We recently received our November Degustabox with a winter warmers theme. This box has received mixed reviews in social media, but what did we think? Thanks to Degustabox UK for sending this box our way, we can share our review with you.
Most months there are two boxes, one with alcohol and one without; when you subscribe to Degustabox you’ll choose which box is your personal preference. There may also be different product flavour versions available randomly within boxes. However, as reviewers, we often receive most or all of these variations so we can try them all out and share our thoughts with you.
Let’s start with the contents of the November Winter Warmers Degustabox before moving on to our top picks. Each monthly box contains between 10-15 products; some aren’t yet available in the shops which gives you the first chance to try them out! The short version of this month’s box is that there are 10 items; 3 snacks, 5 beverages, and 2 meal items. The long version is….
The Winter Warmers Box Contains:
- £1.39 Duerr’s Marmalade (Fine cut and half sugar varieties)
- £1.60 Rebel Kitchen Dairy Free Organic Chocolate Hazelnut Mylk
- £2.29 Cheeky Monkey Peanut Butter Puffs
- £4.00 Woodstar (available in the alcohol box only)
- £ 3.50 Food Thoughts Cacao Melts (available in the non-alcoholic box)
- £1.49 POP Peanut and Dark Chocolate Bar
- £0.75 x2 Double Dutch Cucumber & Watermelon + Cranberry & Ginger
- £2.50 Mr Lee’s Noodles Coconut Chicken Laksa or Zen Garden Vegetables
- £2.00 Real Handful Strawberry Stomp or Blackcurrant Blast Trail Mix
- £8.99 Pure Leaf matcha tea in regular, mint, or ginger
Each month we feature our top picks in the box. Of course, these choices are based on our own tastes, and I’d love to hear what your favourites are, just pop them down in the comments at the end of this post.
As I mentioned in the intro, this month’s box may not be to everyone’s taste, particularly if you don’t like or cannot have nuts, and there are quite a few products in which nuts are included this month. But let’s see how the products stacked up otherwise….
Winter Warmers Top Picks
If you like trail mix, you’ll love Real Handful Strawberry Stomp or Blackcurrant Blast Trail Mix. Let me start by saying I like trail mix, but usually give the raisins and sultanas to my children. However, the little wrinkly fruits in these blends have been steeped in delicious flavour and I don’t want to share them. The strawberry flavour is enticing with its strong aroma, and goes perfectly with yoghurt. I prefer the strawberry over the blackcurrent (probably because blackcurrent isn’t common in Canada so is an acquired taste for me), but it’s still very good. There are plenty of almonds in the mixes to keep me happy, too.
The POP Peanut and Dark Chocolate Bar is a bit harder than I’d have liked, but it is densely packed with peanuts and the top is covered in a layer of dark chocolate. The dark chocolate gives a bit of adultness to it and I don’t find it too salty, as I sometimes find peanut products to be. I can’t recommend this for a lunchbox as you wouldn’t want to risk being in the vacinity of someone with allergies, but take it along on a picnic or enjoy it at home while the kids are watching a Christmas movie and you’re locked away wrapping gifts – it’ll give you the energy you’ll need to keep going.
The Kids’ Top Picks
My son has always liked a good cup of matcha, right from the first time he tried it. He was excited to be able to try it in a couple of flavours (as reviewers, we were sent two flavours of Pure Leaf matcha tea, though the regular boxes only contain one). Being matcha (traditional powdered Japanese ceremonial green tea), the matcha flavour was strong, as expected, but there was also a delightful hint of flavour, too. Adding the flavour to the matcha does make it less bitter than usual, and you may find that you don’t require a cookie or something sweet to offset the drink. Ginger is a good match with matcha as it gives a nice uplift to it. The mint makes the earthy flavour more light and refreshing.
Kallista really liked Cheeky Monkey Peanut Butter Puffs, which have a strong aroma of peanut butter when you open a fresh bag. The puffs themselves are contradictory as peanut butter is usually very heavy, but these puffs are light. They definitely taste like peanut butter, but because of the lightness of the puffs, not overwhelmingly so.
More Winter Warmers Products
Woodstar 250ml (available in the alcohol box only), has 1% alcohol and goes well with an evening meal. It was pleasant and easy to drink; in fact, if you’re familiar with a common North American brand of grape juice, this is what it reminded me of. That’s a flavour I haven’t had in about 20 years, so it was a little trip down memory lane, too.
Food Thoughts Cacao Melts (available in the non-alcoholic box) are round puddles of dark chocolate. They can be eaten as they are, but are also great for baking. Included in the Degustabox is a recipe card (and 20% discount voucher) for Chocolate Orange Cupcakes that looks delish. Tristan likes dark chocolate and wanted to use them to make top hats – I said that other children might not appreciate the 70% chocolate, but we’ll be using them in a chocolate maple square we’re baking up for the neighbours as a gift this Christmas.
If you’re looking for a dairy free chocolate milk (but without a nut allergy), then Rebel Kitchen’s Dairy Free Organic Chocolate Hazelnut Mylk is the way to go. It isn’t nutty in flavour, and it is just like ‘regular’ chocolate milk. And it’s small enough to fit in a stocking, too.
You’ll find Duerr’s Marmalade (Fine cut or half sugar) in this month’s box. We received the half sugar variety with Seville oranges and crafted in Manchester. Personally, I prefer full-sugar versions as they tend to have a fuller flavour as well, and this wasn’t as tart as I like my marmalades. However, if you cannot have sugar or are looking for a lower-sugar version, then you’ll be happy with this.
Mr Lee’s Noodles were in this month’s box; you’ll receive either Coconut Chicken Laksa or Zen Garden Vegetables. These aren’t ramen noodles, but rice noodles, which gives a different flavour and texture to the soup (hubby always says it’s noodles, not soup, but where I’m from it’s a soup with noodles). The Coconut Chicken Laksa flavour is sweet and warming, while the Zen Garden Vegetables is a little lighter. Hubby likes both, while the children prefer the Laksa.
There you have it! The full run-down of the November Degustabox – the ups and downs and in-betweens. Have you tried a Degustabox yet? Give it a whirl and see what delights are in the next box! Use Code ZPH3A and save £5.00 off your first box!
You can can connect with Degustabox through their sites:
UK website, UK Facebook, or UK Instagram.
