Facebook PixelBoxwalla Artisan Food Box Review – October 2017 | MSA
My Subscription Addiction
My Subscription Addiction
Our reviewers research, test, and recommend the best subscriptions and products independently; click to learn more about our editorial guidelines. We may receive commissions on purchases made through links on our site.

Boxwalla Food Subscription Box Review – “Flavors of Fall” October 2017

Lacey Volk
ByLacey VolkNov 6, 2017 | 1 comment

Boxwalla Food October 2017 Box - The Flavors of Fall

Boxwalla Food
0 overall rating
0 Ratings | 0 Reviews

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 Food October 2017 Box - The Flavors of Fall

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.

First peek inside the Boxwalla October 2017 Flavors of Fall Box

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, but they sometimes have one-off boxes available for purchase too.

All items from the Boxwalla Food October Box arranged around the box

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.)

Check out all of our Boxwalla Reviews and explore other food boxes in the Food Subscription Box Directory!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

Boxwalla intro letter

Boxwalla calls this their "The Flavors of Fall" Box, with inspiration from Turkey, North Africa, Afghanistan, India, & Burma/Myanmar. I'm a sucker for good design, and I love Boxwalla's branding. This card fits perfectly inside the box, and goes into the background and flavors we can expect from each item in this delivery.

This is my first time reviewing this box, although I've sampled goodies from it before. I was really happy that despite how small the box itself was, it was packed full of really unique looking items!

(We accidentally received two of the same items from Le Bon Magot instead of the two featured in this box, but Boxwalla shipped us a replacement for the missing item.)

Lemon-Sultana Marmalata from Le Bon Magot

Lemon Sultana Marmalata with Caraway & Saffron from Le Bon Magot - Retail Value $13

We love lemon and marmalade in our household, so I was really, really curious to try these products! The intro letter notes that they are "evocative of the dried fruit preserves of Turkey" and I can see why: these aren't spreadable jams, but are chunky to the max with dried fruit marinating in all sorts of deliciousness.

Lemon-Sultana Marmalata from Le Bon Magot

When I first opened this up, I think I was imagining the dried fruit to be a kumquat for some reason... but "sultana" is what we commonly call "golden raisins" in the US.

Lemon-Sultana Marmalata from Le Bon Magot

The combination of lemon and raisin with saffron and caraway was unexpected since I usually associate caraway with rye bread and sausage. I could not imagine how those flavors would work together.

Lemon-Sultana Marmalata from Le Bon Magot

Lemon-Sultana Marmalata from Le Bon Magot

Sampled on a cracker, the flavor from this marmalata was incredible and very, very hard to describe! It was earthy but punctuated with brightness from the lemon, with floral notes from the saffron and the slightest bit of caraway. Aside from the texture, I'd have never guessed this is made from golden raisins!

I can imagine this being perfect next to some goat cheese on your holiday cheese board, but am also contemplating it as an alternative to cranberry sauce for leftover turkey sandwiches. I have a feeling it would make an incredible PB&J or grilled cheese sandwich, too.

Le Bon Magot Recipe Card Le Bon Magot Recipe Card

As it turns out, goat cheese and pork chops are two of the recommended pairings... I am so on board. But if sweet + savory isn't your thing, they also include a very holiday-appropriate recipe for linzer cookies.

Spice Raisin Marmalata from Le Bon Magot

Spiced Raisin Marmalata from Le Bon Magot - Retail Value $13

After my first Le Bon Magot experience, I was pretty excited to dig into this second jar of raisin marmalata. Smoked cinnamon? Sounds like another excellent holiday treat!

Spice Raisin Marmalata from Le Bon Magot

Spice Raisin Marmalata from Le Bon Magot

If you're like me, you might have thought that "ras al hanout" was a Batman supervillian... but it's actually a Moroccan spice blend featuring rose petals, cinnamon, and cardamom. I'm not usually a big fan of rose fragrance or flavor, so I wasn't sure how this would play out.

Spice Raisin Marmalata from Le Bon Magot

Spice Raisin Marmalata from Le Bon Magot

Texture-wise, this one is much more obviously "plumped raisins" than the Lemon-Sultana version. This tended more toward the savory side, with a pleasant smokiness throughout and a bit of a vinegar-y bite. Very good, but very different from the first!

Le Bon Magot Recipe Card

Le Bon Magot Recipe Card

Although I don't think I'd love a PB&J made from this one, I can definitely see stirring it into some oatmeal for a unique breakfast. Once again, I think this is perfect for the holidays since it can be used in a lot of different ways and is sure to give any dinner guests something new to try and talk about!

Afghani Saffron from Rumi Spice

Afghan Saffron from Rumi Spice, 1 gram - Retail Value $15

Rumi Spice was founded by US veterans to "attempt to cultivate peace in Afghanistan by engaging in economic trade with the Afghani people." This saffron is used by Michelin star restaurants and is also featured in the Le Bon Magot products we just sampled!

Afghani Saffron from Rumi Spice

I love this tiny cork-topped jar. It feels special, but also the wider mouth makes it easier to deal with grabbing just a few saffron threads at a time.

Afghani Saffron from Rumi Spice

After taking a nice big inhale from this jar, I definitely recognized the same aroma from the lemon marmalata.

Rumi Spice Card opened

Rumi Spice Card opened

I've never actually cooked with saffron myself somehow, so I was happy that this little card from Rumi Spice was included. I was thinking I'd start off easy with some saffron rice, but now I'm definitely eyeballing their recipe for Saffron Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash. Maybe with a bit of marmalata on the side?

Ayurvedic chocolate from Elements Truffles

Orange Pistachio Bar with Turmeric Infusion from Elements Truffles - Retail Value $7

Any subscription box that includes chocolate immediately wins my favor, and if it's fancy chocolate... no contest.

Ayurvedic chocolate from Elements Truffles

This bar has only 6 ingredients, including turmeric, orange oil, and pistachios.

Ayurvedic chocolate from Elements Truffles

I was actually surprised this bar was only $7– with this packaging I expected it to be more like $10 or even more.

Ayurvedic chocolate from Elements Truffles

SO GOOD. I generally think you can't go wrong with orange and chocolate, but the dusting of pistachio and inclusion of turmeric really make this unlike anything I've tried before. And the texture was amazing: it was solid like chocolate but seemed to soften to a truffle and dissolve on your tongue as soon as you bite into it.

I loved this so much, I actually restrained myself from eating it all in one sitting so I could have some later, which is really saying something! If anyone out there is looking to buy me a Christmas gift, this sampler pack is officially on my list. 😉 Just saying.

Burma Love Lotus Chips

Burma Love Lotus Chips - Estimated Value $3.99

Although this is the cheapest item in the box, it's definitely something new to me: chips made from lotus slices! These are from a San Francisco restaurant, Burma Superstar and Burma Love.

I couldn't find these for sale online, except for $6.99 for 2 oz with a slightly different label... so I think these are pretty hard to find outside of the Bay Area, where the restaurant is located. (Burma Love's site says their online store is coming soon.)

Burma Love Lotus Chips

Burma Love Lotus Chips

This is the only item in the box that fell just a little flat for me. They were really greasy and just tasted a lot like other veggie chips I've had; I didn't really taste much of the sesame, seaweed, or cayenne seasoning. Part of me thinks maybe they just needed more salt, but compared to all the vibrant flavors in the rest of the box, these just didn't hold up as well.

Verdict: I was really, really thrilled with the variety of interesting products included in this fall-themed edition of the Boxwalla Food box. Trying everything was such an experience and really got me thinking of some inventive new ways to incorporate unusual ingredients into some of our usual recipes. The two full-size jars of marmalata and the saffron are going to last awhile, too.

Typical for Boxwalla, the value of this box is $51.99, or just above the cost of the box ($49.95 + free shipping). The curation and the whole experience of the box is truly excellent, though, and worth it for hard-to-shop-for foodies: I wouldn't have been able to purchase any of these products locally, and I'm really excited to share some of these with friends and family this holiday.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you will receive the December box.

Value Breakdown: At $49.95 for this box, you're paying $9.99 an item.

What did you think of this month’s Boxwalla Food box?

Starting at $49.95
Active Deal
Use code ExploreBoxwalla25 for 25% of all orders over $250 on limited boxes and Retail Shop items
Use Coupon Code ExploreBoxwalla25
Subscribe Now
This bimonthly subscription box sends you a curated selection of unique foods to incorporate into your cooking and snack routine. Expect internationally inspired ingredients and unexpected flavors.

Boxwalla curates boxes for three other categories as well: books, film, and beauty. You ... read more.
Lacey Volk
Lacey Volk
Lacey's introduction to the world of subscription boxes was Julep Maven, but she quickly moved on once she discovered there were subscriptions for cooking, coffee, and art supplies. Current favorites include Crate Chef and Ecocentric Mom, and she's looking forward to trying more.

Join the Conversation

Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.

1 comment

Michelle

That chocolate looks & sounds sooo good! Mmmm….

Reply ButtonReply