am very familiar with lingonberries. This was good and I thought it was a welcome change from our usual strawberry jam - I'm more likely to use it for PB&J than mixing up my own Swedish meatballs.
One of the things I like about Degustabox so far is that it seems like a lot of the items are pantry items that you can easily swap in where you'd use your regular brand, so they're really usable items overall, but still help me try new things and break out of my routine a bit.
Steady Energy, 2 individual servings - Value ? (We couldn't find this product online; Degustabox notes on the brochure that it is new.)
I enjoy my morning cup of coffee too much, so I'm personally not inclined to use energy shots. This is probably the only thing in our box that won't get used. I might stash them in the car for our next road trip in case we need a pick-me-up.
Wild Planet Organic Roasted Chicken Breast, 5 oz - Suggested Value $4.99 (Available direct from the manufacturer for $6.49/each, sold in a case of 6)
I'm not sure I've ever actually used canned chicken before, but now that I'm staring at this can, I can think of a lot of different ways to use it. It seems like another great pantry item to have handy and I like having a protein on hand that is not taking up space in my fridge or freezer! This might be a little too expensive for me to buy regularly, but this can is still convenient to try and won't go to waste.
Degustabox also included a coupon with a Waldorf salad recipe for this item, too. I've made a similar tuna salad before; this sounds delicious!
Bush's Garbanzo Beans - Suggested Value $1
Yes, it's just a can of beans... it's paired with the next item in the box. (I didn't include a link to Amazon here because it's ridiculously expensive to buy beans online - just looking at the price made me mad!)
Bush's Hummus Made Easy - Suggested Value $2.29 (Available as a 3-pack from Amazon for $18.89)
I make my own hummus fairly frequently, so I usually have lemons, tahini, and olive oil on hand. I was nonetheless excited to see this in the box! Even though hummus comes together pretty quickly no matter what, this was really easy to do, and turned into a really quick weekend lunch for my husband and I. It was definitely a little different flavor-wise than if I made it from scratch, since it didn't have the brightness of the fresh lemon (or the copious amounts of garlic we usually add), but it was still very good. I wouldn't mind having this on hand in my pantry because it was just so darn easy.
Kudos to Degustabox for including a can of garbanzo beans in this box, too, because otherwise, it might have been some time before I remembered to buy a can to try it!
Cafe Bustelo Instant Coffee, 6 packets - Suggested Value $1.29 (Available on Amazon for $10.45)
(Amazon's price on most food items is high, but the suggested value for this also seems particularly low. I'd think this would retail for more around the $4 mark in-store?)
Instant coffee sure has come a long way since my childhood! My mom grew up with Cafe Bustelo, so it is a brand I've tried before, but never in instant form. This was a remarkably good instant coffee, not bitter at all, with hints of cocoa.
Even if you don't drink coffee, these packets are great to have lying around for anytime you're making brownies or chocolate cake - the coffee really helps deepen the chocolate flavor! I drank this hot, but I really want to try it cold too, because I can imagine it would make for great and easy iced coffee this summer.
PR Bar - Suggested Value $2.07 (Available in a case of 12 from the manufacturer for $24.95)
This is a yogurt-covered protein bar, similar to a Cliff Bar. It's been awhile since I've had a snack like this, but I had skipped breakfast the morning that this box arrived, so I scarfed this up pretty quickly.
The flavor was OK - I'd say it was on par with other protein bars I've had. The berry flavor was definitely present and the yogurt coating was nice. This was still chalky as most protein bars are, but it kept me full til lunchtime.
Wilton Candy Melts - Suggested Value $1.99
This is a microwavable pouch that you can use to drizzle a caramel coating onto cookies, pretzels, and other treats. This is another item I'm not likely to use right away, but I bet it would be awesome with apple slices or ice cream.
Lovely Candy Company Caramels - Suggested Value $2.49 (buy a 6 oz. bag for $4.99)
These are perfectly soft little caramel candies, made with real butter and no artificial flavors or corn syrup. I usually stay away from soft candy that gets stuck in my teeth, but I couldn't resist these, and they were truly delicious. I do avoid corn syrup and we don't really keep sweets in the house, so when I do indulge, it's nice to have something made with real ingredients that taste as good as these do.
Chiridos, three 1-oz bags - Suggested Value $1.49 each (Available on Amazon in a pack of 12 for $25.99)
We received three different flavors of Chiridos in this month's box. These are a puffed, savory snack made with lentil and cricket flour. This is definitely the most surprising item in the box! These are inspired by chapulines, a traditional Oaxacan snack of seasoned grasshoppers.
If you've not heard of cricket flour before: yes, it is really ground-up crickets. Might sound weird at first, but crickets are gaining ground as an eco-friendly and sustainable protein source that take a lot less water and fewer resources to raise. I'm totally game to eat bugs as long as it's 1) on purpose and 2) they are unrecognizable as such.
The Spicy Mole flavor was up first. I loved the lightness and crunch of these snacks, but I was not a fan of the mole flavor. It did however taste just like mole - I'm just not a fan of that flavor in general. Maybe if they were spicier I would have enjoyed them more, but I didn't find them to be hot at all.
Baja Ranchero reminded me a bit of Cool Ranch Doritos. These were pretty good if you're a fan of ranch flavors! You'd never know these snacks are made with lentils or crickets - they are basically just light and crunchy delivery mechanisms for the flavoring.
The Salsa Verde flavor, though - hold the phone. These were absolutely delicious and I'd buy these again in a heartbeat! I also like the idea that this snack is more sustainable and helps give you an iron and protein boost, plus they're non-GMO and both grain and gluten-free.
Verdict: This month's Degustabox has a value of about $4o - that's around twice the price of the box, and that's a value I'm really happy with. This food box is not about taking you on a curated culinary journey or teaching you new techniques: instead, you can expect a variety of both new and familiar products to try, with both snacks and pantry items represented. One of the things I really enjoyed about this box, in particular, is that it contained a lot of products that I could easily use to swap with products I normally buy, which is a fun way to try new things and shake up our routine. I do most of my shopping at Aldi's these days, but it gets boring after awhile, so I really like the adventure of trying new products in this way!
Have you tried Degustabox yet? What do you think of this month's box?
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