Sorry this post is up later than I originally planned, but a lot has happened in my personal life since I published my blog post about the April 2020 box. I have also wanted to make some of the products from my final box last longer so that I had more time to try them. 

After having subscribed on and off from Degusta Box since 2017 (I received the most boxes in 2019 when I had every box except the January one that year), I decided to cancel my subscription for good after they announced that they would be offering a more uniform box from the April 2020 box onwards. This means that they now offer only one kind of box rather than two (a version with alcoholic drinks and a version without alcoholic drinks) but because there is the occasional alcohol product in the box and I don’t drink, I had no choice but to cancel.

Without further ado, here are the items I received in my last ever Degusta Box:

Hellmann’s Fat Free Vinaigrette and Classic House Salad Dressing

I tried the Fat Free Vinaigrette on a ham and mozzarella salad. While I was expecting it to taste a lot like vinegar, it tasted more like red pepper and herbs that complemented the mozzarella and the salad perfectly.

I tried the Classic House Salad Dressing on a bacon and egg salad. Although I liked its creamy texture, it tasted more like vinegar than the Fat Free Vinaigrette did.

Rating: 8/10 for the Fat Free Vinaigrette, 8/10 for the Classic House Salad Dressing 

Mission Street Tacos – Original and Mex Chilli and Lime

I kept the Original tacos and donated the Chilli and Lime ones to a food donation point in my local Sainsbury’s because the latter ones didn’t appeal to me. 

I first used the original tacos to make mini barbecue chicken pizza quesadillas. Using them this way gave them some extra crunch. 

Another dish I used the original tacos in was scampi tacos that I made as inspired by the serving suggestion of the fish tacos on the front of the packaging. I filled them with scampi, mushy peas with fresh mint added to them, tartare sauce and some squeezes of lemon juice. I liked being able to fold the taco around the filling so that I could eat it like a crunchy taco. 

The tacos were very simple, tasty, especially in the quesadillas, and versatile.

Rating (for the Original variety): 10/10 

Hartley’s Juicy Jelly Pouches – Strawberry and Lemon & Lime Flavours

I have already received pots of Hartley’s Strawberry Jelly in the September 2019 Degusta Box and they were above average. The strawberry jelly in the pouches tasted similar to that in the pots with a hint of strawberry and a medicine-like aftertaste. 

The May box came with a bonus pouch of Lemon & Lime jelly. I preferred this to the strawberry version because I liked the tangy notes of the citrus fruits despite the unusual aftertaste. 

Ratings: 7/10 for the Strawberry variety, 8/10 for the Lemon & Lime variety

Beronia Rioja Red Wine

I am keeping this for my dad for when I next see him; therefore, I cannot rate it. 

Barebells Hazelnut & Nougat Protein Bar 

This made a great working from home snack, especially if there was a whopping 20g of protein in the bar and no added sugar. Although the hazelnut taste of the nougat overpowered that of the chocolate coating, I liked the slightly chewy texture of the nougat and the crunchy bits of hazelnut on top.

Rating: 8/10

Yes! Dark Choc, Banana & Pecan Fruit & Nut Bars

These were reminiscent of the Made Good Chocolate Banana Granola Bars from the December 2019 Degusta Box. The only distinction was the addition of pecan nuts. Unfortunately the taste of the pecan nuts was masked by that of the banana and I could barely taste the dark chocolate either. At least the banana flavour was natural unlike the artificial medicine-like taste of it in other products. 

The bars came with a flyer to promote them as well as the Dark Choc, Sea Salt & Almond version. 

Rating: 8/10 

XITE Zero Sugar Energy Drinks

There were two different flavours of these drinks: Peach & Passion Fruit and Watermelon & Raspberry 

I didn’t try the Peach & Passion Fruit version because I found the little picture of the green coffee bean on the front of the can very misleading and like green tea, I didn’t think I’d like the taste of green coffee, so I donated this to the food bank in my local convenience store. Despite the misleading can design, I’m thinking of giving this a second chance. 

The small image of the watermelon slice and the raspberry on the Watermelon & Raspberry can is far more fitting than the green bean on the other can, so I decided to keep and try this version. The watermelon flavour was stronger than the raspberry flavour and the aftertaste was similar to the taste of other energy drinks such as Red Bull. 

Rating (for the Watermelon & Raspberry variety): 7/10

Skinny Tonic Indian and Mediterranean 

There were two different varieties of this drink: Indian and Mediterranean.

The Indian Skinny Tonic had notes of Sicilian lemon, bitter orange and thyme. I diluted some homemade orange cordial (the recipe I used can be found here) with this Skinny Tonic water and I could mostly taste the citrus notes, but only a small hint of thyme.

The Mediterranean Skinny Tonic had floral notes as well as those of citrus, thyme and basil. I had this with some shop bought orange squash. The most prominent notes were the citrus ones and the herbal ones although I couldn’t detect any floral notes.

Rating: 8/10 for the Indian variety, 8/10 for the Mediterranean variety.

Bull’s-Eye Original BBQ Sauce

I had already tried this after having bought it from Ocado and I love its rich smoky taste. Ways I have used this were in a different kind of barbecue chicken quesadilla and slow cooked barbecue pulled pork. Another variety of Bull’s-Eye BBQ Sauce I had tried was the New York Steakhouse one from my April 2019 box and while it tasted quite sweet and vinegary, it was still pretty good with pulled pork and steak, but the original will always remain my favourite. 

Ratings: 10/10 for the Original BBQ Sauce, 7/10 for the New York Steakhouse BBQ Sauce 

Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Bar 

Lindt Lindor is one of my favourite brands of “high end” chocolate whether in bar form or the form of truffles. I was happy to find a Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate bar in my box and I kept it in my fridge throughout the summer, especially with some heatwaves. The bar has 6 squares (only 2 are shown in the second photograph) and because I ate it straight from the fridge, the truffle filling had solidified. In spite of the margarine-like aftertaste and preferring to eat Lindor products at room temperature due to the filling being softer, I still like the overall rich taste of the bar.

Rating: 9/10 

To summarise, I was quite pleased with my last ever Degusta Box. My favourite products were the Original Mission Street Tacos and the Bulls-Eye Orignal BBQ Sauce followed by the Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Bar, both Hellmann’s dressings, both Skinny Tonics, the Hartley’s Juicy Jelly Lemon & Lime pouch, the Barebells Hazelnut & Nougat Protein Bar and the Yes! Dark Choc, Banana & Pecan Fruit & Nut Bars. The Hartley’s Juicy Jelly Strawberry Pouch, the XITE Watermelon & Raspberry Zero Sugar Energy Drink and the Bulls-Eye New York Steakhouse BBQ Sauce were above average. 

Overall rating including that for the Bulls-Eye NY Steakhouse BBQ Sauce: 106/150

Even though this is my last ever official Degusta Box, I have ordered the first ever Degusta Box advent calendar that will include 24 food and drink surprises worth £50 for £39.99 (I paid £35.99 for it because I used a discount code). I will write a review for it once I’ve tried the products inside it. I will also give any alcohol products to other people if I find any as well as donate any products I don’t think I would like. 

Degusta Box U.K. website: https://www.degustabox.com/en/

Degusta Box U.K. 2020 Advent Calendar: https://lp.degustabox.com/uk-advent-calendar-2020/

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored blog post. All opinions expressed are my own.