Boxwalla is a subscription box company dedicated to introducing subscribers to the best in food, books, film, and green beauty. They curate bi-monthly boxes in each of those four categories. Boxwalla's Food Box introduces subscribers to gourmet food products from small-batch producers across the US. The curators at Boxwalla seek out the best American artisanal products to share with their subscribers.
Boxwalla has beautiful packaging. Their boxes are sturdy and beautiful, and they’re crafted from tree-free paper by a small company in Rajasthan, India.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the subscription review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is of the Boxwalla Food, $49.95 a month, box. The cutoff date for each box is the 15th of the preceding month.
The Subscription Box: Boxwalla's Food Box
The Cost: $49.95
The Products: “Ridiculously delicious food products made in small batches in the U.S.A.”
Ships to: Ships free to U.S. only. (Note that other Boxwalla boxes can be shipped internationally for an additional fee.)
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Boxwalla calls this their "My Mornings with Matcha" box. Most of my experience with this unique version of green tea is via Starbucks, which is probably not super authentic. I love that this card gives this increasingly popular tea some context, with a history, some notes on preparation options, and information on the purveyors whose products are featured in this box.
Ketti Kiwami Matcha, 20 g - Value $42.00
I've never paid more than $10 for tea, so I was sure that this small container worth $42.00 was going to be a high-quality offering guaranteed to please. This box has a way of presenting the items inside as little delicacies deserve to be appreciated with intention. It reminds me of how wine boxes help me stop and really absorb all of the nuances of different wines. If I was just enjoying this at a cafe, I might not have stopped to really understand all of the flavors at work here. At first, the taste is grassy and almost elusive, but as it spreads over my tongue, it becomes far bolder. It's got an earthy bitterness to it, almost like really really dark chocolate does, but the most pervasive flavor is the intense flavor of the green tea. The best way I can describe it is that it tastes like a fresh-cut lawn smells right after a rainstorm. It's probably an acquired taste, but if you have an open mind, it's absolutely awesome.
I will say the info card talks a lot about the appropriate temperature of water to use in the various recipes and mentions that you should use a bamboo whisk. I don't have a good way of measuring water temperature nor a bamboo whisk, so I've been doing the "usucha" or thin tea version, heating water just short of boiling, and just using a regular whisk in lieu of a bamboo one. I know there's a bamboo scoop in this box (more on that in a bit), but I kind of wish there was a whisk, too!
Matcha Source Gotcha Matcha Cafe Grade Matcha Tea, 5 servings - Value $2.95 (Buy 100 servings for $59.00 at Matcha Source)
This bag contains a slightly less fancy version of matcha that is probably more appropriate for everyday smoothies, lattes, and more. It was grassy, just like the other brand, but I found this type to have a natural sweetness to it (in the way that butter or milk has an extremely subtle sweetness, rather than the way a dessert might). As with wine, I'm aware of the differences between this matcha and the high-end stuff, but not so much that I feel like I'm missing anything when I whip up a cup with this brown-paper pack.
Matcha Source even included a little booklet (and a coupon) about how to prepare and store matcha. (For instance, it goes in the fridge between uses, which I never would've guessed.)
The info card listed this product at a slightly higher price than what I calculated using the bulk bag I found on the Matcha Source site, but maybe that's due to a packaging difference, etc.
Bamboo Chashaku - Value $6.00
This little scoop is used to gather the perfect little doses of matcha. Depending on the kind of matcha you're preparing, you can also use it to "knead" liquid into the matcha powder. I feel like a matcha pro wielding this gracefully formed little stick!
Verdict: The value of this matcha box is $50.95, which puts it just above the cost of the box ($49.95 + free shipping). On one hand, you could say that's a lot of money to spend on tea. But on the other, this is a really lovely, beautifully curated experience that shines a light on a unique food that I may never have taken the time to fully appreciate nor explore without this box. I do think you have to be a true foodie to make this box really worth it, but if you are someone who loves food and food culture, I feel pretty confident that you won't be disappointed. And as with most Boxwalla boxes, I just love the care put into this experience, from the thoughtful curation and info card to the considerate, ethical creation of the box itself!
What did you think of this month’s Boxwalla food box?
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